What Would Christmas Be Like If... ?

The other day, I was thinking about how to enjoy Christmas without presents. I know that saying this is almost trite these days. I guess lots of us have a love-hate relationship with the consumerism of Christmas. Many of us bemoan the over-commercialization of the holiday as we drink our lattes while walking from store to store looking for the best sales. But for some reason this year, I want to learn how to make the holiday about something other than gifts. But I have to confess that I am stumped by what to do.

Thanksgiving is centered on food and family, which seems to work great. But if Christmas is really all about the gift of God’s Son, how do we focus on this in non-consumerish ways? As I thought about it, something occurred to me. It is easier to share Thanksgiving with people outside of our nuclear families than it is to share Christmas.

Christmas morning for many of us tends to have a very narrow and intimate focus. We don’t invite friends or strangers to share it with us because somehow the intimacy of what we have come to know as Christmas would be lost. Plus, we would have to be prepared with gifts for these people and them for us. So the climate of Christmas has become strangely private. Because of this, it is difficult to imagine how to experience it without the exchange of gifts.

Maybe holding to Christmas without the consumer focus would require that we gather together as the church. After all, we are celebrating that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  We don't have eternal life individually but in the context of the community of faith. So what would it look like if, on Christmas morning, we all gathered at church and sang Christmas carols and people shared how God was at work in their lives? We could pray for and cry with those who are hurting so they wouldn’t be alone, and we could celebrate with others who are experiencing blessings and joy. After singing and praying and praising God for His love, we could all enjoy some food. Then we could all go home and relax as families.

Why do I think this wouldn’t work at all--and that I should just head over to the mall to do some shopping?