Advent: Time to focus on the child

 She [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them - Luke 2: 7 

Christmas cards without Christ!

In 1954, C.S. Lewis wrote a small satirical essay entitled "Xmas and Christmas" in which he describes the commercialised side of Christmas and calls it the "Exmas Rush" which eventually wears people out and prevents them from celebrating Christmas in a meaningful way. He talks about various practices that are just "commercial racket" that is "forced upon us by the shopkeepers" (What Christmas Means to Me). Taking the example of sending Christmas cards, he says,  

“…having bought as many as [the cards] they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent them. And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, they throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also.” 

The whole argument of the essay is to encourage everyone to focus on the spiritual meaning of Christmas: the baby who was born on that day.  

The birth narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke often leave out many of the details that we would like to know in a biography. This is because their focus is not on giving the details of Christ's birth, but on proclaiming the good news of the Saviour's birth. Mark and John omit the birth narratives altogether in order to focus on Jesus fulfilling the mission of saving the world during his earthly ministry, seeing them as irrelevant to their story of the Messiah and his mission.  

We should have a similar attitude as we approach Christmas. Christmas is about reminding ourselves and others around us of the birth of the Saviour and the hope we have in Him. All other things around Christmas, i.e. gifts, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, cards, wreaths, food, etc., should ideally point to Him. These Christmas traditions emerged slowly throughout history at different times to help us remember different aspects of Christ's birth. But sadly, they have now become distractions and moved away from the original intentions.  

What is the point of celebrating Christmas without Christ? It is like organising a lavish birthday party for a child but leaving the child in the room to sleep or watch the television, because he or she is disturbing the guests by being naughty.  

Christmas is a great opportunity for Christians living in a secularised and multi-religious environment to talk about Christ. We can use the external traditions we have accumulated over time to point to the child who was born for us. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the Incarnation and to proclaim it in a meaningful way.  

May this Advent prepare us to celebrate a meaningful Christmas!