Series: Christmas Chaos: Calendar Chaos
We’re starting a new series today called Christmas Chaos, and here’s why we’re calling this series Christmas Chaos. A couple of famous stress researchers came up with a list of the most stressful events a person can experience, maybe you’ve heard of it. Two guys by the name of Holmes and Ray came up with a list of the 40 most stressful life events and assigned a certain number of points to each chaotic events a person might for each stress event in your life, and if you score really high – if you have really high stress, research shows that you are statistically more likely to experience major illness or a major accident or injury in the coming year.
So it’s kind of like a cholesterol test: scoring high is NOT a good thing. On the list are things you would expect like going through a divorce, moving to a new place, getting in a major auto accident, or a death in the family. But guess what else makes the list of most stressful life events: CHRISTMAS! Not having a bad Christmas, just Christmas. And it’s the only holiday that makes the list: Easter doesn’t, Thanksgiving doesn’t, 4th of July doesn’t. Just Christmas!
And my guess is most of us aren’t real surprised, I think we all know something about Christmas chaos: first of course, there’s all the presents we have to buy. This takes a lot of time and we don’t know what to buy for one another – both of those are stressors. How many went Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving? Was there any chaos there? Did you get up at like 5am to hit the early sales? I’m saying no way is that worth it. I did it once in my life and that’s enough.
So there’s all the shopping to get done, and figuring out how to pay for all the shopping we’re getting done – that’s a big one, then there’s all the decorating to do – the lights and Christmas trees and all the other fixings. And speaking of the fixin’s, there’s all the food to prepare, and all the parties to go to, and all the family coming in town or trips to plan to go out of town ourselves. There are more things on our calendars this month than any other month of the year, wouldn’t you agree?
And I think when it comes to the calendar chaos; there are basically two kinds of people. There’s people who love it and get into it. Sure, it’s a lot, sure there’s a lot of chaos, but all the parties and people and stuff to do – some people love it. How many “I love it, I’m into it!” people are there here today? That’s one kind of person.
And then there are people who just want to get through it and just survive it. They may enjoy it to some extent, but they primarily are focusing on getting through it and surviving all the stuff to get done and stuff to deal with. How many “Get through it, just survive it” people do we have here today? I’m like that. I really do like this time of year, but my focus tends to be on just getting through it and surviving it.
Well, whichever kind of person you are, whether you love all the stuff to do this time of year, or whether you just hope to still be on speaking terms with your sanity when the holidays are over, I think there’s one thing that’s true of both kinds of people. And it’s that God wants the Christmas season to bring you closer to Him.
I really believe God wants to use this time of year to bring you closer to Him, and I don’t mean closer in the sense of having a few more spiritually-feeling moments so you can look back on them and go, “well, that was nice. Had some nice spiritual-ey moments this Christmas.”
What I mean is that when the New Year starts, you can say “I’m closer to God now than I was a month ago. I may not be the most spiritual person on the planet, but I’m definitely closer to God because of Christmas.” Even if you aren’t sure what it even means to be closer to God, I think it’s what He wants for you. So don’t answer out loud, but just think about it: if you could be closer to God a month from today than you are right now, wouldn’t you want to?
And if we want God to use this time of year to bring us closer to Him, there’s one thing we need to know how to do and do well this time of year. And that one thing is….celebrate.
Now as soon as I say that, I think the people who love this time of year are thinking “I don’t need to know how to celebrate. I already know how. I love to celebrate, I’m great at celebrating. That’s why I love this time of year.” Well, I’ll say more about this later, but for starters I think there’s a difference between celebrating and having a good time. Nothing wrong with having a good time, of course, but just because a person can kick back or cut loose and have a good time doesn’t mean they really know how to celebrate.
And I imagine the people who aren’t so crazy about this time of year would probably say “I already know how to celebrate, too. I know how to, I just don’t as much as I would like to this time of year because of all the stuff going on this time of year.” Well, I don’t think celebrating is something that can only happen once we have everything else taken care of, and we’ll talk more about that, too. See, to both kinds of people, I think God would say the same thing: celebrate.
First thing we all need to know about celebrating is that celebrating is something God loves. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t brought up believing anything like that. I was always told to be quiet in church and not run in the building, and just about any time, as a kid, that I would be anywhere close to having fun during church, I was told to stop it. Can you relate? But the truth is God loves celebrating.
In the Old Testament, the time before Jesus was born, the entire calendar year for God’s people was built around a series of feasts and festivals. Sure, they were sacred and holy religious feasts and festivals, but they were at heart celebrations of God’s goodness and things that God meant for His people to enjoy.
And in the New Testament, Jesus, the very first public thing He did, His very first thing He did when His ministry started was to take his disciples to a celebration. It’s in the gospel of John, and most scholars would agree that if you look at the four gospels, the four accounts of Jesus’ life, Matthew Mark Luke and John, this was Jesus’ first public ministry thing with His disciples.
He took them to a party, a wedding party. In those days, wedding parties blew away any wedding reception any of us have ever been to. The typical wedding celebration back then lasted 7 days.
I picture one of the disciples calling his wife at home with his new flip phone, after his first day on his new job with Jesus: she says “What did you do today?” And he says “We… went to a party.” “Oh really?” she says, “Yeah” he says. “And what are you guy’s doing tomorrow?” she says. “Well, ummm, going to a party again.” He says. “Really?” she says. “Yeah. Kinda looks like that’s our whole week.”
And it was at that party when they ran out of wine where Jesus did His first miracle and turned water into wine, not because He was all about making sure there was lots of wine, but because He cared about the party and the people that the party was important to. Jesus loved a good party. Jesus was always getting criticized by the religious establishment of His day, and one of the main criticisms was that He must be a glutton and a drunk because he went to so many parties.
The Son of Man (that’s Jesus) feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard,’”- Matthew 11:19 God is a God of celebrations, and He wants celebrating to bring us closer to Him.
And think with me about the first Christmas. The very first public announcement God made that Jesus was born, it was to the shepherds, right, and think about how God did it. First one angel shows up and tells the shepherds what’s going on in Bethlehem. But it doesn’t stop there, does it? Remember what happens next: here it is on the screen:
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’.” -Luke 2:13-14.
Think about that. Why didn’t God just stop after angel #1? I mean, the one angel relayed the message, right? The shepherds heard the news, right? So why the whole choir of angels and all that? Did you ever think about why God did it that way? See I think we think that the whole bunch of angels singing was just kind of a heavenly singing-telegram. Their singing wasn’t for information, their singing was for celebration. The angels were celebrating the news, not just repeating it. Are you with me? When Christmas goes public the very first time, it goes public as a celebration. A celebration of God’s greatness and goodness and that God’s goodness is coming to a world that badly needs it.
And see I think both kinds of people, the ones who get into this time of year and the ones who just try to survive this time of year, both kinds of people can miss the celebration that God wants you to experience. The ones who love it can miss it because having a good time isn’t the same thing as celebrating.
For instance, we all know that there’s more drinking this time of year than any other, and look what God says about that: “ Don’t drink too much wine” (Ephesians 5:18 MSG).
.” And I think we hear that and just think it is like a rule: “God says don’t get drunk”. And that’s true, (just in case nobody’s reminded us lately), God says not to get drunk, but look at why He says not to: it says “for that cheapens your life”.
So He says “Don’t get drunk because it’s wasteful and distracting.” Why is it wasteful and what is it distracting from? The good things that we could be focusing on and celebrating are what comes from God. See the next part? Instead,
“Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. 19 Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything . . .” (Ephesians 5:18-20).
He’s saying if you’re drunk, you may consider that enjoying yourself, but what you’re really doing is being distracted from the things that come from God in your life that are worth feeling good about and celebrating. So enjoying myself might actually stand in the way of truly celebrating Christmas because enjoying myself a lot of the time is just distracting myself.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the need to forget about life for a while and just have a good time laughing and goofing around and just having fun, nothing wrong with that. But if that’s all I do this time of year, I miss out on the thing that God wants to use to bring me closer to Him, and that’s celebrating.
And the same kind of thing can happen for the people who just try to get through this time of year and get everything done. There’s this web site www.OrganizedChristmas.com and it promises that if you follow it’s instructions, you’ll have a stress free Christmas and then you’ll really be able to enjoy it all.
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But then you click on the link that tells you how to have an organized, stress free Christmas, guess how many suggestions and guidelines it has for you to follow? 103!!! Cracks me up. And guess when you have to start on this list of 103 things? First week of January!
We can be so focused on getting stuff done that we miss out on celebrating. The guy in the Christmas story who is famous for that is the innkeeper. The innkeeper has so many people in his place and so much stuff going on that he never celebrates Christmas.
Frederick Buechner is a great author, and he writes about this as if he is the innkeeper telling what happened. He writes: “I do not blame posterity for making me out to be the heartless one who said ‘No room’ No room.’ I’ll even grant you that a kind of heartlessness may be part of the truth. But do you know what it is like to run an inn? To run a business, a family, to run anything in this world for that matter, even your own life? It is like being lost in a forest of a million trees, and each tree is a thing to be done. Did the children put on their coats before they went out? Has the letter been written, the book read? Is there money enough in the bank? A million trees. A million things, until we finally have eyes for nothing else, and whatever we see turns into a thing, a thing to be done.” Ever feel that way this time of year? Everything is just a thing to be done?
And I think that applies to both those of who tend to stress about the Christmas chaos and those of us who tend to be all into it: whether we are stressing or just trying to enjoy ourselves amidst the chaos, we miss what’s really worth celebrating because everything becomes just a thing to be done: a list to be finished, a task to be accomplished, a party to be attended, a good time to be had.
And what God wants us to do is not miss the chance to draw closer to Him this time of year through celebrating. See, celebrating, a big part of it is about focusing on things when we would otherwise overlook them.
I remember my kids when they were 2 or 3 or 4 – when they were that age when everything was new. I would watch them learn for the first time what a snow flake was or what a leaf was, or what water was and they treated each of those common things like it was a miracle . . . and it is. How does God create such things? There are miracles all around us that we’ve seen a million times and because we’ve seen them a million times, we treat them as thought they are common mundane, non -miraculous things. The smile of a youth, the beauty of a woman, the delicate wonder of a flower, the unbelievable mystery of the God of all creation – the God who is everywhere all at once and the God who is all powerful – all the power in the world is his, comes down and is limited to the smallness of a baby in a dark, damp, smelly, unclean barn all because he loves you, and because he loves me, and because he loves every person outside these windows. Celebrate!
And here are the two things God wants us to celebrate. The first thing is:
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above . . . (James 1:7)
That means celebrate anything and everything that is good. Wherever there is good in your life, celebrate it: that means every office party, every decoration, every family visit, every cup of eggnog (ok, only eggnog if you like eggnog, because I don’t like eggnog. What exactly is eggnog anyways? I get the egg part, but what’s the NOG part?) But every good thing about Christmas is something worth celebrating when we realize that anything and everything that is good comes from God.
I’ve learned a lot about celebrating from a guy named Tim Hansel. A little over 20 years he fell while mountain climbing. Broke his back in over 20 places. Listen to what he writes: “I can’t remember when I last woke up feeling good. Each morning continues another layer of nauseating pain, the dull gray ache, and the never-ending fatigue. It’s been a little over ten years since my accident. Life was different before then; I just can’t remember what it felt like.“ Didn’t paralyze him, just made him experience constant, excruciating pain, 24/7. On a scale of 100, if 100 is all the pain a person can possibly feel physically at any given moment, he lives at 98. Think about that. But he is also the most upbeat, joyous person you’ll ever meet. It all started when he received a telegram from a friend of his (this was obviously before there was e-mail) while he was recuperating from the fall. He opened it up and it said, “until further notice, celebrate everything.“ And he does this not by focusing on the absence of pain, because his pain is 98% 24-7, but focusing on how anything and everything that is good in our lives is good and comes, one way or another, from God.
In Ephesians 5:20 God says, “give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Everything: every relationship, every upside, every benefit, everything. Give thanks for everything. It will change you! It will fill you with joy and gratitude and goodness even if you’re in a lot of pain like Tim is.
And give thanks as often as you can, be intentional about it, be grateful for one thing if nothing else. Back to how it went that first Christmas for the innkeeper: “Of course I remember very well the evening they arrived. I was working on my accounts and looked up just in time to see the woman coming through the door. She walked in that slow way that women have in the last months, as though they are walking in a dream or at the bottom of the sea. I cannot remember either of them saying anything, although I suppose some words must have passed. It was clear enough what they wanted. Then it happened much in the way that you have heard. I did not lie about there being no room left, there really was none. Later that night when the baby came, I was not there. I was lost in the forest somewhere, the unenchanted forest of a million trees. Fifteen steps to the cellar, watch your head going down, firewood to the left. I speak to you as a man of the world. See, when the baby came, I was not around, and I saw none of it. As for what I heard at just the moment of the birth itself, I do not rightly know what I heard. But this I do know. All your life long you wait for your own true love to come -we all do- our destiny, our joy, our heart’s desire. So how am I to say it? When He came, I missed Him.”
Two things to celebrate this Christmas to bring you closer to God: everything that’s good, and the best thing that God ever did for you. He gave his love to you.
Here’s my favorite words about Christmas outside of the Bible. This says it better than I ever could. “Once a year the Christmas season strikes both the sacred and secular spheres of life with sledgehammer force: suddenly Jesus is everywhere. For approximately one month His presence is inescapable. You may accept Him or reject Him, affirm Him or deny Him, but you cannot ignore Him. Of course He is proclaimed in speech, song and symbol in all the Christian churches. But He also rides every red-nosed reindeer, lurks behind every Christmas toy, and resonates in the most basic “season’s greetings”. Remotely or proximately, He is toasted in every cup of Christmas cheer. Each sprig of holly is a hint of His holiness, each cluster of mistletoe a sign He is here.”
Life Link:
Session 1: Calendar Chaos
As Christ Followers we have reason to celebrate instead of just stressing during the Christmas season.
Opening Question: When you were a kid, what was your household like 2 weeks before Christmas?
From wonderful memories of excitement and expectations, to stressful memories of arguments and disappointment, Christmas can be a pretty stressful time.
What are some things that make this time of year so stressful for people?
What is making you stressed right now in your life?
Everyone reacts to Christmas time stress differently. Which of the following can you most relate to?
White Knuckler – Hold on and wait till it is over!
Thrill Seeker – Can’t get enough of the parties and crowded shopping!
Avoiders – Get so stressed you go to the parties and get hammered to forget it
Tom Peters, author and business management expert, wrote a bestselling book called Thriving on Chaos. The book is about the “up and down” global business economy and how companies can THRIVE on chaos instead of simply holding onto the old, predictable business atmosphere. Chaos can be an opportunity for growth!
This week, we will consider the “Chaos of Christmas” as a wonderful opportunity for growth. Christmas may be one of the best times of the year to learn God’s heart when it comes to Celebrating.
Do you know that God actually COMMANDED Israel to Celebrate? Leviticus 23 devotes a whole chapter to MANDATORY Celebration Feasts!
Feast of the Passover (vs. 5) – One day celebrating how God spared their firstborn, and freed them from Slavery in Egypt.
Feast of Unleavened Bread (vs. 6-8) Seven days of celebrating the leaving of Egypt and the old life and entering a new way of living.
Feast of Weeks (vs. 15-22)- One day of celebration for the bountiful harvest
Feast of Trumpets (vs. 23-25) One day of celebration expressing joy and thanksgiving to God.
Day of Atonement (vs. 26-32) One day celebrating the removal of sin and restored fellowship to God.
Feast of Tabernacles (vs. 33-43) Seven days of celebrating God’s protection and guidance in the Desert and to renew trust in God for His continued guidance and protection.
These feasts were filled with song, dance, great food and drink. They were days filled with a spirit of thanksgiving and joy! Is that surprising? Do you think of God as someone who really Celebrates?
God is in the Celebrating Business!
What aspects of your life right now do you really make a habit of celebrating?
True celebration in scripture is focused upon how good God has been to us! Despite the hardships, God’s people were continually encouraged to celebrate the goodness of God. A heart for celebration begins with gratefulness.
Philippians 4:4
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
A popular song states this well: “It’s not getting what you want…it’s wanting what you’ve got!” (Cheryl Crow – Soak up the Sun). What does that statement mean to you?
Brennan Manning in his book Ruthless Trust says “Gratitude arises from the acceptance of all of life as grace – as an undeserved and unearned gift from the Father’s hand.”
From this heart of gratitude comes expression: thoughts, words, emotions, dance, food and drink. This is celebrating…God style.
What things get in the way of you truly celebrating God’s style?
What would a “God style” Christmas celebration look like for you?
Ephesians 5:19-20
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What’s next:
There are 3-4 weeks till Christmas…what can our small group do to push us to be more expressive in our heart of gratitude and celebration?
What can we do right now to celebrate from a heart of gratitude?
Here are some ideas:
Make a toast to celebrate someone in the group.
Sing Christmas carols to our neighbors.
Give a gift to past small group leaders and members to show our gratefulness for their investment in our lives.
Dance together out of gratefulness for who God is and what He has done…
Take a moment to thank God right now for his goodness, forgiveness, and faithfulness through the last year.
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