Christmas is upon us. In full red-and-green-‘erthang glory. People are saying “Merry Christmas”, or “Happy Holidays” if you want to go for the more PC option. But either way people around here are filled with holiday spirit. I am sure we can partially attribute that to the increased number of peppermint mochas we are consuming but I think part of it is in true celebration of “the Spirit of Christmas”.
Now, I don’t meant to get overly stuffy by jumping in with the assertion that the Holy Spirit IS the spirit of Christmas. But stick around and I will show you, using Chicken Run and Hip Hop choreography, the Holy Spirit is the least stuffy thing ever. According to Scripture and Margrecian logic (that’s mine) Christmas, is about focusing on and making MORE of CHRIST – CHRIST (that on is obvious – Jesus) MAS (Spanish for more). I know, my linguistic break down is very sophisticated. I’m basically the next Beth Moore. But on the level, that is the essence of the Spirit of Christmas. We aim to make more of Christ by making more of others around us.
What is the Spirit of Christmas? Most people would say, being nicer to people than normal. Some would say having an attitude of giving and generosity. Some would argue it is simply maintaining a level of tolerance for family members and avoiding volatile topics like politics or Swift vs. Kardashian. A definition I found when I typed it into the google machine was this: “It feels warm and glowy. You can’t buy it, and you can’t get it from anybody else.” Now if any of those sound partially right, I’m with you. But I am going to copy an outline I found of the actual spirit of Christmas – what it is and what it isn’t. I have also highlighted the ones that strike me as ones that are dealt with every holiday season.
|
What it is NOT |
What it IS |
|
Sexual Immorality (yikes) Impurity Sensuality – I mean, just go listen to “Santa Baby” Idolatry – I idolize my time, desires and family Sorcery Enmity Strife Jealousy – over a gift someone received, someone else getting to spend time with family when you didn’t, freedom to enjoy the holidays when you still feel burdened Fits of Anger – Parent to child, sibling to sibling, driver to driver in terrible holiday traffic Rivalries – between siblings? Eh eh? Dissentions Divisions – between family members, I mean, come on. Envy – of the perceived happiness of another person’s relationship, promotion, pregnancy, or retirement. Drunkenness – brought on by excessive eggnog after all the fits of anger, rivalries and dissentions |
Love Joy – Joy to the World the Lord is Come!!! Peace – on earth and good will toward men (but it might be hard to maintain amidst the hustle and bustle) Patience – in the checkout like, with family members, WITH YOURSELF Kindness – not just being sweet, because just like Splenda, you can counterfeit sweetness, but genuine kindness Goodness Faithfulness – keep the RSVPs you’ve made, maintain family traditions even if they’re not your favorite…especially if they mean a lot to your family. Gentleness – saying something in less than scathing verbiage even if what you have to say is true (don’t mistake this for passive…or passive aggressive) Self Control – not spouting off that sassy come back to a not so subtle dig at your relational or religious status, not eating that extra cookie or having that extra glass of wine Death to Self (it is there in verse 24) – not justifying your singleness or lack of having a plan, washing the dishes again while your brother plays with his new game |
I found this list in Galatians 5, by the way, if anyone was wondering. Somehow, though, approaching the holidays still feels a little like the egg count role call from Chicken Run (start at 2:20). How Babs feels while she is standing in line is how I feel inside while people are opening my gifts to them. Literally so much anxiety. There is so much fear to perform around the holidays. That might look different for y’all, for example, having the house tidy and beautifully decorated when people come over, having the perfect gift for everyone in your list (thank you holiday marketing campaigns for making that a pressure), not saying the wrong thing to make someone get on their soap box, or, the most obvious, the fear that Santa will put coal in your stocking because you’ve been bad this year.
Something I love about the verbiage in Galatians, however, it that it says “keep in step with”, NOT in LINE with. The difference is the implication of Fear. In step implies movement, progress, community, unity. It makes me think of the many hip hop choreography videos the I have watched. Watch the video without music (just the first guy). You can still pick out movement, distinct choreography, skill (to a certain degree), emotional performance, etc. But without the music you miss some of the main elements of dance – rhythm, musicality and creativity. Watch it again with the music. The music brings the movement to life. You are able to see the incredible musicality of the choreographer/dancer and the creativity that went into this piece. One of the things I love about the particular video I linked is the subtlety of some of the choreography. I can candidly say that I think it appeals to me because I lack subtlety…big time. But, like this dance, the movement and resulting actions of the Holy Spirit are often subtle. They might be missed if people are not looking for them. Are you okay with that? Are you okay with knowing that your generous moment, your patient moment, your die to self moment might go unnoticed this holiday season? If no one is going to notice them are they even worth doing? I struggle with that. But know that obedience breeds obedience. And people WILL notice.
So as we draw close to December 25th, let us remember WHO the Spirit of Christmas is. Let the Holy Spirit re-choreograph our typical holiday dance. Are you just going to go through the motions or are you going to allow yourself to be infused with the redemptive rhythm?
