I hope this weekend is full of joy for you.
I hope you make sweet memories.
I hope amid the hubbub of parties and gifts and gatherings,
you’re able to take a moment to reflect on Christ’s birth.
I hope you feel at peace.
I hope you don’t compare yourself to anyone at the parties you attend.
I hope you don’t worry about the appearance of your home or yourself.
I hope you don’t feel guilty for eating that extra piece of fudge,
peanut brittle, gingerbread, or peppermint bark.
I hope there is snow falling outside your window
and a hot cup of coffee in your hand on Christmas morning.
But-
maybe this Christmas isn’t everything you hope or expect.
Maybe you don’t get the present you wished for.
Maybe you don’t get a present at all.
Maybe you can’t afford to give presents this year
and you worry that your friends and family won’t feel loved.
Maybe you’re sick.
Maybe someone you love is sick.
Maybe someone you love isn’t there at all this Christmas,
for the very first time.
Maybe you feel lonely, or self conscious,
or tired, or overwhelmed.
Maybe, though you hate to admit it,
you’re just looking forward to this time of year being over.
Though that isn’t what I hope for you-
you’re not alone if you feel that way.
You’re not alone if your Christmas doesn’t go the way you expect.
When Jesus was born, over 2,000 years ago,
the very first Christmas was full of the unexpected.
Mary, a teenager, a virgin, giving birth to the Messiah-
That was certainly unexpected.
Joseph, a humble man of integrity, being told to take Mary as his wife,
even though the child in her womb wasn’t his-
That hadn’t been his plan.
The mother of Jesus giving birth in a stable
amid the filth and stench of animals-
because there was no room for them at the inn.
That was unexpected.
Angels appearing to shepherds
who were watching their flocks at night.
Unexpected.
God taking on human flesh to die for the people he’d created.
The most beautiful, unexpected event of them all.
Although Christmas is a time for tradition and nostalgia,
it’s also a time to embrace the unexpected.
Life is messy.
Plans change.
Unforeseen challenges arise.
And yet in all that- the Messiah meets us.
For he is not a God far off.
He is Emmanuel- God with us.
With us in our routines and traditions.
And with us in our hiccups and surprises.
In the words of my friend Tanner Olson,
“There is joy to be found in what is different.
Where you are is where there is hope.
Love meets our mess with mercy.”
So if this Christmas is looking different than you’d hoped-
don’t feel bad.
Embrace the unexpected.
That’s the miracle of Christmas itself.
