This Christmas, the birth of Jesus will probably be the last thing on my mind. I’m a pastor. That means that on Christmas Day Jesus’ birth will not be the main thing on my mind. The main things on my mind will be: ‘Will the sound guy turn up? Will the video we’re showing today work? Will as many people come as I’d like?’ and so on. Unfortunately, the reality for many pastors is that Christmas is one of the least spiritually reflective times of the year. We’re so busy getting things ready for other people that we have no time to reflect on Christmas ourselves.
To fight that, here’s three things I’m going to try to do to get the most out of Christmas this year.
Don’t Give in to Self-pity or Anger
It can be easy to see the dreamy-eyed faces of people on Christmas morning and resent them for their peacefulness. They’ve now crossed the finish line for the year; you’ve still got another lap to go.
In those moments, I’m going to try and remember they’re probably not as peaceful as I think. They, too, have still got things to stress about today: Christmas lunch, the tricky relatives they have to see in a few hours, the cumulative fatigue of everything that’s been happening up until today. I’m not the only one working on Christmas Day: our AV team, musicians, hospitality servers, and others also have responsibilities to think about; and, unlike me, they aren’t getting paid for it! I may not have Christmas Day off, but I do have other times of year to rest which others don’t. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
Pause
One of the best bits of advice my wife Suzie and I were given before our wedding day was to consciously pause at various points during the big day to soak it all in. There is so much going on that you can easily let it race past you in a blur and then, before you know it, the biggest day of your life is over!
I think the same applies (in a smaller way) to Christmas Day for pastors. There’s lots going on. But this is a day for you, too. So consciously plan a few two-minute breaks during the day, when you get to breathe it in and enjoy it yourself. That might be two minutes standing on your lawn, once the family’s back from church, before going inside to help. It might be two minutes hiding in the toilets at church before you preach. It might be a two-minute walk up the street for no reason. However you do it: pause. That’s what I’m going to try to do.
Jesus Knows What It Feels Like
Finally, when everyone else seems blissfully unaware of what it’s like for you at Christmas (they’re probably not as unaware as you think), remember: Jesus knows how you feel. In fact, Christmas is the very day that proves this. At Christmas, God the Son took on human flesh; he knows what it feels like to be you. So if you feel unknown or ignored, don’t worry: Jesus knows you and sees you and will be right beside you, both while you’re worrying about the sound guy at church and once you sit down to lunch hours later.
