Sabbath Devotional :: Christmas Day

Photo courtesy of Dan Kiefer via Unsplash

I have always loved Christmas. The lights. The nativities. The trees. The prettily wrapped packages. Reminders to be a little more giving, a little more charitable.

It is also a time of great nostalgia for me. Memories of sleeping in a room with all my siblings eagerly awaiting Santa. Acting out and reading the Nativity scene. And simply lots of time spent with family. Joy. Laughter. Reflections. It has always been such a wonderful time of year for me.

But last year as I went to put up the Christmas decorations, my heart was unusually heavy. Singing “Joy to the World!” didn’t match my mood. Instead, these words felt more fitting.

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

I felt much like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow did when he wrote this song in the midst of the destruction of the Civil War. COVID-19 meant that millions were no longer with us. Wars and rumors of wars abounded. Too many had hearts that seemed to be waxing cold. The world felt heavy and even dark. Hate seemed to be strengthening, and at times, peace seemed nothing more than childish dreaming. These feelings were unusual for me, but potent.

During this month and much by chance, I connected with people who seemed to deeply focus on Advent— meaning how people prepared for the coming of Christ, not so much the celebration of his birth, but the deep longing and pleas for him to come and make anew, restore, relieve, and lighten. The feelings that come before the celebrated day. I connected with the deep need for a Savior to come and the emotions that accompany that waiting.

A song that particularly resonated was “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” While many verses were particularly poignant, these two verses were especially meaningful to me.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Christ’s actual ministry on earth was quite short — 33 years. And so for most of history, people have been in advent one way or another. I found that focusing on Advent caused me to shift how I viewed Christmas and his birth.

Many of us believe that leading up to Christ’s birth, people in the Book of Mormon were anxiously awaiting his coming to ensure their very survival. Death was what awaited them if Christ did not come. That is advent at its most visceral.

When we focus deeply on Advent, we can take great heart by looking at people throughout world and scriptural history like the Book of Mormon people, those in the midst of the Civil War, the soldiers in the Christmas Truce of 1914, who amidst great tribulation created hope, took heart, and persevered. We can find companionship with those who anxiously awaited, who feared that peace was gone. We can also understand more why people fell to their knees, sang songs of praise, rejoiced, and cried tears of gratitude when they learned a Savior came.

When we focus on the heartfelt and rich feelings of Advent, it makes Christ’s birth that much more meaningful, the celebration that much more heartfelt. When we celebrate Advent and connect deeply with the need of a Savior, we realize that Christmas is there for us when we are singing songs of praise or on our knees and tears pleading for him to come and save, hearten, and assure.

Jeffrey R. Holland pointed out that two lesser-known names for Christ are “Morning Star” and “Day Star.” Of these names, he writes:

As troublesome as life can sometimes be, with as many painful moments as there are around us, and notwithstanding the promises and prophecies of contentions and wars and people’s hearts failing them, nevertheless, Christ (as both the Morning and Day Stars) guides us, leads us, keeps and loves us through the dark of night and into the bright light of day.

[. . .] His grace and glory are a beacon to us in good times or bad, a lodestar giving reassurance that God is firm and fixed in our life. They also give us the faith that He is always there, that He hears our prayers, and that he keeps his promises.

[. . .] We can rest assured that His light will guide us unfailingly through — a star by night and the blazing sun of glory in the day. If we wait for it and watch for it badly enough, our Day Star will most certainly arise in our hearts.

So whether your Christmas is merry and bright or more anguished, we can rest assured that Christ came and will find us in our own advent, whatever shape it comes in.

This Christmas Day, may we reflect on the waiting that made and gives rise to sing songs of his birth such as:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born. (O Holy Night)

And may we remember to always “Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God’s own love and concern.” ~Mother Teresa