A friend posted on facebook a comment to the effect that Christmas decorations are not meant to be understated, they are meant to be over the top, exuberant as though someone has “vomited up joy.” Well, I’m not sure if he went a little bit too far with that image but I think you get the point.
More tastefully, my friend Steve Kneale has recently re-shared this article on his blog where he talks about how Christians can slip into a Gnostic view of Christmas.
The point in both cases is very simple and one I share. Christmas is meant to be joyful We as Christians have more, not less to celebrate. Christmas should be a time for feasting, for giving presents, for music and laughter exactly because it has its real meaning at its heart.
This is one reason why I’ve never been one for those smug readings of CS Lewis’ essay about Xmas in Niatirb. I love much of Lewis but I think he misses the mark on this one and betrays just a little cultural snobbery. For the same reason, over the years I would wince at Christmas carol service homilies that seemed to attack people for enjoying themselves. The risk with them was that they seemed to suggest that the “real meaning” was less than, not more than what people already had.
Don’t serve thin gruel to people this Christmas. Serve them a feast of joy, a feast that is richer, fuller and more satisfying because it is not just a physical feast, though there is nothing wrong with that but because it is a spiritual feast.
Faithroots 