(This was written for the December 19, 2014 edition of the Knoxville Journal Express)
One of my favorite things to do this time of
the year is to listen to Christmas music. There are so many great songs that
can put me in the Christmas spirit. I find myself singing along…”It’s the most
wonderful time of the year” ♫ “Joy to the world” ♪ “Have yourself a merry
little Christmas.” Despite my pleasure of these songs and the whole Christmas
Season, I know this time of the year can be really difficult for some people.
Instead of singing along to Christmas carols or wishing people, “Merry
Christmas!” some people just want to shout “Bah, Humbug!”
It’s not that the “Bah, Humbuggers” are rude or
mean people. It’s just sometimes life can be hard and the Christmas season
reminds us of the things we’ve lost. We are reminded of the pain we have from
the death of a loved one, or the distance between our family members, or the
sorrow over a broken relationship, or the crushed hope of a dream that never
came true. When we are experiencing some of life’s lows, we may feel more like
Ebenezer Scrooge than we want to admit. We want to know what we can do
to get rid of our grumpiness.
You see that is part of the problem, we are
always thinking about what we can do. There is already so much to do this
time of the year that the last thing we need is to put additional pressure on
ourselves to do even more. The true joy of Christmas is that we have been given
a gift from God in the form of a baby named Jesus. It’s a gift just waiting to
be received.
If there is one thing we need to do this
time of the year it is to hear the Christmas Story. Not the story written by
Charles Dickens where Mr. Scrooge changes his attitude out of fear but the
story written out of love, by God. You see God so loved the world that he sent
his Son into the world for us, all of us! This is a gift indeed! “’Look,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’
which means, ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)
The gift of God always being with us is what
helps us through the lows of life. The miracle of God coming to earth as a baby
helps us to know that God has experienced life’s pains, disappointments and
losses just like we experience. Knowing that God is with us keeps us from
feeling alone when everyone else seems so joyful.
If you have never heard the true Christmas
story or if it has been a while, then please join one of our local churches on
Christmas Eve to hear and experience the joy of God’s greatest gift. Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church will have two Christmas Eve services, 6:00pm and
8:00pm, both with candle light and communion. The 6:00pm worship will include a
children’s message and both services will have special music along with singing
some of our favorites like “Joy to the World.” All are welcome!
God’s Peace to you and your family. Pastor
Kristine Dohrmann
