“It don’t mean a thing, if you ain't got the Christmas swing!”
Of course it means something if you “aint got the Christmas swing!” – You don’t have to be someone or something you are not! Keeping a Colgate smile when things are not okay is not the answer, nor is moping. My point is, that things are not always as they seem on the surface.
Look at the birth of Christ. It did not happen the way some of the people thought it should happen. People had expectations of how the coming of the Messiah should have “played” out. And for some people, the Messiah had let them down! Yet when all was said and done, Christ died, and rose again to be the promised King of glory. Hindsight & tons of history as well as the guidance of Holy Spirit helps us understand today, what was impossible for many people to understand in the time when Jesus’ birth took place.
But looking further than hindsight for a moment, there is nothing worse than friends or even family telling you to get into the “swing of the season” when you are not in that “swinging” space or place! - I want to tell you that it is okay not to feel in that “groove” if you are not in that place. By the way, I am not necessarily referring to the alcohol groove, I am sure you can figure that one out with proper help, without downplaying the dangers of it, it is only a symptom of a deeper root cause anyway. What I am talking about is the spiritual and emotional place you might be finding yourself in at this time of year. It’s okay to feel despair, anxiety & sadness but don’t let yourself slip down into a pit of hopelessness and whatever you do, don’t stay in the depth of that empty space forever! Why? Because you don’t have to.
Mat 12:18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
Let’s go back to Scripture and have a look at the book of Matthew in the verse quoted above for a moment: The original passage that this is taken from, is the book of Isa 42:1-4. The Jews, and even the disciples at first, expected that the Messiah would be a King, a conqueror, and vindicate himself from all his enemies. What took place from the incarnation of Jesus’s birth, was contrary to all their previous notions of the Messiah. Their conceptions of Christ had been wrong, and instead of seeing a warrior and earthy conqueror, Jesus came to this earth humbly. Instead of shouting for battle, he would be peaceful.
This prophetic passage, as quoted from Isaiah, refers to the Messiah, Jesus Christ as a “servant” as he would take on a servant’s role from the inception of his birth, and even unto death he would be the servant king (Phil.2:7). This is not the picture people had in mind two thousand years ago.
In fact this is one of the very reasons why the Jewish people at the time, didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah because they expected a victorious King to appear in splendour. Jesus didn’t match that profile, he came as a servant king. He was misunderstood and considered an outcast in many places because people couldn’t recognize God’s work outside of their human limitations and expectations. Christians can easily do this without even thinking about it and worse, without acknowledging we are doing it. We “measure” people everyday by our own expectations of how we think they should respond and behave and then when they don’t “perform” or conform as the Christians we think they should be; we can often judge them and put unnecessary pressure on them. Actually that is not what Jesus said we are to do.
Jesus left us with very clear commandments to love one another. For many “loving” is much more difficult than judging or criticizing! It’s in our human fallen nature to criticize, that’s why we need to be aware of what we are doing and saying to other people as representatives of Jesus Christ.
Mar 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
If we look again now at Jesus’s ministry, it was only after his death and resurrection that people would understand a glorified Lord Jesus as King with over 500 witnesses. – So people get it wrong all the time! The Pharisees were so super religious that they missed the point completely and missed out knowing their Saviour. Actually people are still getting it wrong today, despite the evidence, many people today still do not believe in Jesus as Messiah or as the incarnate son of God. Sometimes we miss the point in our real life situations. We need to let people be themselves and grow as they are ready to take baby steps. We need to practice love above all else, and trust that GOD will do the rest.
For some, the Christmas season evokes other feelings. Not all people might be feeling joyful, or triumphant. Not all might be feeling the spirit of reconciliation. Some people might be finding it a lonely time. Instead of judging or criticizing without understanding, show God’s love. – For those that might be feeling this way, take heart dear friends, don’t think that because it’s Christmas that you are supposed to feel a certain way. Allow yourself to be where you are at. Acknowledge what you are feeling but also allow yourself the benefit of knowing that you can push through to the other side where joy, blessing and the reality of God’s power to change things in your life, and for your future, awaits you if you’ll say yes. As Christians we may not feel it, but our hope is in a real God, who really loves us, who really died for us, rose again, and whose promises are for real. They are not unattainable.
Friends, you needn’t stay in a place of depression, oppression or any kind of darkness. Why? Because you have a Saviour. One who knows what you are going through and he will help you and redeem you from your fears, anxieties, struggles and sadness. Maybe you lost loved ones, or have had bad experiences during this season of Christmas. Maybe you have not got into the “swing of the season” so to speak. There is hope!
You don’t have to have the “worldy” kind of “swing” but if you put your hope and trust in Jesus, he will put a new kind of “swing” in your life. Then the lyric of the song “It don’t mean a thing if you aint got that swing”, will take on new meaning & context for your life, because life without Christ is a life without meaning. But a life lived in Christ means living in the fullness of His promise & joy and finding your destiny and purpose through him.
His name is Saviour & King!
As we move back to the Christmas story found in Luke 2:11, this is what the scripture says: “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Today we understand that Jesus is our Saviour and the King of glory! His name is above every name. His name, Saviour has power to free us from our torment, to save us from ourselves and to deliver us from the captivity of anything that we are going through, so that we can be free and get to the other side!
If you are perhaps not quite ready to embrace the joy in this season for whatever reason, let him, namely Christ our Saviour, be your refuge and strength. He will guide you into all truth and peace. In fact that is what the word “judgement/justice” in the Hebrew (from the original Isaiah 42 passage) means: the “whole system of truth”. The only way forward for us as human beings to have a hope and a future is in the One whose name means, the way, the truth, and the life.
More than this, that precious name of Jesus as Saviour, brings hope to the hopeless and restoration to the broken. His name as our Saviour, has the power to bring us from a place of spiritual death, to life, if we will call on his name. No person has to stay in a place of depression or anxiety forever. There is hope and there can be change if we will call on His powerful name in this season. YOU are loved, and are precious in God’s sight.
In John 14:6 Jesus explains that no person can come to God but through him, the one who carries that precious name, Jesus our Saviour and Lord. Getting with the program this season is not about being someone you are not, it’s about finding who you really are in HIM, Jesus Christ! – Why not spend some time getting closer to Christ this season and discover who you are in Him, he holds the keys to life in his nail scarred hands & offers you life, a life to the fullest, to move into your God given destiny.
Find a church, a spiritual home where you can get the support and help you need. God doesn’t reject you no matter what you think. Don’t let any bad experiences of church put you off who Jesus really is, and how much he loves you! The message of the gospel includes all people, no matter our creed or sexual orientation.
Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas & may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts as he brings victory into your life in 2012!
All my love,
Pastor Deborah