Monthly Devotion
December 2024
​​
​​Jesus is the Reason for the Season
​
Clichés can sometimes lose their impact and meaning. Mainly because, as the
dictionaries tell us, clichés betray a lack of original thought stemming from overuse.
For example: “Actions speak louder than words”; “The grass is always greener on
the other side of the fence”; “You can’t judge a book by its cover”—and on and on.
Clichés roll off the tongue so fast that we don’t have, or take, the time to think
creatively and put a different spin on the subject.
The reason some sayings get frequently used is because there is an element of
truth in them. Look at the three clichés just cited, and you’ll see what I mean. There is a kernel of truth in most time-tested clichés.
Now there is a two-thousand-year-old saying that is as true now as it was the first
time it was uttered. Does it betray a lack of creativity? Perhaps, but I can’t think of a better way to say what it says. Does it get overused? Maybe some people think so, but it only gets repeated during this time of the year. And is it true? It absolutely is, which is why it has stood the test of time and will stand the test of time until the
end of the age. The cliché I’m talking about: Jesus is the reason for the season. I can’t think of a better way to summarize what is most important about the season we are entering. It’s short, it’s memorable, and it’s true—just what we need to stay focused.
Christmas has become one of the most complicated seasons of the year. It plays a
huge part in the economic success of many businesses. Indeed, the entire economy
anticipates the jolt and boost provided by Christmas shopping and other seasonal
activity. Some businesses see 50-60% or more of their entire annual revenue come
from the 7 weeks leading up to Christmas. This is why you see Christmas décor out
in stores in September and October mixed in with the Halloween decorations. I
have issues with this pagan holiday being put out with Christmas nativity scenes but
that’s a discussion for another time. People are now putting up Halloween trees
and lights and then just changing the ornaments and light colors for Christmas.
Then Thanksgiving gets thrown in the mix somewhere along the way. This overlap
of holiday celebrations has an impact on our culture. As Christians, it can affect our
representation of Jesus if we allow ourselves to get caught up in the secular
celebrations and rapid transitions of these holidays. So much so that Jesus has, in
large part, been removed from much of the season. In our post-Christian culture
overall, Jesus is no longer the reason for Christmas. Instead, the reasons have
become family, food, fun, and festivity. There’s nothing wrong with those, of course.
But those aren’t the reasons for the season.
There is only one primary reason for the season. As Christians, we have to fight
against the temptation to lose sight of Christ during Christmas. We have to make
sure, at least in our personal and family life, that He remains the reason for the
season. Lets break down some key components of the saying Jesus is the reason for
the season;
1. Jesus. Simply put, without the birth of Jesus there would be no Christmas
celebration. Granted, no one knows the exact date of Jesus’ birth, but
December 25 was settled on as the celebration day in the Roman church by
the fourth century A.D. The ambiguity of the date raises an important point:
Christmas Day is not the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason for the
season. Christmas is not about celebrating a particular day on the calendar; it
is about celebrating the Incarnation—the fact that “the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). For three years in the first century, people
in Israel “beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We cannot behold His glory in person today,
but we can celebrate His glory at Christmas when we celebrate His birth.
Remove Jesus Christ from Christmas and you have nothing but a secular
celebration.
2. The reason. I don’t know who wrote the Wikipedia article on “Christmas,” but
he or she captured the reason for the season pretty accurately: “For
Christians, believing that God came into the world in the form of man to
atone for the sins of humanity, rather than knowing Jesus’ exact birth date, is
considered to be the primary purpose [reason] in celebrating
Christmas.” That reason for Christmas has been lost at various times in
Church history. In seventeenth-century Puritan England, Christmas was
basically banned for nearly twenty years because it became an excuse for
drunkenness and rowdy behavior. That’s not the reason for celebrating
Christmas! When we think of Christmas, our reasons are Jesus’ incarnation,
Jesus’ death for our sins, Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus reconciling us to the
Father, and Jesus’ promise of eternal life—not to mention His coming again!
3. The season. A season is a time characterized by certain traits or
conditions—think winter, spring, summer, or fall. So what is the Christmas
season? Let’s arbitrarily call it December plus the first half of January: pre-
celebration, celebration, and post-celebration. Too often we focus on
schedules, breaks from work or school, social engagements, and gift-giving.
Again, there is nothing wrong with those. But that’s not what should
characterize the Christmas season. More than any other time of the year, the
Christmas season is a time for renewal, reminders, and reflections on what
Jesus did—leaving the glories of heaven, being born in a stable, and living a
perfect life on our behalf. It is a time for rejoicing in the Church, for acts of
generosity and service, and for sharing with others the true reason for
Christmas.
For the Biblical Christmas story of Jesus birth read Luke 2