Believe it or not, like so many issues of our day, Christmas decoration traditions tend to divide us. Some break out the garlands and trees November first because the garnishes and colors of Christmas cannot come soon enough. Others take no joy in the decorating – it’s more chore than cheer. In like fashion, the debate of when to take the decor down can dichotomize.
To all this either-or, emotion-filled finger pointing I say, with utmost humility, how we celebrate Christmas – including our places on the spectrum of festive flourishes – doesn’t have to be an either-or because Christmas, ultimately, is about Jesus and the hope He brought into a very dark world. It’s about the hope He continues to usher into our weary world. And that should bring us together!
So, whether your decorations are days-ago packed away or still hanging around your house, know that it is actually still the Christmas season. And, no. I don’t say that because I like to linger in Christmas long after the 25th but because on the Church calendar, these are the Twelve Days of Christmas.
A little history.1 It’s well- known that the Church of the fifth century observed the four weeks before Christmas (aka: Advent) with a more somber, fasting-focus kind of preparation than we do now. Their feasting came on Christmas Day and everyday after, culminating on Epiphany (January 6th) – the Twelfth Day, which honors the arrival of the wisemen.
For my evangelical friends – yes! You read all that correctly. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was a practice long before it was a hard-to-memorize song. And the magi didn’t actually show up on the same night as the shepherds. Their trip took months longer. They arrived at a house, not a stable (Matthew 2:11). I won’t shake up your nativity scene further by telling you we don’t actually know how many wisemen came to see Jesus – only that there were three gifts (vv.1,7,11).
So it is, on this final day of the year, we find ourselves in the middle of a lesser-celebrated-among-western-Christians Christmas season. A season meant to be filled with food and wassail, songs and sharing of peace.2
Breaking Chains
Even though most western Christians have already celebrated the night of our dear Savior’s birth,3 it remains more than appropriate to continue honoring all that this season represents. In that spirit, today we wrap-up our jaunt through my favorite hymn of Christmas, “O Holy Night.” We pull in the final phrases of the final stanza in order to re-center ourselves in the aftermath of all that was Christmas in our homes and hearts – and to remember.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us Praise His Holy name
Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim
His power and glory evermore proclaim
The coming of Christ as Messiah brought to fulfillment hundreds of years of promises given by God for a Redeemer, a Savior. In exile, the despondent Israelites counted on such assertions. Under the thumb of tyrannical Rome, Jews despaired for a Messiah who would defeat enemies and free them. God’s Word carried the weight of hope through every century until the One who’d been promised finally came into the world.
While slavery is alive and well in our world, not all of us have lived the kind of oppression ancient Israelites and every enslaved person since has endured. Rather, our chains may look more like despair or depression, chronic pain or terminal illness, grief or loss, rejection or regret, shame or self-focus, pride or fear, abuse or neglect, displacement or poverty, loneliness or debilitating disappointment.
It’s as we move through these days of Christmas that we can choose what to do with our form of oppression – wallow, attempt to ignore, or take it to the One who was born for this. Like those wisemen who traveled so far in order to lay themselves down before the King of Kings, we are invited into Christ’s presence to give Him all our burdens. To receive His love and grace. To follow Him with trust each and every day – doing so with faith and hope, gratitude and worship! Because the One who can break every chain is alive and present and able.
Singing Hymns
Singing lyrics about Jesus coming to break all chains should be more than rote repetition. To sing it is to say it. To say it is to mean it – or at least our honest attempt to say it till we believe it. These oft-repeated words are meant to be our moment to consider all the manacles that hold us captive, to have compassion on ourselves and on others – because at some level, we’re all bound by something, and to cast off the shackles in order to walk in the freedom Christ offers.
Singing the truth that “in His name all oppression shall cease” becomes our empowering statement of truth that carries us into a new year fuller of faith than we were yesterday, bolder in hope than we were last year.
For these reasons, we raise our voices in gratitude. We sing sweet hymns of joy because – holy moly!4 – Jesus left His throne in heaven to free a bunch of grumbling, blind, and bound humans!5
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Colossians 3:16 NLT
The sounds of that Christmas Eve chorus of “O Holy Night” continue to reverberate in my soul – “O night divine, O night when Christ was born. O night (hit it, now) di-vine, O night divine!” For us, that holy night on the calendar may have passed, but its mark remains. The work it is doing in us continues.
So, even though we are about to ring in the new year, let’s step into the truest season of Christmas ever, where there are no shopping lists and parties to attend. Rather, let’s settle before the King of Kings, like the magi who came before us, to worship and adore Him. Because in Him is freedom and hope.
Oh, that thrill of hope – it’s not finished igniting within us a desire to move closer to our King. It hasn’t completed shaping our souls to look more like our Messiah’s. That thrill of hope goes with us, zinging us with its power to awaken, enlivening within us desires to go deeper in Christ’s love and joy and truth.
Friend, it’s time to sing of Christ’s power and glory. With all that is in us, let’s praise His holy name!5
Father God, we lift our voices to you — with all that is in us, we praise your holy name! We’re so grateful that You keep your word, that You are a promise-keeper, and that You sent your Son to be the Messiah You promised as our Savior and Deliverer. And, thank You that He came to earth fully human and fully divine to live with us as one of us. Thank You that His life, death, and resurrection enable us to live like Him — full of goodness and joy and true freedom — unshackled by sin. Lord Jesus, we marvel at the sacrifices You willingly made in order to embody God’s love for us. We choose in this moment to believe that You break all chains, that You free us from everything that holds us in bondage. Holy Spirit, teach us to walk in such freedom — show us that it can be done through Christ. Speak to our hearts and minds the truths we need to hear in order to trust that Christ is the Lord over every single person, place, and thing on this planet. Help us to reflect on this past year with humility and honesty so that we might learn what we need to carry with us into the new year and discern what we need to lay down in order to move forward in freedom. How grateful we are to have You as our teacher, counselor, and guide. In Christ, we say thanks for 2023 — for the wins and the wobbles. And we’re so grateful for the promise of Jesus’ continued presence with us as we traverse all that lies before us in the coming year. In His holy name we say, amen.
(inspired by Isaiah 55:11; Joshua 21:45; Luke 24:44-47; John 1:14; Philippians 2:1-16; 1 John 4:9; Galatians 5:1; John 14:26; 1 John 5:6; Romans 10:9-10, 8:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – There are so many great websites with facts and info about Advent. Here’s one that dabbles a bit more in the season’s beginnings. (I am not familiar with this organization – but the information they provided was helpful and matched what I heard on Amanda Held Opelt’s podcast on Advent: Hope.)
- 2 – I found this awesome Epiphany version of the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas. Thank you, KD Sullivan!
“Twas the Night Before Epiphany”
‘Twas the 5th of January and all through my home
were synthetic pine needles wherever I roamed.
The tree and the snow globes still adorned every room
with hopes that the neighbors would come over soon.
“This crazy new girl at the end of the block
wants to sing Christmas carols and on every door knock.
It’s well after Christmas doesn’t she know
The temperature’s rising, there’s not even snow.”
But determined to celebrate Epiphany Eve,
I managed to somehow get a few to believe
that it wasn’t too weird to sing a few songs,
to drink some Wassail and before very long,
we were laughing and sharing Yuletide peace,
and praying for blessings to fall on our street. - 3 – Orthodox Christians often celebrate Christmas on January 6th.
- 4 – I do realize that ‘moly’ is not holy. I mean no offense as I struggle to find adequate words to express my utter awe of our God who came to earth – Immanuel!!
- 5 – On our Advent playlist, A Thrill of Hope, Matt Boswell’s song “Come Adore the Humble King” beautifully invites us to come adore the humble King, to “fall before His majesty and hail the little Savior! Hope, what hope no tongue could tell – GOD HAS COME WITH US TO DWELL!” I love how music and lyrics can capture all the whirling, overwhelming feelings I experience when I bow before the newborn King – way better than my words ever could. Come adore.
- A brand new edition of The Abiding Life Newsletter comes out this week. You can subscribe here to get it sent to your inbox. If you have any questions, email me. I’m so excited for this new way of engaging with you!
- On Wednesdays I’ve begun posting 5-7 minute teaching videos on my Facebook Author Page and Instagram (@shelleylinnjohnson).
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. It’s my experience that developing rhythms is what aids us in becoming more Christlike.
- The new year is often a time of resolutions, but I prefer the idea of rhythms more because they move with us through each day and season. They feel less like must-do’s and more like invitations into Christ’s presence and purposes. Next week, we’ll explore all this further. For this week, let’s continue in our rhythm of stillness so that we can reflect on all that 2023 held — its blessings and challenges, its victories and defeats, its accomplishments and opportunities to learn and grow, or as my friends at The Devoted Collective like to say, its “wins and wobbles.” It’s quite impossible to grow deeper in our faith and hope if we don’t first reflect on what was. Naming them helps us learn and lay down what needs to be let go. Such reflection helps us realign our hearts and minds and spirits with God’s so that we might know more of Him and better know ourselves in Him. None of this takes place if we’re moving at warp speed or refuse to quiet our minds. So, let’s get still this week and ready ourselves for what God has for us next week — and next year. Happy New Year!
- If you’d like to hear someone reflect on her 2023, listen to Emily P Freeman on her most recent episode (#307) of her Next Right Thing podcast. She is so good at modeling these rhythms in practical ways.
- Finally, as a community, let us not neglect sharing God’s hope with others! Share your God-stories with people around you. Share this site. Share God’s Word. Shine His light of His hope into the world!
Featured Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Yana Gorbunova on Unsplash.