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Across the Pastor’s Desk by Joshua Enderson

Christmas can be a tricky season for many of us, pastors included. We have this day in which we celebrate Christ’s birth, God taking on flesh and dwelling among us. We receive cards with sayings like “peace on earth” or containing verses from “silent night.” Then we look at our to-do lists, and the last words that come to mind are “peace” and “silent.”

We rush around trying to get everything done, so much so that we have no time to take in the message of this time of year. In fact, the chaos of it all makes many of us irritable and exhausted.

As I said, pastors are just as guilty of this as others. My own post-it note lists are jammed with things to get done, so much so that it can make this time of year feel more like a chore than a celebration.

We just want to get through it with our sanity intact and hope that we can organize things better next year — remembering we said the same thing last year!

Which is why we always need God to enter our lives and remind us of all that he has done for us. God doesn’t wait for us to clear the schedule first. God shows up and gives us new life all the time.

Mary wasn’t expecting an angel to show up with the message that she would bear Jesus, but that’s what happened. Joseph didn’t expect to play the part that he played, but that’s how it went.

The shepherds were going about their business, watching their sheep, when a bunch of angels burst into their schedules and started singing about a new thing that God was up to in a manger in Bethlehem.

The big word we use for all of this is “incarnation” (in-flesh-ment), which is the way that we talk about God taking on flesh and blood and becoming human like us.

Christmas celebrates God’s incarnation, God becoming like us, so that all the world could be redeemed through him. We didn’t do anything to make this happen. It was all God’s gift, and this gift shows up all the time!

What this season calls on us to do is to see this great gift. We’re called to see this blessing that God has given to us in his Son. We’re called to take a moment to pause, however briefly, and see how Christ changes everything by showing up into our schedules and reminding us of what Christmas is all about.

Joshua Enderson is a pastor at Hayward and Trondhjem Lutheran churches.