‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ – Christmas 2020, that is, inasmuch as we are going through a ‘will it – won’t it happen’ phase. Some people I know are starting to get a little despondent about the whole affair. When I encounter this, I tend towards sharing Psalm 118 and particularly the verse: “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24 – ESV). I highlight that the word translated ‘it’ is the Hebrew word ‘bo’ which in every other instance in the bible is translated ‘him’. When I apply this translation technique I end up with “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in him”. That makes a lot more sense for me. It is never the day that I rejoice in, I choose to rejoice in the One who created the day, regardless of whether it is warm and sunny or wet and cold.

And I find that Christmas experiences a similar type of misunderstanding. The reality of Christmas is the celebration of mankind’s receipt of the greatest presence ever. The reality of ‘God with us’ or “Immanuel”. Yes, there are aspects of Christmas that can aid our human enjoyment, but, regardless of whether those aspects are present or not, the glorious truth remains that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son”. It is in the spirit of that wonderful truth that I share these thoughts of the three ‘R’s of Christmas – remembering, repenting and rejoicing.

The reality of Christmas is the celebration of mankind’s receipt of the greatest presence ever.

Remember:

The great biblical festivals are rooted in remembrance. Passover, Pesach, remembers God’s great act of redemption from slavery in Egypt. Pentecost, Shavuot, is a celebration of the great gift of God’s word to his people. Finally Tabernacles, Succoth, remembers God’s provision for His people. In similar manner, Christmas remembers that God in his abounding love for his creation gave his only Son to be born as a human in order to rectify the sin of Adam. As God’s people we need to remember, and to witness, that truly Jesus is the reason for the season. That without Jesus, December is just another winter month.

Yes, the naysayers try to tell us that Christmas is simply a repurposed pagan festival. To them I would say – nonsense. Christmas is a vivid illustration of the importance the early church gave to commemorating this event. The early church very much wanted to make the point that Anno Domini, the year of the Lord, began on January 1st 1 AD. How does this balance with 25th December, I hear you ask? Well, at the time they wanted to do this, the church retained a heavily Jewish influence, so a sensitivity to Jewish sensibilities was required. Now a key Jewish element of the birth process was a belief that a male child only became fully human at the point of circumcision. This meant that to operate within the necessary parameters, Jesus would have had to have been circumcised on January 1st 1 AD. Circumcision happens on the 8th day after birth. (Incidentally, this is the time of the highest concentration of Vitamin K, the blood-clotting agent, in our lives.) So if circumcision happens on January 1st, then when did Jesus have to be born? Count back 8 days from January 1st and you will arrive at December 25th. I would suggest that December 25th is the result of wanting to see circumcision on January 1st, not some attempt to hi-jack a pagan festival. (Of course, we know that the dates were wrong – I am pointing out the motivation behind choosing this date.)

But, whatever the origins and the original dates etc., the key thing is remembering that Jesus came to this earth as Immanuel – the glory of God come down to the dirt of this world to bring light and salvation.

Repent:

The two great purposes of Jesus’ life were to tell people of God’s great love for them and to call them to a closer walk with God. The God who Jesus showed us is a God who is transcendent and holy. So holy that sin cannot dwell in his presence. However, ever since sin entered the world as told in Genesis 4:1-6, we were both born into, and walking in, sin. We were strangers to God. But as Paul put it: “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” (Eph 2:19)

In our sin we cannot draw near to God, but when we repent we are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, and when God looks at us he does not see our sins, he sees the blood of Jesus – who took our sin on the cross. But we are only washed in the blood when we repent. Jesus opened his ministry with, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15) In the Book of Revelation, 5 of the 7 churches are advised to repent. If we choose to walk with Jesus, then we choose the road of repentance. Let us use Advent, this time before Christmas, to reflect on our walk with the Lord and, where we find room for improvement, then let us remember to repent and to follow him more closely.

We cannot truly keep Christmas without rejoicing in Jesus.

Rejoice:

I invariably find it telling that Succoth, the Jewish autumn feast that celebrates God’s great provision is preceded by Yom Kippur with its fasting and repentance. In order to be in a place to truly rejoice then we need to have repented and renewed our walk with God. And at Christmas we have so much to rejoice in. My favourite Christmas hymn is ‘Joy to the World’. When the angels visited the shepherds they declared “Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind”. We cannot truly keep Christmas without rejoicing in Jesus. In him, we are living in the ‘year of God’s favour’ (Lk 4:19). To be so loved by God has to be a source of great joy.

I remember a friend once telling me that Christians reminded him of a teabag – you only get to see the true colours when in hot water.

I remember a friend once telling me that Christians reminded him of a teabag – you only get to see the true colours when in hot water. It was a badge that I did not, and do not like. However, it was, and remains, a badge that sadly I had to accept. We are the people who are a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom, yet judging by many faces at any kind of service, we are not giving a glowing testimony to that kingdom. Far too often we identify ourselves by what we are against, whereas Jesus always typifies himself by what he is for. “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). When he was called to execute judgement, as in John 8, he balanced truth and grace in a glorious illustration of Psalm 85: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other”. Jesus is a cause of rejoicing, for us and for the dear ones he calls into the Kingdom. Let us use this time of year to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4) and to take delight in His great gift.

Remember, Repent, Rejoice – The three ‘R’s of Christmas and the three ‘R’s of a life in Christ.