How Do You Prepare Your Heart to Celebrate Christ’s Birth?

Many years ago, a minister I worked with had a curious way to celebrate Christmas. After the Christmas Eve services he would go home, and when everyone else had gone to bed, he would sit through the night in a dark room with only the lights of the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas carols, and wondering how many people in his congregation actually heard the message—had realized what all the scripture, carols, and sermons were about—the reality of Emmanuel, God truly with us. In my younger days I thought that was somewhere between sad and odd. As I’ve matured through my own time in ministry, however, I understand. We want so much for people to experience and embrace the true meaning of Christ’s birth. How do we help them? How do we prepare ourselves? How do we make it to the wee hours of December 25^th with some degree of confidence that we’ve done our best to proclaim “Glory to God in the highest”?

It begins with each one of us individually. How do you prepare your heart to celebrate Christ’s birth? There are plenty of ways people have tried over the years—old clichés like “Keep Christ in Christmas” or “Remember the reason for the season.” No matter how focused we try to be, however, we face the constant challenge of worshiping the Savior and not just the season. Pre-Christmas sales, Hallmark movies, trees, lights, innumerable breakfasts with Santa, all of it can eclipse the message of God’s incarnation—the hope, and peace, and joy that can only come from knowing we are loved beyond our wildest imagination by the One who said, “You will be my people and I will be your God”—and proved it in Bethlehem.

Making the reality of God with us an unshakable part of who we are takes practice:

• practice giving time and space for the Holy Spirit to create in you a sense of shalom—completeness and peace
• practice kindness and the generosity of your time, interest, and attention—investing in your people, not just curating their talents
• practice being alert to people, especially when they seem overly distracted or withdrawn, realizing Christmas can be a very difficult season for some people
• practice spending extra time in prayer and quiet as you prepare to lead others
• practice doubling down on your efforts to live a Christ-centered life that brings a unique experience of peace and joy.

Will all this really matter? Oh yes! Whether we know it or not, people both within and beyond the church are watching us. Our friends and family are watching us—especially this time of year. Is there really something different about putting our focus Jesus’ birth, or is it just our sectarian way of celebrating December 25^th? Are the passages we read from Matthew and Luke true, or are they just quaint nostalgic stories, interchangeable with a Clement Moore poem? Do the carols we sing actually mean anything, or are they just churchy versions of All I Want for Christmas Is You? We know the difference. We prepare people to experience the difference in worship and concert settings. Let’s practice living the difference.

We want our people to know in their hearts that God is with us, on Christmas and the other 364 days of the year. It’s the greatest message we can share—the very best form of love we can offer to people who are otherwise distracted with overinvolvement, overachievement, and all the immediacy of a busy 21st-century life.

This Advent and Christmas, take the time to practice preparing your heart to celebrate Christ’s birth. The investment you make will reward you, and the people around you, in ways you may never fully understand—I promise!

Gift of Joy—for a people steeped in restless gloom,
Gift of God—would it ever come?
Suddenly, in the night, bursting through the skies,
See the promised Dawn arise!

Gift of Peace—for a people paralyzed with fear,
Gift of God—how would it appear?
Suddenly, in the night, bursting through the skies,
See the promised Dawn arise!

Gift of Love, Gift of Grace, Gift of Hope and Life
For a people tired of strife.
Suddenly, in the night, bursting through the skies,
See the promised Dawn arise!

—Jaroslav Vajda

from Now the Joyful Celebration
© 1987 MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO