Missing the Point?

Yesterday, I went with about 40-50 people from my church to a huge Christmas program at an area church. Apparently, it takes over 600 people to put on this production, which runs almost three hours for multiple performances throughout the Advent season. Now, before I get into my main thesis, I do want to clearly state that the program was beautiful, incredibly well-done, and had a great message. Plus, they had live camels…I mean, what kind of person doesn’t like to see the occasional camel? In fact, one of my youth group girls—upon seeing the camel—declared, “Camels are my new favorite animal”. We were, of course, far enough away to not be able to smell the aforementioned camels. I didn’t want to burst her bubble by telling her that camels are the foulest smelling creatures on earth!

In all honesty, I went into the afternoon, preparing myself, saying, “Don’t get sucked into all the glitz and glamour…whatever you do, don’t cry!” Well, that lasted about 10 minutes. I cried when Mary rode in on a donkey (a real donkey). I cried when the angels appeared to the shepherds (in fact, the angel part was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen…and I’ve seen a lot of cool things). I cried when Joseph held the baby Jesus high into the air for all to worship (reminiscent of The Lion King, where Mufasa lifts up baby Simba and all the animals bow down in reverence). I cried when the wise men entered in all their regalia…and then again, when they bowed down before that little baby. I cried when Jesus was on the cross, and below—on a separate part of the stage--Mary sat holding the baby Jesus (to show what that precious baby was born to do). Admittedly, I am a big sap, especially when it comes to Jesus.

All of that said, I have been reflecting on what a big production we make out of Christmas. I mean, seriously, you cannot go to the store (ANY store) this time of year without wanting to vomit up tinsel. I could ramble on an on about the commercialization of the holiday season…but we’ve all heard that before. What concerns me more, in a way, is how the church handles Christmas. I mean, seriously, if there is any story (true story, of course) that is perfect just as it is, it is the Christmas story. Why do we need smoke machines and huge orchestras and living Christmas trees to get the message out? Why do we feel the need to add all this hoopla to an already perfected message? Have we missed the point of what it is all about?

It seems that, over and again, when God chooses to reveal Himself, He does it in ways that confound us. We expect a great warrior, a king who enters with pomp and circumstance, a mighty one who will right all of our wrongs. Instead, God comes as a little, helpless baby…with no fanfare, no famous people, no credentials. When we’d expect God to overthrow oppressive governments, punish all our enemies, and be adored by the masses, He chooses to die a criminal’s death on the cross and offer forgiveness to the world (even the bad people…even the people we want Him to punish). God’s ways seem strange to our finite minds. Every time God shows up, He surprises us. It is always different than we expect.

While I have never personally been to the Holy Lands (though it is one of the things on my “Top Ten Things to do Before I Die” list), I have heard that all the “holy sites” have cathedrals built on top of them. So, the place Jesus was allegedly born is now gold-covered, incense-filled, and priest-guarded; the same is true of where Jesus died…and multitudes of other meaningful sites. It is not enough for us that God actually placed His feet in these places, we need to cover them in gold. I would much rather see it as it was, they way God choose for it to be, filled with simple, yet profound meaning. There is a message in the simplicity. I fear for us, as a church, because we don’t really want Jesus as He is. We want a 14K gold Jesus who is attractive to the world and draws in the masses. In reality, I am not sure there is such a Jesus. I’m of the mindset that if we just share the Story, people will be drawn to Jesus. Maybe people are so put-off by Christianity because we feel the need to add all of our “extras” on top.

For me, there is nothing that sums up the beauty and the simplicity of the Christmas story more than the “Peanuts Christmas Special”. While I love the Grinch, Frosty, Rudolph, and all the Misfit Toys, nothing compares to Linus, with his blanket, telling us the beautiful story of God’s love…without pretense or flair. I offer that scene to you as a Christmas gift. May the simplicity and unexpectedness of God overwhelm you!