The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
This meditation was shared at St.Clair Avenue Baptist Church on December 19, 2021.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! You’ve probably heard that phrase several times in the past few weeks. It plays through the speakers of nearly every store. It’s written elegantly on greeting cards and flashed across TV screens in countless commercials. Every holiday movie and TV special insists that Christmas is a time of happiness and celebration. All the decorations, lights, family gatherings and parties affirm the idea that this time of year is the best time of year.
That was until 2020…a year that simply refused to be wonderful. According to a survey conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies, 50 per cent of Canadian respondents agreed that 2020 was the worst year they had ever lived. After months of lockdowns, quarantines, shut downs, lay offs, losses and an unending series of bad news…many of us greeted the holidays with exhaustion. The twinkling lights and decorations didn’t outshine the pain of a year marked by uncertainty, fear and confusion. Instead of the usual nod of agreement, the phrase, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” elicited scoffs, eye rolls and groans.
Unfortunately, this Christmas is starting to resemble the last one. Instead of the usual conversations about who is hosting Christmas dinner or what gifts we’ve picked out for our loved ones, we’re waiting for news about what restrictions will be placed on our gatherings and trying to figure out which booster we should get. The uncertainty, fear and confusion that we thought would be left behind in 2020 seems to be coming back with a vengeance. With so much bad news around us, how could we possibly call this season wonderful?
Centuries ago, the same question was asked by a people who had gone from one bad year to another. They weren’t facing a global pandemic, but the political, economic and social circumstances that informed their lives were brutal. Under the rule of an oppressive Roman government, the Jewish people were overly taxed, intimidated by a ruthless dictator and constantly facing the threat of abuse, both physical and emotional. We can look at the stories of some of the people that lived during that time for further proof that life was extremely difficult. There was Mary, a pregnant teenager from a small rural town who had no logical explanation for how she got pregnant. She was engaged to Joseph, a by the book-Jewish man who also has no logical explanation for why his soon to be wife was pregnant with a child he had no part in making. This scandalous couple was then forced to make the arduous journey to Joseph’s hometown for a census. Their suffering intensified when the ruthless dictator ordered for the killing of all male children in Bethlehem.
Try to put yourself into this story. Hear the sound of mothers weeping and lamenting the horrific murder of their children. Imagine the stress and anxiety of navigating an abrupt transition into parenthood without any preparation. Think about the families struggling to survive in poverty, the refugees fleeing for safety to foreign lands and the countless men and women desperately asking God to save them from their suffering. That is the backdrop of the first Christmas. It was in that time of uncertainty, fear and confusion when the angels said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:10-12,14).
The good news was not that a government was overthrown or that a policy was changed. The social, political and economic factors that made life difficult did not come to an end. The good news was that God joined his people in their suffering, not only to be a witness to their plight but to experience it alongside them. Jesus was the scandalous child born to an engaged teenager from a small rural town. Jesus was the child a vengeful king set out to kill. Jesus was the refugee that fled to Egypt for safety. The baby the angels proclaimed would eventually become a man of sorrows who was despised, rejected, held in low esteem and well acquainted with grief. He did it all so that we would not be alone. So that we would be comforted in our suffering.
But peeking through the broken cracks, there are rays of hope and joy. Mary sang a song of praise because God had plucked her out of obscurity and given her the gift of mothering the saviour of her people. Shepherds, who were looked down on and marginalized for their profession, glorified God because they were the first to see and hear the Christ. Simeon spoke words of blessing as he finally received the comfort and consolation he had pleaded for. Anna thanked God for the redemption she had long-awaited. He came not just to suffer, but to overcome. To give us hope that even the darkest days and worst years will not have the final say. Isn’t that wonderful?
If you are grieving, tired, fearful, depressed or overwhelmed, know that this season was appointed by God specifically for you. Christmas carries good news that will comfort, embrace and reassure you. I pray that we would all receive that news, whether it be with tears, laughter or a mixture of both.
