It’s good to see a happy story from our neighborhood make it into the local papers. This story is about a family who live in the road where our church meets and they have opted to decorate for Christmas with a giant inflatable Santa Claus
It certainly brightened up our morning when we first saw it on the way to church. I love the big, bold extravagant statement it offers. Christmas is here (I was about to say “with a bang” but on second thoughts, hopefully not).
I have been struck increasingly over the years by how there can be a grudging, curmudgeonly attitude at times to how us Evangelicals communicate at Christmas. Partly it’s driven by CS Lewis” piece on Xmas and Christmas, not one of his better works. We put out the message that we will at best tolerate the idea of gifts, lights, trees, tinsel and feasting but we aren’t really happy with those things
We even snipe at our own carols as too sentimental. This despite the fact that they often give the most overt of Gospel messages and the deepest theology.
So, giant Santa is a corrective to that grumpiness. There should be something big, loud and joyous about celebrating good news. Now many/most may not know what the good news is that they are celebrating but that’s the opportunity for us.
The homes on Giant Santa street will all have received one of our “Home for Christmas” invites. I’m praying that they will discover that someone and something at the heart of Christmas, bigger, better and more joyous than Giant Santa
Faithroots 