Saving Christmas

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

Back in the winter of 1975 or so, I recall a terrible snowstorm hitting all of Minnesota smack dab at Christmas time. With lots of snow, wind and terribly icy road conditions, the storm threatened to ruin our Hanson family Christmas. At that point in my life, Christmas still meant: 1) all my siblings got home, 2) we had creamed rice, Swedish fruit soup, Christmas cookies and opened presents on Christmas Eve and then 3) we drove over to Appleton on Christmas Day for fun at my cousins’ farm. Christmas was family, food, presents and fun! And the awful storm threatened all of it that year.

But my father completely saved the day. My father wasn’t about to let some sissy storm wreck everything. He bundled himself up in his old yellow Chevy pickup, tossed in some extra blankets, a small space heater and a scoop shovel, and drove all the way to Minneapolis (120 miles!) to pick up both my sisters and a wimpy boyfriend too scared to drive in a little winter. I don’t recall how long the drive took, but it was long, slippery and nerve-wracking according to my sisters. And when he finally got them all home, he then went over and picked up my grandmother Gilma. Everybody home and everybody safe! It was a wonderful adventure, but things got even more exciting on Christmas Day. Turns out it got so cold and icy, the only vehicle that would start was my father’s truck. If anything, the weather was even worse. I recall serious Christmas morning deliberation in the house about the wisdom of attempting the last 30 miles to Appleton for the annual celebrations. But eventually, Mom and Grandma climbed into the front of the truck with Dad and all six of the rest of us piled into the back with parkas, sleeping bags, blankets and a space heater. And off we went! It was wonderful. It was the best.

I don’t remember anything about that Christmas, not even the precise year in which these events occurred. I don’t remember the food we ate, the presents we got or what I did with my cousins that year, but I will never forget my father saving the day...

My father came through for us when our Christmas came under attack.

But then again, Christmas is always under attack, isn’t it? Storms of political correctness seem to work harder every year to steal this day from us. It is almost cliché for people like me to rail against the storms of political correctness attacking our celebration of Christmas each year. And yet it is a grim reality we encounter. It is a threatening storm.

But I don’t think that’s the worst storm threatening Christmas. Christmas is also threatened by our increasingly materialistic Christmas traditions. People trampling each other at WalMart to get the latest electronic gadget for Christmas has also become a sad, stormy cliché Christmas concern of ours. But that isn’t the worst storm either. We can weather that – bad economies have a wonderful way of clarifying what truly matters.

No, I believe the worst Christmas storm we always face is our own Jesus apathy. I’m not nearly as worried about the storms of political correctness and Christmas materialism as I am about my own apathy. Because I’m familiar with the old story, because I’m an old Christian now, and because Christmas is just another day after all, I forget what a very big deal it was for Jesus to give up everything, come to earth as a humble baby born to poor parents and bring salvation to us all. I forget why it matters so much that we set aside a few days to celebrate his coming. I forget how Jesus saved us all at Christmas!

So every year at this time I make a decision to save Christmas. I encourage us all to take some time this month and resolve to blast through whatever storms and snowdrifts you must in order to properly celebrate this epic moment in our history. And don’t just save Christmas for yourself; ask God to help you save it for your whole family. Where’s the fun in a Christmas party without the friends and family, right?

Thank you Jesus for saving Christmas! Thank you so much giving us Christmas!

Amen.