Christmas 6: Simply Take Time

Jesus and Christmas part 6 -

Simply take time…

Guest post by Christiaan Hofstra, husband, father and pastor in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This is a busy time of the year in the Netherlands where we currently work and live. In November we’ve had St. Maarten’s day when children go door to door singing songs in exchange for sweets. December started with St. Nicolas day when children receive presents. The day itself comes after 3 weeks of build-up in the media, shops and schools. And Christmas itself is still to come!

On top of that we have the usual school requirements such as school report cards followed by a parent teacher conference. At work the Christmas lunches/diners have already started or at least the coordination of the several you’re to attend. As I work in a church we’re talking one for our young adults, one for our senior citizens and so on. Family commitments still have to be squeezed into that diary too with several birthdays to negotiate. Not to mention names that need to be drawn from a hat and a wish list put together

Rushed

People look rushed. I feel rushed. Heads are down. Shoppers at the local supermarket mumble to themselves while trying to cross off the next item on their list they’ve finally discovered in the not so obvious aisle. There is certainly not much of a sense of a Christmas spirit as you try to avoid being run into by a shopping trolley.  And I’m sure the Netherlands is no different from the UK.

More=Less

As a Church we’ve chosen to take time this year to try to discover what the Bible says about all our running back and forth. The rush, the pressure, the expectation, the busyness isn’t confined anymore to the festive season. It not only squeezes out the true meaning of Christmas but for a lot of us God himself in our daily lives. Sitting down to pray and read the Bible on a daily basis is something more and more Christians struggle with in an ever more demanding society.

Martha and Mary

With the theme of More=Less, we looked for example at Luke 10: 41-42. “Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion.”  It is the story of Jesus spending time with 2 friends Mary and Martha. Martha isn’t doing anything wrong by wanting to be a good host. It’s just that she forgets what is more important. She seems more concerned with what people might think of her hospitality than concerned to know what Jesus has to say to her. Mary and Martha have the same choice we face. What do we concern ourselves with the most? Where do our priorities lie? Do we choose well like Mary and take the chance to sit at our Rescuer’s feet? Do we know what is truly more or actually less?

John

Just in case we might make it all about ourselves. Just in case we think it’s just about being better decision makers and take time to be with Jesus, John 3:30 adds the following thought: “He must increase, I must decrease”. John the Baptist shows us that choosing well will lead to Jesus becoming more while we become less. There is nothing more beautiful than God being magnified through you. Christmas therefore in all busyness without spending time considering whom it’s all about isn’t just that you miss out but that God misses out in doing what He longs to do: making Christ more and more visible in us. Less=more.

A few things well

To make time then isn’t necessarily about less presents. It’s about doing a few things well instead of a lot of things in mediocrity. I like cooking, especially a recipe with only a few ingredients. Keep it simple is a great motto. The only requirement is that those ingredients are of good quality. This we try in our family as we prepare for Christmas. We try to simplify by trying to make some good choices and do those fewer things well.

Advent

One thing we make sure we do is advent. It’s a daily excuse to be consciously thinking through the person Christmas is all about. We try to be creative. The first advent we put the tree up and talked about anticipation. Following our advent calendar we try to read a little of the Christmas story from one of their children Bibles each day. We all love music. The Christmas collection has been growing. Besides the good old cheesy feel good ones there are plenty of songs with meaning that we try to learn to sing together. Casting Crowns and Michael W Smith have been favourites giving ample opportunity to explain what some of the songs are about.

Making time creates time

And so we find that making time creates time. Once you have some sort of a habit or tradition it tastes of more… It might take some serious planning, prioritising and even cutting back but taking the time, scheduling the space will redeem Christmas for Christ. And you will enjoy it!