The fifth and final candle in our advent wreath has been lit at last. I remember as a little boy how excited I would get when I saw the Christ candle burning. I got excited because I knew that big white candle burning in the middle of that Advent wreath meant Christmas had finally come. And if I am really honest, after all these years, I still get excited to see the Christ candle burning brightly. This is the best time of the year, is it not? It’s a time to be holly and jolly; it’s a time to deck the halls and share cups of cheer. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!
But did you know not everyone sees it that way? According to the CDC – in any given 2-week period – 8.1% of American adults are suffering depression – diagnosed depression, not just feeling bad. That’s almost 1 in 10 that have gone to the doctor. So, you know that the number of those feeling neither holly nor jolly is most likely, much higher than that. That’s in an average 2-week period. This 2-week period we’re in now, the number spikes. For many people, Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year. Instead it is the most depressing time of the year. Suicide rates actually spike during Christmas?!?
Can you believe that? Well, maybe you are thinking to yourself, ‘yes preacher, I can.’ ‘I’m stressed!’ ‘There was the office Christmas party, the church Christmas party, the neighborhood Christmas party, and I had to make cookies for my kid’s Christmas party at school.’ ‘I just finished my Christmas shopping on my way in to church and to be honest I’m not sure I remembered everyone and the gifts that I did get aren’t as nice as I wanted them to be, but money is a little tight and I didn’t have the time, you see things aren’t going great at work and might be my fault because I am dealing with some family drama and my mom and dad can’t really help because their health is not the best.’ ‘And now there is all this pressure to be holly and jolly, as you would say.’ ‘And I know I should feel that way.’ ‘If the number of twinkle lights is any indication, it looks like all my neighbors are feeling that way.’ ‘And according to social media, all my friends seem to be feeling that way.’ ‘Honestly, I am starting to wonder what is wrong with me that I am not having as merry a Christmas as everyone else is.’ ‘So, yes, preacher, it’s not hard for me to believe that for many people Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year.’ Fair enough.
You know, I had a feeling you might be thinking something like that. So, I did a little research to see why so many people seem more melancholy than merry this time of year. The first thing I did was I consulted my personal physician – Dr. WebMD. I googled, “What prevents people from being holly and jolly during Christmas?” It turns out there are many factors that cause a condition I will refer to as holiday humbugery, but doctor Web says one thing that is common among the humbuggers is a sensitivity to light, or more specifically, the lack of light. Doctor Web does not fully understand why this is the case, he prattled on about bio-rhythms, but supposedly a number of people have found some relief from holiday humbugery simply by spending some time in the light.
I am typically reluctant to question the collective wisdom of Dr. WebMD, but that sounded a little silly to me so I sought out a second opinion. I consulted one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject of Christmas Cheer. I consulted Saint John the Apostle to see if he had anything to say that would cause us to be holly and jolly this Christmas. And guess what, Saint John’s suggested treatment for holiday humbegery is the same as Dr Web’s. Time in the light.
Thankfully, Saint John does not prattle on about bio-rhythms. I found Saint John’s description of what light is, what it does, and how it does it to be a lot more… will you pardon the pun if I say illuminating?
Allow me to enlighten you. (O.K., I think I’m punned out now.) Take a look at John 1:1-2. There John describes light as “the Word”. He writes, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.” John begins by telling us what Light is. And to do that He takes us all the way back to eternity, before there was time or matter. John tells us before there was an is, this Light “was”. The Light that John is talking about existed before anything existed; It existed even before light existed. John tells us this Light that he is talking about is not a substance consisting of photons and particles. The Light John is talking about is God. This Light is an eternal person of the Trinity, John says in the beginning the Light was with God. This Light is an equal person of the Trinity, Johns says in the beginning this light was God.
In verses 3-5 John starts describing what this Light does. He writes, “3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” This Light is the creator of all things. John says, “through Him all things were made”. That means the green alligators and long-necked geese, the humpty backed camels and the chimpanzees, the cats and rats and elephants and everything else including you and I were created by this Light. That’s probably why in Acts 3:15 saint Peter called this Light the “author of life.”
Not only did the Light create all things, but the Light also preserves all things. John says, “in Him was life”. This Light guides the planets in their orbits. Here on this planet It causes the sun to shine, the rain to fall, and the wind to blow. The very breath you take, and the beating of your heart are a result of the Light’s providence. That’s probably why in Acts 17:28 saint Peter said in this Light, “we live and move and have our being.”
In verse 5 John continues describing what the Light does. There he writes, “5 The light shines in the darkness”. Now, that can be an unsettling thought. As our creator and preserver this Light knows us better than we know ourselves and when He shines on us, He exposes some things that we would rather be left in the dark. More often then we care to admit our foul mood leads to foul actions. Because, let’s be honest, we don’t just suffer from a seasonal disposition, we suffer from a sinful condition. A condition that causes us to be downright ugly to each other; snapping at each other and biting each other’s heads off. We are inconsiderate and selfish. The way we treat each other sometimes… we make the Grinch look like a saint. That’s probably why in Isaiah 9:2 the prophet describes us a “the people walking in darkness.”
Now I know so far that hasn’t exactly helped your holiday humbugery, if anything, having your sins brought to light has likely made it worse. But stay with me. It’s important for you to see the darkness of your own heart before you can really appreciate what the Light has done. Jump ahead to verse 12. --Starting at verse 6 John describes a bearer of the light. I will talk about him another time, but tonight I want to show you something amazing that the light does.-- In verses 12-13 John tells us, “12 to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John tells us, the Light changes us. Make sure you don’t misunderstand the phrase “receive him”. John explains immediately what he means by that, He is talking about those who have seen the Light. He says our change is not the result of something we have done or a decision that we have made or even a desire that we had. He says our change is 100% the result of what the Light has done to us. Which is probably why saint Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts.”
Now this is where it gets really exciting. The Light that shines in our hearts causes us to become children of the Light. This is not some dysfunctional family we have been brought into. In this family, there are no sibling rivalries, no unmet expectations, and no disappointments. The Father of this family loves unconditionally, He provides generously, and He protects fiercely. He is always there when we need Him, always eager to hear about the things that trouble us, and always knows exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it. That is the kind of family the Light makes us a part of and if that does not make you the least bit holly or jolly, I don’t know what will.
How does the Light do it? Take a look at verse 14. There John writes, “14 The Word (or the light) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Light was wrapped in human flesh, swaddled in cloth, and laid in a manger. The creator became part of His creation. God became also man. The Light lived among us, as one of us. But He did not live like us. Though He was tempted in every way, just as we are, He didn’t take a single step in the darkness[1]. His was a pure and perfect Light. But because He loved you so much, He allowed your darkness to snuff out His Light. But only for a time. Only long enough to pay for every step you have taken in the darkness. Once your sin had been paid for the Light started shinning once again. So that now and for eternity this Light that we call Jesus shines on you.
So, if at any time this Christmas season you find yourself suffering from holiday humbugery, the first thing I would say to you is, cut yourself some slack; give yourself a break. It’s O.K. if you are not in a constant state of holly jolliness. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself and just relax. And while you are relaxing might I also suggest you spend some time in the Light. You know, the Light that shines at Christmas, shines all year long. It shines here at Messiah every Sunday morning at 10:30am. Now, I might be a bit bias, but I think this is a great place to spend some time in the Light and I would absolutely love to spend that time with you. I am absolutely certain it would do us both some good.
This Christmas, may the Light that shines in the darkness shine also upon you and your family. May that Light grant you and your family a very merry Christmas. Amen
[1] Hebrews 4:15