This will be the first time that I go through this season of the year with my new congregation, and I have some apprehension. I know there are some things to learn and experience. Most congregations have ‘sacred traditions’ which are the unspoken—but highly meaningful—ways that a community remembers and celebrates its past. The way that most pastors find out about these traditions are to break them. Usually it’s because a pastor breaks them unintentionally. Then we hear. But woe to the new pastor who tries intentionally to break a holiday tradition!
I’ve already heard from many congregation members about what traditions they care about. And here’s an interesting observation: not all of them are the same! Some people are very interested in the community Thanksgiving service held in area churches on Thanksgiving Day, and some couldn’t care less. Some of them really care about the Christmas pageant and have a vested interest in seeing it remain on a Sunday. Some people very much care that the same decorations go in the same spots. Some want that candle lighting Christmas Eve to be dignified and quiet. Some care about hearing the same hymns or music, and some want to hear new things.
The holidays are emotionally charged times. Families have to negotiate how they will manage the social scene. Who will be visiting whom? Where will we have a dinner? A lunch? Who will host the Thanksgiving dinner? Who will buy the tree? The repeating and evolving rituals give us both comfort and stress. Many times, particularly after a loss, the holiday season is not a joyful time of year, because it serves to remind us of our loss.
So what to do? What would God have us do? How are our celebrations witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ? If we are truly open to the radical, transforming life that God has in store for us, what to do about the holidays?
One thought comes to mind—Grace. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) The Apostle Paul is reporting the answer that came to him after struggling with the thorny problem of “doing” rather than “being.” The Good News about God’s grace is that we have been set free from the hell of trying to live up to our own standards. The Good News about Jesus is that humans can be set free from the idol worship of petty priorities if we let God be the God who wants more than anything for us to belong to God’s very self. Everything else is idol worship. As long as we cling to the priorities of our own constructing, we will miss out on the true purpose of God’s incarnation into human life.
So bring on the Holidays! Let’s revel in God’s extravagant Love, and not feel compelled to DO anything. What would that look like? …just a thought.
