Christmas is culturally a time of joy and nostalgia; a time when far-flung families gather and enjoy a brief respite and time together before they have to go back to their cities and homes and jobs. Many of us look forward to this season and eagerly embrace it. With respect to our faith, it is a time to rejoice in the first coming of our Savior and the love that the Father has for us and a reminder that he keeps all his promises perfectly.

But it is precisely because of this love of the Father that is ours in Christ and sealed to us by the Holy Spirit that we cannot afford to overlook the many for whom this season is the hardest time of year. Because we are loved by God, we are called to love our brothers and sisters-in-Christ. Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” We are also called to love our neighbors, a term Jesus defines as broadly as possible in the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

And there is perhaps no season in which such love is easiest to express than this season of Christmas. We are surrounded—in our church, in our community—by those for whom this season is unbearable. They have lost loved ones this year and will celebrate their first Christmas without them. They have lost loved ones in this season and relive the pain of that loss every year at a time when everyone around them is so full of joy. They are in broken families and marriages, estranged from the very people that this season ought to find them embracing. They are unable to provide their children with gifts because they can’t afford anything. They are childless during a holiday in which so much joy is focused on and expressed by children. They will spend the day alone. 

Because we are loved perfectly by God, how should that love spill over into others during this holiday? For our brothers and sisters-in-Christ, it must begin by recognizing that we are, in fact, family. We are given to one another in Christ and are brothers and sister to one another. So let’s look around and see who we can love during this holiday season by bringing them into our families. Who is alone? Who is estranged? Invite them into your home for Christmas and show them the love of a brother or sister. They are loved by Christ, and therefore they are loved by us. Let’s show that love because we know the love of Christ ourselves. 

And our love isn’t reserved for those who are in Christ. It should spill over to those who do not know him as well. What greater example of the love of Christ than for us to show that love to those in our community who have not confessed Christ. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” How can we not then show the love of Christ to those who are yet “sinners"?

My prayer for All Saints is that we will be a community so filled with the love of Christ that it will overflow to one another and to the lost around us; not only in terms of relational and material generosity, but also in terms of our readiness and even eagerness to tell them about Christ; not only in this season of Christmas, but also throughout the year.

Your fellow servant of Christ,
Pastor Matt