“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

For many people the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, for others it is when Advent officially starts, and still for others it could be when we actually get around to decorating our living spaces. For me though, it is when I see the first snow. Well, that happened today, the time I am writing this (12/9/20.) I was coming back from the church when I noticed small little pieces of snow, nothing major, just breezing along as I was driving. For me, cold snowy weather means Christmas time. I also had my Spotify Christmas playlist on and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams was playing. Now, I have stated before that I generally am not a fan of the Christmas music that doesn’t mention Jesus. I don’t hate it by any means, but it just lacks the sort of “umph” that Christian Christmas music does. Now I don’t have much of a problem with “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” but I do think it misses the wonder that we as Christians can bring to this season, and the wonder that should fill our lives.

When we think wonderful, we automatically think “good,” and that isn’t a bad thing to think. In fact, most times when we use the word wonderful, we mean “good” but just with more emphasis. But if you actually take the word and break it down it actually is so much more than just “really really good.” To be full of wonder is what it literally means. But wonder doesn’t mean good. Wonder is the feeling that you get, when you encounter something that is mysterious and exciting. We think that is has to be something that makes us feel happy. In fact that is what the song places a lot of emphasis on, but it doesn’t have to mean happy. For many of us Christmas is an extremely happy time of year. For others of us, the Christmas season is not happy at all. Holidays bring up a mixed bag of emotions all of the time, but wonder is something that Christmas can promise both to those of us who are happy and to those of us who are not.

Many a telling of the Christmas story begins with the angel coming to Mary, “The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:28-33) Here we see Mary’s first two reactions to the news the angel brings. She is troubles and wonders. One could say, that she isn’t very happy at this moment, that would come later. What I want to draw from these verses is that the truly wonderful and mysterious thing about Christmas is that God became flesh for us. From our perspective there was no reason for God to do this. He could accomplish his plan in any way he wanted to, but instead he chose this way. The way that would guarantee his full humiliation for us. The wonderful tidings that Christmas brings with it should cause us to wonder at this, more than anything else.

It is wonderful to see people caroling, and eating good food, and generally trying to be nicer to one another. But the truly wonderful thing happening at Christmas is what God has accomplished for us in the past by taking on flesh to die for our sins. Sure, it isn’t as fun, or happy as Hallmark movie, but it means so much more. Most importantly, it is for all of us during this season. Whether Christmas is a happy timeor a sad time, it should still be a time when can all look at the nativity and be full of wonder.

In Christ,

Pastor George Erlandson