Our oldest daughter calls Christmas, ‘the season of jolliness’.
What if this Christmas is strangely different? An illness stealing carols of the heart. A skinny-wallet emptied right before the season of giving. A terrible loss magnified by family gatherings. And loneliness in a time of togetherness …
What if pain takes away the ‘jolliness’ this Christmas …
One afternoon a four-wheeler was meandering through the countryside. Suddenly, the driver hit the breaks at the sight of an army of ants ‘blocking’ the middle of the road. The man came out, shadowed over the long parade and said “You have to move, or someone will wheel right over you.” Of course, that didn’t disturb the ants’ motorcade. The kind-hearted man then sorrowfully whispered “Oh, how I wish I were an ant to warn you of the danger you’re facing.”
Our youngest daughter shared a somewhat similar experience at grandma’s house “Mommy, you know how I fed grandma’s skinny cat? I told all the other kitties to shoo, and then I came down to its size to protect it.”
Emmanuel did that for us. He came to be one of us. He came down to our size, as my daughter interestingly put it. God With Us came to save, but also He came to sympathize with our weaknesses.
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2: 5-7
Jesus carried a common Hebrew name, Yeshua/ Joshua [God Saves]. And he endured common struggles… and even beyond what is common to men:
“Jesus wept” with the grieving, as He lost a friend. (John 11:35)
Jesus had “anguish” as He carried the weight of the world’s sin, sweating drops of blood. (Luke 22:44)
Jesus “hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” as the Jews got ready to stone him. (John 8:59)
Jesus was deserted by his closest friends, at the darkest time. (Mark 14:50)
Jesus was chastised, and endured lacerations on behalf of sinners. (Isaiah 53).
And how much more did he bear…
Reading these passages alone, I confidently can state: Yeshua, can sympathize with me. But, I cannot sympathize with Him.
If this season is anything but a ‘season of jolliness’, allow Christ to be your gladness. We serve a compassionate God who gets your pain. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15-16
Give your pain room to heal, and include other believers to carry your burdens. Let your tribe be there for you. “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.” Ecclesiastes 4:9
Focus on others, force yourself if you have to. “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If you can’t have a song in your heart, have it at least in your ear buds. Allow worshipful music to comfort you. “I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.” Psalm 49:4
When we come before our Father silenced by pain, and the unanswered questions of our struggles, let “the Spirit himself intercede for us through wordless groans … ” Romans 8:26
And if ‘lack of jolliness’ doesn’t define you this Christmas, show Jesus your gratitude by coming down to someone else’s size. Make yourself available to serve and to sympathize. We cannot save. Only the Holy Spirit can. We only get to Serve, Sympathize, and Say a prayer. “Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.” 1 Peter 3:8