By DoRena Wirgau
Everyone seems to
love Christmas villains--the Grinch, Scrooge, that rich guy from “It’s A
Wonderful Life.” Who doesn’t love to hate the grumps who try to spoil the
holiday fun? They make great stories, and it is easy to identify with their
victims. Because the truth is that in real life we all have a Grinch--someone
or something that seems to steal our Christmas and leaves our hearts or our
homes feeling empty.
Sometimes our
Grinch is concrete, like a boss who makes us work on Christmas, a fire that
destroys all the decorations, an unexpected expense that drains the Christmas
savings account, or the cancer that is killing Grandma. Sometimes the ugly
green monsters in our lives are less tangible, rising from our own sinful
hearts: anger at our misbehaving children, the secular “war on Christmas,” the
guy who took our parking spot, or disappointment with the music selections for
the children’s program. And then sometimes they are feelings that, no matter
how hard we try, we can’t escape. Fear. Homesickness. Longing. Sadness.
Whatever our
Grinch is, big or small, he has a way of sucking up our warm fuzzy feelings
like a vacuum. How are we supposed to have a happy Christmas when we feel as
empty as the Whos’ houses? The mailman brings glitter-covered tidings of
Peace! Hope! Joy! But December is rarely peaceful, our hope is for a good
night’s sleep, and we try to buy “joy” for our kids, 75% off on Amazon. Like
Charlie Brown, we are melancholy and feel we are helpless to do anything but
throw up our hands and pout, “Good Grief!”
Yet, ready or
not, Christmas still comes. Christmas comes because Christ came. He was born,
He died, He rose. He has destroyed death and the devil, and, yes, even all the
Grinches in your life. The Word Made Flesh comes to us here and now, and fills
our emptiness with Himself.
He does this even
if we don’t feel empty. Perhaps this time of year is glittery and magical for
you, and you feel full of the warm glow of the season. For many this really is
the most wonderful time of the year. Thanks be to God for this gift of earthly
happiness! But, alas, earthly feelings are temporary, and even when we feel
happy and things are going our way, we still need Jesus.
Our lives here
are tainted with sin. How often is our happiness schadenfreude, that
feeling of relief and happiness at others misfortunes? “Whew! Glad that cop is
after that other guy, and I wasn’t caught speeding this time!” Our happiness is
sometimes pride in our Pinterest-perfect cards and packages. Or maybe our
happiness is staying in pajamas all day on Christmas, sipping cocoa by the
tree, smiling at our family and thinking “All I Want for Christmas is You!”
Christmas is a time for family, right?
Yes, Christmas is
a time to give thanks and enjoy the God-given gift of family, but not in place of
the other gifts from our Lord. Christmas is about Jesus coming for us, and He
does not come in a stocking on the mantle. Whether we are feeling empty
or full, God fills us with His Word and Sacraments, preached and distributed
through our pastors, at our churches. So go to church on Christmas, and
receive these gifts!
It is Christ who
fills our hearts, and makes our cups overflow – and spill out for those around
us. Like Scrooge on Christmas morning or the Grinch after his heart tripled in
size, we too can serve our neighbors. We can give gifts and cookies. We can
eat, drink, and be merry! We can make the hot cocoa, put our PJs back on after
church, and snuggle by the tree.
For us Christ was
hung on a tree, not one trimmed with silver and gold, but dripping crimson with
His blood. He feeds us with His very body and that very blood, under bread and
wine. In Baptism we were washed with real water and swaddled in robes whiter
than even Bing Crosby’s snow. In Confession and Absolution we are reconciled with
Him. In Christ we have the hope and promise of eternal peace that surpasses our
human understanding. And that is something no Grinch can steal.
***
DoRena Wirgau is the big sister of nine, pastor's daughter, mother of four,
and wife of a dual-parish pastor. She lives in rural North Texas where she
spends her days reading to her children, and trying to find ways to avoid
folding laundry.
Image: Detail from "Marley's Ghost" by John Leech, 1843
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