From Anticipation to Awe

The Anticipation of Christmas
“You’ll shoot your eye out kid!” This memorable line from one of the holiday season’s classic and beloved Christmas movies, A Christmas Story, always reminds me of how the film masterfully captures the childlike anticipation of Christmas as the main character, Ralphie Parker, sets his heart on an “official Red Ryder carbine-action range model air rifle with a compass in the stock.” To translate for those of you who have never seen the movie, Ralphie is determined to get a BB gun for Christmas. Indeed, Christmastime is a season overflowing with thoughts and feelings of anticipation with which many people can relate. For some, Christmas brings eager expectations of gazing upon bright and colorful lights adorning housetops and evergreen trees, a savory Christmas feast, a cozy spot next to the fire, or simply coming home to beloved family and friends. For others, Christmastime gives rise to apprehensive dread of crowded stores, ballooning credit card bills, and added pounds around the midsection. Good or bad, few would deny that accompanied with the arrival of another Christmas will inevitably be expectant thoughts and feelings about all that will shortly come to pass as the holiday approaches.

Why Christmas Morning Matters
That said, in my opinion, the most exciting element of Christmastime isn’t so much the anticipation permeating the entire season, it’s the culmination of weeks of patient endurance and expectation that finally breaks forth in exuberant sentiments of joy on Christmas morning as the long-awaited day arrives at last. Few things capture this more than the gleeful expressions illuminating children’s faces as they voraciously open their presents only to be inevitably followed by testimonials to friends about what they got for Christmas. Without the actual occurrence of Christmas Day, the eager longing that precedes it would simply be nonexistent. The season would be meaningless.

The True Meaning of Christmas
This, too, reminds me of another classic Christmas movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Surrounded by friends preoccupied by the consumerism and the bustle of winter activities like ice skating, eating snowflakes, and a school play, Charlie Brown laments his own lack of a joyful spirit and questions what Christmas is all about. His mounting turmoil is finally alleviated in a single moment when his best friend, Linus, recounts a passage of Scripture from Luke 2:8-14, highlighting when an angel brought tidings of great joy meant for all people, to shepherds in the fields watching over their flocks by night, announcing the birth of Jesus. Linus then simply but confidently reassures his friend, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Just as Linus understood that without Jesus, there would be no reason for the season, for those of us Christians who have graduated into adulthood, we recognize that Christmastime is more than a season of anticipation, it is also a perfect opportunity to both remind ourselves and proclaim to others God’s promise of hope, peace, joy, and love demonstrated through the birth of His Son, and will yet be fulfilled through His reappearance in the future. Just as the shepherds were eager to look upon the newborn Babe and then testified everywhere of what they had heard and seen, followers of Christ hold fast to the promises conveyed in God’s Word, anxiously awaiting the return of our Savior, and share the Good News to anyone willing to listen (Lk. 2:15-18).

A Long Tradition of Expectation
The inseparable association between the annual arrival of Christmas and the innate anticipation it provokes during the holiday season predates our modern recognition of this festive and hallowed day on our calendar. It’s something that began prior the birth of Jesus and has been formalized and commemorated each year for centuries among faithful followers of Christ. The concept of looking forward to the arrival of a Savior, that is the long-awaited Messiah or Christ, is seen all throughout the Old Testament, but is especially highlighted in the accounts of specific individuals typically associated with the story of Christ’s birth and infancy as seen in the Gospels. Included among these individuals we find Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the “wise men from the east,” a man named Simeon, and a prophetess named Anna.

When looking at the first couple on this list, Zacharias and Elizabeth were the parents of John the Baptist who were told by the angel Gabriel that their son would not only cause many in Israel to turn back to God, but that he would go before “Him,” that is Jesus, as a forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the people for the Lord (Lk. 1:17). You can imagine not only their excitement and anticipation for the birth of their son, but more importantly, the ministry he would accomplish to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of Christ.

Similarly, Mary and Joseph, the mother and adoptive father of Jesus, also eagerly awaited the fulfillment of God’s promises prophesied to them through the nativity of Jesus Christ Himself (Mt. 1:20-25, Lk. 1:28-35). Can you grasp what they must have felt being given the tremendous honor, responsibility, and weight of the job God was bestowing upon them as the parents and caregivers of His only Son?

Also included in this time anticipating the arrival of the Jewish King were the wise men or “magi” from the East. This group, most likely comprised of scholars familiar with the writings of the prophet Daniel who served as head of the wise men in the kingdoms of Babylon and Persia (Da. 4:9, 6:3), understood and discerned the signs heralding the birth of Israel’s King, and traveled hundreds of miles just to worship Him (Mt. 2:1-11).

Let’s not forget Simeon who also anticipated gazing upon “the Consolation of Israel” before he died as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 2:25-35). Nor should we overlook Anna, the elderly prophetess who served God night and day at the temple, who rejoiced when the infant Jesus was presented there by His parents, and immediately began proclaiming to those “who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk. 2:36-38).

Clearly, the longing, excitement, and expectancy that accompanies the joyous celebration of Jesus’ birth has a long and distinguished history with which we are privileged to continue in our present generation. Christmastime is a season for Christians to reflect on the meaning and significance of all that is encompassed in Jesus’ first coming as part of God’s plan to overcome sin, redeem humanity, and commence the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. As part of a long-held tradition of contemplation and expectancy, it is common for believers to focus on specific themes throughout the Christmas season coinciding with the historical account of Jesus’ birth. Such themes typically include hope, peace, joy, and love.

Hope
Beginning with the theme of hope, followers of Christ consider both the persistent hope that God’s people held in times past as they awaited the fulfillment of His promises embodied in Jesus, but also the forward-looking anticipation that believers today retain as they, too, watch for the future fulfillment of promises that have not yet come to pass. It is a reminder that hoping in the Lord is not merely an optimistic fantasy, rather, it is a confident expectation in the certainty that God will keep every aspect of His Word. Christmas reminds us that not only is Jesus Himself our hope, but that this hope is a living hope because our Savior lives and has promised to return! (1 Ti. 1:1, 1 Pe. 1:3)

Peace
Along with hope, attention is also turned to the subject of peace as believers appreciate the peace offered by Jesus between God and humanity because of His accomplished work on the cross (2 Co. 5:18-19). It is a peace that not only results from God’s transformative work in the hearts of individual Christians, but a peace that extends into the relationships believers have with others as they seek convey God’s love, forgiveness, and reconciliation to the world around them. Just as the angels proclaimed to the shepherds in the fields, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased,” Christmas reminds us of how Jesus has reconciled us to God and we share the privilege of proclaiming the same message in our world today.

Joy
Together with hope and peace, Christmastime accentuates the joy belonging to followers of Jesus resulting from God’s unconditional love, promises to bring about good in the present to those who love Him, and future promise of eternal life together with Him in heaven (Ro. 8:28, Jn. 3:16). Irrespective of life’s circumstances, joy is a byproduct that stems from comprehending the magnitude of God’s favor and blessings bestowed upon His children because of all that Jesus accomplished through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into glory as King of Kings.

Love
As the arrival of Christmas Day draws near, the theme of love will often take center stage as Christians focus on the grandeur of God’s love expressed through the birth of His Son. Jesus’ birth is the single greatest gift humanity has ever been given. His life reveals the unfathomable love of God manifested through His incarnation into the human race in order that He might rescue those who would believe in Him from eternal separation from Himself by sacrificially offering His very life in their stead. What a glorious gift indeed! For believers, God’s immeasurable love displayed at the heart of Christmas is an annual reminder of the costliest gift they’ve ever received.

Reflecting on Christ Personally
As you continue to enjoy this Christmas season, I encourage you to consider the reasons you have for the hope, peace, joy and love that Jesus has brought into your own life. Perhaps one of these themes might resonate more deeply this year based on recent circumstances you’ve endured. Take some time and think beyond the big picture about why Jesus’ birth matters not just for humanity, but why does it matter to you personally? How has a relationship with Him impacted you specifically? Increasing one’s awareness and understanding of all that was entailed with Crist’s coming two thousand years ago not only deepens the appreciation one has for what He accomplished, but the natural byproduct of such understanding is increased gratitude and worship towards our Savior. Each one of these emotive themes ascribes glory to God and are therefore expressions of worship. Knowing this, celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmastime naturally leads one into deeper and more intimate reverence of God.

Living and Sharing the Message
With that, follow the examples set by the individuals mentioned above who not only lived in continual anticipation of Christ’s arrival but upon seeing Him, demonstrated and testified to the people around them why His coming mattered. Who do you know that needs to have a relationship with Jesus? How can you help them to understand the real meaning of Christmas and share in your reason for joy this time of year? Additionally, just like the individuals we read about in Scripture who believed God would fulfill His promises, remember that you, too, have a reason for looking forward in hopeful expectation that God will continue to accomplish His promises through Christ’s second coming.

In the weeks ahead, I pray God would abundantly multiply your hope, peace, joy, and love as you draw near to Him this holiday season. May you and your families have a very merry Christmas!