Christmas is almost here, and many children are sharing in the holiday rituals of class parties, baking cookies, and sending letters off to Santa Claus. While we expect our children and teenagers to look forward to the exciting gifts that fill this season, what if we adults came to remember and appreciate the anticipation of Christmas?
If you could have whatever you wanted this Christmas, what would you ask for?
Peace on earth. While it has almost become a cliché, one of the hopes that has marked the Christmas season for generations is the longing for peace. Whether wars and conflicts around the world or the strains and stresses of the relationships in our own homes, we recognize that not all is as it should be in this life. Near and far, people of good will long for peace- peace that comes when we lay down not only the weapons of violence but the fear, anger, pride, and greed that drive conflicts great and small.
In this longing, we reflect the same hopes of our spiritual ancestors. The coming Messiah was foreseen as the Prince of Peace, and Jesus’ arrival was as heralded as the coming of the Christ, the Savior, and the Lord, yet the ministry of Jesus was met with resistance, ridicule, and violence. As followers of Jesus, we commit to constantly seeking the path of peace even in a world that often confuses brute strength with true power.
Presence of those we miss. In a time so often centered on community and kin, many long to be united with loved ones once again. We each have those we care for whose absence is especially hard during this season of togetherness. There are different reasons for our divisions- physical distance keeps many of us apart while discord keeps some from being able to simply drive across town and say, “Hello.” Depression often isolates, disease can drain us, and divorce can lead to withdrawal and bitterness.
Ultimately, death deprives us of each other’s physical presence, and as the years pass, we come to recognize this more and more. We each reach a certain point where more people we love are absent than present. How we long for reunion when all things are made whole and painful absence is replaced with constant presence! We take comfort that such sorrow is known to God, and that He too longs for His children to be reconciled and present with Him.
Possibilities of better things to come. Not all of our longings are based in what we lack. The arrival of Christmas also marks the passing of one season and the coming of a new year. As believers, we are not to be only mourners of what is lost, but to live as celebrants of the new life to come. We believe that the best is yet to come, and that God is even now working things together for the good of His people and the glory of His name. We lean toward the fullness of this better, living way that is already present but not yet fully realized in us. We desire that the kingdom of light Christ entered our world to bring and sacrificed His life to birth be brought more and more fully into our world and our own lives in the coming year.
As a fellow grown-up, I urge us not to leave Christmas longings to the kids and grandkids. May we claim a share of this season’s spirit of anticipation for ourselves, and allow our thoughts, words, and actions to be shaped by the reality of Christ’s presence among us.
will norrid writes 