Is the seasonal story of the Christ a bite of energy that we can consume with a quick gulp? Or is it an exquisite gourmet experience with all the complexities and intrigue of a carefully-crafted holiday feast?
If this season is like a dinner, what features of Christmas festivities best illustrate the Creator’s idea of the meaning of Christmas? What mindset helps us get closer to God’s story of Christmas?
In the photo, that’s me, a 5-year-old looking forward to Christmas dinner with some questions: What’s it going to be? When are we eating? Will I like it? Do I have to eat green stuff? When can I have pie? Not a lot of appreciation for what has gone into the preparation of such a feast.
In contrast, my mom, who managed the whole thing, looks forward to Christmas dinner with a very different mindset: Will the whole family be here? What combination of foods will I serve? What will the table look like? Will there be plenty for everyone?
The story and the events that comprise this complex “Christmas Dinner” include concepts like “gospel” and “incarnation.” These are ideas and terms that deserve careful, deliberate savoring, and will be increasingly appreciated by coming back to the feast over and over. Experiencing the flavours emphasized by different “chefs” will help to expand our mindset.
If the story thread of the Bible is to be believed, this is a story and an event to shake up the entire cosmos.
The story thread of the Bible requires us to allow for events that are outside of the natural material world. We have to ask ourselves: is it possible that there is another realm, or several realms of reality outside of what I see and experience with my body and senses?
In the most simple terms, the Gospel is the information, the story of Jesus the Christ: that Jesus has always existed as a person with God the Father; the Incarnation: that Jesus was born of a virgin and lived on this earth as a human expression of God himself; that he was crucified and died and was buried; that he came to life and is again at the side of the Father to rule and reign and reconcile the entire cosmos to God.
Now you can try to just gulp that down in one quick bite, or you can believe that it’s not a bite: it is a lot of long, slow meals just to get your mind and your emotions to grow into your faith and experience. That’s why we have annual festivals like Christmas, so that we come to dinner over and over.
As I would have said about one of my mom’s dinners, “If you come and eat, you’ll love the food and you’ll love my mom.”
In the same way, the more you know about Jesus the Christ the more you will respond to him in love. The more you love him the more you will be transformed by him. The more you are transformed the more you will flourish in this life and the next.
It’s a journey. I’m not trying to brainwash you; I’m encouraging you to believe that outside all of this that we see and try to understand is the one, true Creator God who exists in three persons: The Father, The Son Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. I’m hoping to persuade you that there is a story and a plan to restore this entire universe to God. You’ll want to be on the “right side of history” in relation to the story from God’s perspective.
If you’d like to watch and listen to more details of my recent synopsis of the content and purpose of the lavish “dinner” that is the Christmas story, you can find it here: