The Failure of British Christmas
MusingsExcerpt from last Sunday's sermon on Isaiah 9. Click here for the whole thing.
I’ve been trying to analyse why I get that slight feeling of anti-climax and disappointment despite all the good stuff and come to the conclusion that it is because I and Christians have turned Christmas into much much less than it actually is.
A baby in a manger, children’s activities and nativities, meals and festivities, cards and presents, carols and choirs are all nice, but they are a million miles away from the Christmas story in, for example, Isaiah 9. They are a sentimentalised version that is emotionally appealing but hardly life-changing.
If the birth of Jesus Christ as the Bible presents him is anything it ought to be life-changing. It ought to be world-changing. I want Christmas to change my life. I want it to shape my worldview. I want it to affect my deepest longings. I want it to speak to my heart aches and hurts. I want it to tell me about a God who loves me enough to come for me. And British Christmas basically fails.
Reader Comments (3)
What are your heart aches and hurts?
The link to the Isaiah 9 passage fails - can't locate it myself, doesn't appear to be a capitalisation error..
Where be it, sir?
Non-British Christmases fail too...! Thanks for the thought-provoking reminder :D