Thoughts on the (mis-)celebration of Christmas


Imagine for a moment that you are driving along a busy highway. Without warning, a vehicle a short distance in front of you spins out of control. Despite your best efforts, you and a number of other vehicles around you are involved in the resulting crash. Due to where you were in relation to the other vehicles, you survive the accident completely unhurt and with only minor damage to your vehicle. However as you overcome your shock and look around, you notice that one of the vehicles involved in the accident was a motorcycle. The motorcycle appears to have been caught between two large cars that were also involved in the crash. The motorcycle rider lies bleeding and unconscious several metres from the seriously damaged motorcycle. As well, you notice that the driver of the vehicle that originally spun out of control is slumped over his steering wheel, seemingly unconscious. You see that several other drivers appear to have been injured also. As you climb out of your car to see what you can do to help, a close friend who is a paramedic runs up. Your friend had fortunately been driving by when the accident occurred. Surprised to see you, your friend runs over to see if you are injured. You quickly reassure him that, besides being a bit shaken up, you are fine. Your friend tells you that since you are obviously under considerable stress, he would like you to sit down so that he can give you a back massage. As you get over your initial shock at such a suggestion, you hurriedly point out the badly injured motorcyclist, the unconscious driver and the other injured people at the accident scene. However, your friend tells you that although the other people at the scene obviously need his help, he is primarily concerned with helping you since you are his close friend and he doesn't even know these other people.

Although this situation seems absurd and it is hard to imagine something like this ever happening, this is essentially how most people in Western nations celebrate Christmas. Despite the fact that countless people around the world are in desperate need of help, most people choose to give lavish and usually unnecessary gifts to their close friends and family instead of helping those who really need gifts.

Jesus gave himself as a gift we can not repay to meet our greatest need. It is sadly ironic that so many celebrate his birth by giving unneeded gifts to those who can easily repay the kindness.

He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you host a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." --Jesus (Luke 14:12-14, NET)

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