tions were more materialistic, that is, more centered on ordinary life, ordinary people and the God who meets us in both? I think our focus would be more on Christ’s presence in the conversations among ordinary people, instead of imagining that perfectly decorated homes are neces- sary for those celebrations to occur. If our celebrations were more
centered on real life and real people, they might be opportunities to gather with friends or nursing home residents around a piano or guitar to sing the great songs of the season, knowing that real people can have a real talent for making music or simply making a joyful noise. When we give attention to the
extraordinary amid the ordinary, material world, our giſts to each other are less about stuff and more about shared time and experi- ences. Aſter all, our attempts at creating the perfect life through the latest consumer items aren’t working. Global climate change bears witness to the truth, as does our quick dissatisfaction with last year’s technological inventions and gadgets. Shared time gets us deeply in touch with real people, real joys and struggles. If Christmas is less about the
ideal of the real, then maybe the food of the season will be more about the process that creates it, rather than the creation itself. Our anxieties as we try to create per- fect holiday meals only testify to how oſten we miss the point. Food is a wonderful part of the season and the enjoyment and time spent together are much more significant than the perfection we’re led to believe is our goal. If our Christmas celebrations
were more about the God who gets messy in ordinary life, maybe they would look like more shared
dinner parties with homeless folks at a shelter or church. Maybe we’d think of Christmas as special times spent with lonely or forgotten people. Maybe our celebrations would include clumsy, not flawless, children’s programs. Maybe our cel- ebrations would be about well done, but not perfect, worship services in which real people offer their real lives to the real deal. John 1:14 tells us that the “Word
became flesh and lived among us.” What would our Christmas celebra- tions look like if we trusted that?
Author bio: Uetricht is pastor of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Muskegon, Mich.
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