BROADCASTS.com

Show Notes

We know all too well that the our relationship with the real meaning of Christmas is so easily lost in the cultural trappings of December 25.\xa0 It's\xa0 become more a holiday than a holy day. The real meaning of Christmas is found in our relationship with Jesus in the simple, in the ordinary, which is what today's episode number 46 is all about. To that end, I have a few resources to help with this, which I'll share with you at the end of this episode, so please stick around for that.

I don\u2019t know about you, but as much as I enjoy all the festivities of Christmas, there\u2019s something inside of me that longs for things to slow down, so I can reflect on the real meaning of Christmas.

There are so many things that create the illusion of meaning, that while they contribute to the aura and ambience of Christmas, really have nothing to do with what Christmas is supposed to be about.

The music, watching favorite Christmas movies like It\u2019s a Wonderful Life!, family get togethers, the food, the decorations, and did I mention It\u2019s a Wonderful Life!? I enjoy all of this. A lot. But at times I find it all a bit hollow. I find myself wanting more. I\u2019m pretty sure many of you feel the same.

Where is this Joy to the World we sing about each December?

If you\u2019re a person of faith you know the answer to this already, for the Joy to the World we sing about is because the Lord has come. The real joy is found in Jesus coming to our world, and in doing so, in this most spectacular event in all of human history, he came to ordinary people in an ordinary place.

There\u2019s joy in knowing Jesus came to the ordinary, because we are all ordinary. There\u2019s nothing exceptional about us that isn\u2019t there because God placed it there. Our intelligence, our creativity, talents, gifts, they are all there because of Jesus.

The more we embrace our ordinary-ness, the greater joy we will experience because it gives God more room, a larger playing field, to make something wonderful out of us, which in turn brings glory to Him.

One simple thing we can do this Christmas to embrace our ordinary-ness is to read. What could be more ordinary and simple than that? To read about who we are, who Jesus is, and how we relate to each other. We need to be reminded of this. Now I\u2019m not talking about reading a 900-page Russian novel. I\u2019m thinking something short and to the point. Something just a bit longer that you\u2019d find on the back of a cereal box.

Here\u2019s an example. Four or five years ago I stumbled upon a delightful little devotional book by Mel Lawrenz called Christmas Joy. There\u2019s a brief chapter for each day in December leading up to, and including Christmas. And each of the chapters focus on just one word or concept related to Christmas. It\u2019s really good stuff for calming our hearts in the midst of all the frenetic holiday activities.

Today for example, December 11th, the day this episode is released, Chapter 11 is entitled \u201cBethlehem.\u201d I\u2019ll read it to you, it\u2019s only six short paragraph.

[Read pp 51-53]

Now that didn\u2019t take long at all, did it? I go through this book, Christmas Joy, every December. You can get it on Amazon, and retail bookstores I\u2019m sure. I\u2019ll have a link to Amazon in the show notes.

Here\u2019s what I\u2019m learning today about finding joy in the ordinary.

It\u2019s important that during this Christmas season we look for joy, not in the glitter and activities that come around once a year, but that we look for joy in the ordinary, in the simple, that\u2019s hiding in plain sight right in front of us all year round.

To do this we need to create some quiet space during the holiday season in order to think, reflect, and anticipate. We may have to be ruthless in doing so. \u201cNo\u201d could be your word of the month. You and I could both come up with a list of all the the things that distract us from the real meaning of Christmas. So you don\u2019t need me for that. The point of saying \u201cno\u201d to these things that don\u2019t matter, is so we can say \u201cyes\u201d to the things that do. And you don\u2019t need me to remind you of that either.

What we both need is room for Jesus to speak into our hearts and minds with his gentleness. To show us the quiet path to the Joy found only in Him. And the only way we can accomplish this is through the power of Jesus. We need him to do this for us; we can\u2019t do it on our own.

Here\u2019s the one thing, the main thing, to remember from today\u2019s episode, our show in a sentence:

Embrace our ordinary-ness, for out of it can come something quite wonderful that gives glory to God in the highest.

Here\u2019s what we can do in response to today\u2019s show.

Besides reading the rest of Christmas Joy, by Mel Lawrenz, and doing it slowly and meditatively, there\u2019s a similar book you could read, and that I\u2019m reading for the first time, right now. It\u2019s Kay Bruner\u2019s Comfort Ye My People. It too, has 25 very short chapters, none longer than two pages. Each one is to be read each day leading up to Christmas on December 25.

But unlike Christmas Joy, where the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke provides the text, Bruner\u2019s book uses key phrases and passages of scripture cited in Handel\u2019s Messiah. I find her commentary on theses passages comforting. On Day 5, for example she write, \u201cI think we need to understand that when we find ourselves broken and in trouble, that\u2019s pretty much normal\u2026What we need is someone to save us and heal us. And we are promised exactly that. Messiah.\u201d

But if reading isn\u2019t your thing this Christmas, how about taking a few moments to listen? It\u2019s such a simple and ordinary thing to do. To listen the thoughts of others as they ponder the great truths of Christmas. I have two suggestions along those lines.

The first is to listen to a new podcast that came out this month, Advent with Jill Briscoe, sponsored by tellingthetruth.org You can get it wherever you get your podcasts by just searching on the title, \u201cAdvent with Jill Briscoe.\u201d It\u2019s only 25 days long. The episodes are very short and it\u2019s easy to catch up with all of them before Christmas.

Listening to even just a few of them will help put the Christmas season into its proper perspective.

And the second and last listening option is something I paid $10 for two years ago, that I can use every Christmas. It\u2019s from author and podcaster Emily P. Freeman, It\u2019s a series of 14 brief audio devotionals called \u201cThe Quiet Collection\u201d. You can check it out at emilypfreeman.com/christmas/.

It\u2019s still only $10, and for that you get an email each of the 14 days before Christmas with a brief audio reflection on all things having to do with quiet and Christmas. It\u2019s not too late to sign up now. And you can listen in again next year, as I\u2019m doing for the third year now.

I\u2019ve also been listening to her weekly The Next Right Thing podcast since it first came out a year ago or so (this one is free). You might want to check that out too at emilypfreeman.com/podcast/.

I love listening to her soft and soothing voice. Her content is very engaging. It takes me to a deeper place where I can reflect upon the important matters of Christmas, even in the midst of all the things that don\u2019t matter.

As always, another thing you could do is let me and your fellow listeners know what resonated with you about today\u2019s episode. You can share your thoughts in the \u201cLeave a Reply\u201d box at the bottom of the show notes. Or you can send them to me in an email to john@caringforothers.org.

Closing

In closing, I want you to know I intended for this to be the last episode of Season Two, with Season 3 to start up again in January. But I\u2019ve got one more Christmas episode I want to share with you next week, and then I\u2019ll let you know what I\u2019ll be doing for you before Season 3 starts. More about that next week.

Our Relationship Quote of the Week

If today is shaping up to be an ordinary day for you - be prepared. That\u2019s the stage on which the acts of God are played.\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 ~ Mel Lawrenz

That\u2019s all for today. See you next week. Bye for now.

Resources mentioned in Today\u2019s episode

Books:

Christmas Joy, by Mel Lawrenz

Comfort Ye My People- The Real World Meets Handel\u2019s Messiah, by Kay Bruner

Audio

Advent with Jill Briscoe, sponsored by Telling the Truth

\u201cThe Quiet Collection\u201d

Emily P. Freeman\u2019s podcast, The Next Right Thing