The Double Edge of Christmas
By Shane Bennett
I discovered a cultural artifact while cleaning out an old garage this past weekend: a lawn dart, or “jart,” as it was known by ancient practitioners of the sport, like me as a kid. Picture the scene. Youth group on an Indiana summer evening. A youth flung a dart both high and erratic into a maple tree. It disappeared among the leaves maybe 20 feet up, then began to pachinko down through the branches toward Scott Johnson’s head.
I don’t remember the sound of the impact, but I do recall the look of surprise in Scott’s eyes and my first real-life example of the expression, “the color drained from his face.” If your mind (sadly) works like mine, you’re wondering if the dart stuck. It didn’t. But “jarts” were subsequently banned in the United States and replaced with an inferior version featuring a much safer weighted bulb on the end which no one likes.
Ever find yourselves in Scott’s shoes at Christmastime? You’re feeling cheery. You even posted a picture of your tree on Instagram. But the noise in the branches above portends doom. There’s a rustling in the hedge and you are alarmed.
At the first Christmas, Mary the mom set the tone for this double-edged dart. She sings an amazing song delighting that God has chosen her and is the sort of God who helps the helpless. She replies to the life-changing news, “Let it be as you have said.” She hears dear old Simeon prophesy that her baby will be salvation and glory and light! Yet Simeon also looks in her eyes with tears in his and says, “A sword will pierce your very soul.” Ugh, isn’t this life?
So where are you this Christmas? Are you walking in the glow of Jesus revealing God to the nations? If so, I rejoice with you. This really is a good time of year. People try a little harder, give a little more, and work to create situations infused with warmth and laughter.
And let’s face it, this fairly normal birth in a nondescript little town was delivering not just a sweet baby but the very kingdom of God on earth. Ample reason to celebrate Christmas!
Maybe you’re doing your best to be warm and fuzzy and happy this Christmas. You’re lighting up Pinterest. You didn’t correct the young clerk who said, “Happy Holidays.” Although you got that one person the perfect gift, you’re not going to let their reaction shape the whole holiday for you. Even so, you feel the weight of Simeon’s sword. You sympathize with Mary because you’re walking a similar path. You know how important Jesus is, but it’s pretty darn hard to be happy right now.
Can I guess at a couple reasons Missions Catalyst readers might struggle during Christmas?
Where you live, you’re the only ones who celebrate.
Trouble is, you still look at Facebook. Though the conviction that God wants you where you are is strong, your sadness and homesickness are strong as well. Your less-than-amazing success makes you wonder why you even bother. In less-guarded moments, you think, “These people don’t even want what I have. Why are we even here?”
And just when you get those thoughts taken captive, up pops the question, “How can you do this to your kids, to your parents?” The sword didn’t pierce Mary’s soul because she was dumb or doing the wrong thing. It was the nature of the path God had called her to walk. True as that is, it doesn’t always soften the sting of the cut.
You wish your kids were home this Christmas.
When they were in college, you would cry at the Folgers Coffee commercial. Now that they’re in Faroffistan, you can’t even watch it. It feels selfish wanting them around your table instead of off inviting people to come to God’s table. Even so (the refrain of life), it’s hard and, frankly, no one gets it.
Here’s a challenge for the rest of us: Should God open the door this Christmas season for you to talk to one of these moms or dads, bless their socks off. You probably know how to do that better than I do, but at least tell them, “The pain is real. I see it. God sees it. And God sees you.”
I’d love to hear what you’d say as a blessing to parents of far-off kids. If God invites you to go beyond that, go ahead and buy them a ticket to go see their kids!
Your heart’s broken by the broken world.
Maybe the sword piercing your soul has to do with a million Muslim Uyghurs in captivity in China. Or hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in squalid conditions in Bangladesh. Or overlooked Yemenis marking the turn of another year still in fear of a war that won’t end. So many people in such tough situations, many with no living witness to the child who came to “reveal God to the nations” (Luke 2:32).
It’s a little hard to celebrate with your people when so many others face unimaginable challenges. I feel for you. And part of me wants to tell you, “Learn to compartmentalize! It will help you get through life!”
Remember the Bob Pierce quote, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” Solid request. I also appreciate the Steve Hawthorne corollary, “Let my heart be delighted by the things that delight the heart of God!” May we somehow experience both.
Want to know my current favorite Christmas song? Phil Wickham’s When My Heart Is Torn. He captures something of the challenge of this season and the shifting status of our hearts, reminding us of solid hope to walk the path God has laid out, to join Mary in both the joy and the pain.
“There is hope
Beyond the suffering
Joy beyond the tears
Peace in every tragedy
Love that conquers fear.
My body might be dying
But I’ll always be alive.”
You know what’s really going to be fun? Celebrating Jesus’s birthday with him in the age to come. In the meantime, may God give us grace, through the sunshine and swords, to sing along with Mary (and John, Paul, George, and Ringo!), “Let it be, let it be.”