A few years ago I sat down across from a saintly grandmother who had lost her husband of 42 years earlier that same year. Her name was Norma and she had one question for me: “Why did I set the extra plate for Christmas dinner?” Norma was hosting an annual Christmas dinner gathering of her family and laid out plates as she had done for the previous ten years. Without thinking, she set a plate out for her husband and was humiliated when all her children and grandchildren sat down to eat. The empty seat was like an elephant in the room - no one said anything about it.
Norma felt like she had lost her husband a second time. The next day she was in my office, weeping. She had thought that the grief of losing her husband was over, yet she was angry, embarrassed, but mostly exhausted that her grief was still lingering in her heart. In her mind, Christmas was ruined! This was supposed to be a season of joy, singing carols, and exchanging presents, but it had become a dreaded day of grief.
As we discussed her sorrow, I asked her to reconsider her grief in light of Christmas. The Lord God knows our sorrow. We’re told that He is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” in Isaiah 53.3. Christ came to identify with those sorrows and destroy Death forever. His promise is to wipe away every tear from our eyes, one Day. And He will. Norma’s husband is a living testimony to Christ’s saving work: all those who believe in Him will never die.
No longer does the domain of darkness reign because the Lord God has come! Jesus came into the world so that we would grieve with hope. Dr. Paul David Tripp refers to Christmas as the “mourner’s holiday” - the day God took action to destroy death forever, a cosmic D-Day.
Yet, the Advent season can be the most stressful time of the year. I can easily become distracted by good things during the Advent season. Exchanging gifts, decorations, parties, and special time off from our work can all be very good things. However, they do not define Christmas. We may need to hold fast to, and preach, the Gospel even more during the Advent season because of our temptation to forget the whole point. We were strangers, alienated from God. He loved and pursued us when we had wandered away and rejected Him. He made us friends, children, and ultimately co-heirs with Him.
The first Christmas was celebrated more powerfully in heaven than on earth. Only shepherds received a glimpse of the heavenly host, giving glory to God for His steadfast faithfulness. The Lord God made His glorious entrance and very few on earth noticed, even as heaven burst out into singing. For those in the inn, it was just another crowded day of census-taking. The Great Restoration of the world had started and it had come like a mustard seed, small and seemingly inconsequential. Today, Christ’s entrance into the world is celebrated by numbers that rival the stars in the sky. But still many don’t know the story. Many need to hear the story.
This Advent Season, as we anticipate Christmas, let’s continue to preach the Gospel and share the story with our children, family, friends, and neighbors. Let us not participate in the holiday season by the measure of our expectations but rather by the measure of our Savior. His active Mission is to restore His world. Your life is a testimony of that work. Praise the Lord!
May the Lord richly bless you this Advent Season as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas together on Sunday morning!
