I love Christmas. It is simply my favorite time of year. One of the best things about the Christmas season is watching Christmas movies. And one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is the classic cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The special is filled with iconic moments, now deeply ingrained in our culture.
Remember the plot of that Charlie Brown special? Charlie Brown, despite all the happiness and joy surrounding him in the Christmas season is filled with sadness.
There’s probably someone in your church who feels this way around the holidays. Maybe they’re stressed out to the point where they can’t enjoy Christmas anymore. So often, the culture surrounding Christmas can be filled with anxiety. There are so many events and parties to attend, gifts and presents to buy. There are countless opportunities, so many good and great things to do; they can start to feel like a burden instead of a blessing. Maybe they’ve lost their job, and have to scale back on Christmas gifts this year. Or maybe they’ve lost a loved one, and Christmas has never really been the same without them.
Charlie Brown looks at the rampant materialism in all of his friends and longs for a larger purpose, some greater meaning. Maybe someone in your church is searching for that same purpose, that same meaning.
Whatever the case may be, the Christmas season brings about the greatest answer that anyone could ever imagine. We have good news of great joy to share this Christmas. The miracle of Christmas tells us that we are not alone; we have a savior. We have a savior who is Christ the king, and better yet, this is a savior for all people. Jesus doesn’t come to save just the churchpeople, he comes to save all people.
Everyone in your church needs a savior this Christmas.
I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to those of you who read this blog. Together, we are on the front lines of change in the church. Together, we are more fully focused on Christ’s mission and vision for parishes. We have a lot of exciting things around the corner in 2019, and I hope you continue along this journey with us.
