The Day After Christmas

You can learn a lot from being around kids. Perhaps it is because they give you a unique perspective on life which reminds you of things you might have forgotten on the way to adulthood. Another reason might be that a young child confronts you with a challenge—teaching them the ropes of life. Therefore, you are forced to think through the essential things they need to know and how to creatively make these things accessible to them. Whatever the case, I find that it is good for my own soul when I spend time with little people.

In fact, this is a great benefit of being connected at my local church. Besides working with middle schoolers in the youth group twice a week, I have had the privilege of making the acquaintance of a young girl, a 4-year-old bundle of energy and laughter. I meet with a group of about 15 other church-goers at her house—or her parents’ house, rather—for a weekly small group. We eat together, pray together, and converse about things sacred and trivial.

I enjoy talking to this girl’s mother about how her daughter is doing and what kinds of things they are doing as parents to raise their daughter well. A couple of weeks before Christmas, she was telling me about something they were doing to teach their daughter the true meaning of Christmas. She showed me a little book they were reading together which counts down the days until Christmas, and in the process goes through different episodes in the Christmas story.

The interesting thing is the angle this book takes. The title of the book is, “What God Wants for Christmas.” It is this fascinating question which drives the book, as every single page ends on the same cliff-hanger: you will not know what God wants for Christmas unless you keep reading. You go through the shepherds, the wise men, Mary, the whole bit, but it is not until the end that you find out the answer.

Being the naughty boy that I am, I read the first couple pages and skimmed the rest to get to the end, not being able to take the suspense. (Oh, the beauty of being a grown-up!) And I was thoroughly impressed, for the answer was something that was on the one hand very simple and on the other hand theologically profound.

But before I tell you the answer, let me tell you how the writers of this book get to this idea. They play off the idea that Christmas is about gifts, but the greatest gift of all is the gift of Jesus. The baby Jesus is God’s gift to us, because it is through Jesus that we receive the gift of eternal life. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. The writers of this children’s book have the audacity to ask what God wants for Christmas. It is a perfectly reasonable question, for we give gifts to our friends and family, and why not give a gift to God? (Especially if it’s Jesus’ birthday, right?)

So what’s the answer? What does God want for Christmas? The answer is: YOU. As soon as I read the answer, I loved it. And the more that I reflected on it, the more I loved it, especially when you think about the nature of God’s gift to us. God’s gift to us is nothing less than Himself–His very person. When you think about it, someone cannot really give anything more than their own self. And God did just this. Christmas is a time when we celebrate the beginnings of God’s self-giving—when the Son of God first donned human flesh.

If we accept this gift—and the unending life which comes as a result—we are left with a great sense of gratitude, and we cannot help but be moved to repay the Giver with a gift of our own. And this is very appropriate, to desire to give back something as a token of thankfulness. My mother, being a generous woman, gave our neighbor a gift of her famous salsa when our family moved into the neighborhood recently. It was not surprising, then, when our neighbor knocked on our door Christmas Day with a bottle of wine as a gift to us. Receiving gifts moves us first to gratitude and then to give back in return.

Hence our Christmas conundrum: Not in a thousand years could we repay the gift God has given us in Jesus. As Isaac Watts says in an old hymn: “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small!” The entire universe would not suffice to be a gift that is equal to the gift we have received. (Oh that we truly believed this!) But the very next line in the song gives us the answer to the puzzle: “Love so amazing—so divine—demands my soul, my life, my all.” Although we can never fully repay God for giving us His very self, we can show our gratitude by returning the favor—by giving Him our very self. This is what He wants for Christmas, and this is something that we can give Him.

This idea goes back a long time, all the way back to Paul. In his letter to the Christians in Rome, after spending eleven chapters expounding the gift of grace which God has given us in Jesus Christ, Paul shifts to talking about our proper response to this gift: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” What gift should I give in response to the grace of God? Nothing less than my whole self, and the body which expresses my unique personhood. So when children (and adults) wonder what God wants for Christmas, they should look inward. He wants us. No less and no more.

When I was a little kid, it was difficult for me not to experience disappointment the day after Christmas. The gifts have been opened, the anticipation ended. The joy of Christmas morning lasts but a while before it gives way to the humdrum of normal, post-Christmas life. This is because the gift-giving on Christmas morning is transient and fading. However, there is a sacred gift-giving which transcends Christmas morning. The gift of the Son of God is still ours the day after Christmas. And the opportunity for us to respond to this gift and give ourselves back to God is open the day after Christmas, and the day after that, and the day after that…

O Come O Come Emmanuel

One cannot truly experience Christmas until they have experienced advent, just like one cannot truly experience Easter until they have mourned the crucifixion. The momentous nature of the birth of Christ cannot be understood until one has relived the drama living up to that event. Christmas is, in essence, a reliving of the drama that reached its climax on Christmas Day. This song is most truly an advent song. In fact, it captures the spirit of advent so powerfully in its words and tune, that it moves me nearly every time I sing it. This song and what it represents is the necessary overture before the symphony of Christmas can begin.

This song transports us back to the tragic era of the exile. Israel, God’s chosen people, was conquered and taken captive by her pagan enemies—Babylon, Persia, Greece, and now Rome. But the story goes back even further. God had chosen Israel for the special privilege of being the means through which He would bless the world. But Israel was unfaithful to God, rebelling against Him time and again, until God’s wrath could stand it no longer. God finally gave Israel over to her pagan enemies because of her persistent rebellion.

But all was not lost. The prophets spoke of a day when God would forgive Israel and restore her to her intended glory. He would send a man from the royal line of David, a “messiah” or “anointed one,” who would take the scepter of power from the hand of Israel’s enemies and take the throne once again. All true Israelites mournfully longed for that day to come.

But Israel’s longing for being saved from her enemies was only a type or a shadow of the longing of all creation to be saved from the terrible power of sin and death. This is what this song captures so beautifully. Just as Israel is in lonely exile, awaiting salvation from enemies, so is mankind in exile, awaiting salvation from the corruption that had plagued the human race since the fall of Adam. These two images are transposed onto each other, as they are in the Scriptures. And God promises to accomplish both through Emmanuel.

Emmanuel means “God with us.” This is fitting, for the exile is, in actuality, God removing Himself from man. God used to dwell in the midst of Israel, but when she rebelled, God removed His presence. God used to dwell with man in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam rebelled, God removed Himself. So all those in exile cry out, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” God is no longer with us. But there is good news. God has promised that He is going to return to us. Our exile, our living hell, will finally end when God makes His return to His people and to His humanity. But when will this happen? When Emmanuel comes.

What about these other names? The song addresses the promised Messiah as the Rod of Jesse. This comes from Isaiah 11:1, and it refers to the fact that Emmanuel will be from the family tree of David, the son of Jesse. This is of huge importance: the Messiah would be a Conquering King. Emmanuel is also called Day-spring, which comes from the prayer of Zechariah in Luke 1:78, which alludes to the fact that although Israel and the rest of mankind lived in darkness, Emmanuel would be one brought a new day, shining light on all those in darkness.

The minor key of this song is perfect. It is a song of mourning, yet it is a song of hope. Emmanuel has not yet come. Man still remains in slavery, in exile. But, do not despair, for freedom is coming. Suffering is now, but glory is coming. Corruption is now, but restoration is coming. Death is now, but life is coming. Emmanuel is coming.

O come O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Hear the tune and find more info at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomocom.htm