Christmas words: Routine

I really enjoy the Christmas season. I especially like putting up the Christmas tree and hanging the decorations. Growing up, we typically began decorating our house the day after Thanksgiving and left the tree and other decorations up until Jan. 1. So, I really looked forward to the day after Thanksgiving. It marked the beginning of the season I enjoyed so much. In contrast, I dreaded Jan. 1 because it hailed the end of my beloved season. Sometimes we were not ready to put up our tree right after Thanksgiving Day because we had to chop down a real one on our farm. This delayed the whole Christmas decorating process because my mom did not let us put up other decorations until the tree was up. Putting the tree up late bothered me because that meant I would have fewer days to enjoy it and the other decorations. When Jan. 1 rolled around, I sometimes would try to convince my mom to keep the tree up just a little longer. However, I never won out. The real tree was always so dry by Jan. 1 that keeping it up would have presented a fire hazard since we had a wood stove in the room where the tree stood. So, I would dutifully help mom take it down, but there was no joy in this for me.

From the time my wife, Lori, and I got married, we have always had an artificial tree. So, my mom's main reason for taking the tree down on Jan. 1 was no longer a factor. However, my wife was an elementary school teacher for the first 15 years of our marriage. She usually had to go back to school somewhere around Jan. 2 and wanted the tree and decorations down before then. Additionally, she grew up in a family where her mom followed the "up on the day after Thanksgiving" and "down on Jan. 1" rule. Therefore, for the first 15 years, we put up our tree and decorations right after Thanksgiving (usually on Friday or Saturday) and took it all down around Jan. 1.

Then our family moved to Ukraine in 2000 and on to Belarus a year later. The holiday traditions there really disrupted our Christmas traditions. At that time in the former Soviet Union, Christmas was celebrated on Jan. 7, and these countries had no Thanksgiving holiday. Plus, the New Year's holiday was much bigger than Christmas, and the decorations I had always associated with Christmas were tied to New Year's. Since these decorations were considered New Year's decorations, they did not go on sale until late December. So, we could not use the "Thanksgiving to New Year's" rule. We built up a collection of Christmas decorations over time and gradually moved back toward this rule. Because the Christmas-New Year's celebration continued until Jan. 14, I convinced my wife to keep our decorations up until then. However, this year Ukraine has moved its celebration of Christmas to Dec. 25; and Poland, where we are living, uses this date also. So, I will have to deal with putting the decorations away again around Jan. 1.

As I have thought about why I don't like putting away the Christmas decorations, it is because it symbolizes the end of the holiday season and return to the routine of ordinary life. In a similar way, Matthew 2.19-23 marks the end of the birth narratives in the gospels and a movement toward the routine of Jesus' childhood. The Lord had sent Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod's wrath. Now Herod was dead, and it was time for them to return home. So, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead (Mt. 2.19-20 CSB)." This is the third time an angel had spoken to Joseph in a dream and, as in the previous two instances, Joseph immediately obeyed. He rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel (Mt. 2.21 CSB). Evidently, they planned on returning to Bethlehem where the wise men found them.

However, when Joseph heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there (Mt. 2.22 CSB). Joseph's concern was very valid. After Herod's death, his territory was divided among his three sons. Judea, where Bethlehem was located, wound up under the rule of Archelaus, the eldest son. He was a cruel and incompetent ruler. Galilee was in the hands of Archelaus' brother Antipas, a more competent and kinder ruler. So, Joseph withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a city called Nazareth (Mt. 2.22-23 ESV). Nazareth was Mary and Joseph's hometown (Lk. 2.39). However, there was more going on than Mary and Joseph going back home. In God's sovereignty, their return to Nazareth occurred so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene (Mt. 2.23 ESV). Once back in Nazareth, Mary and Joseph settled into the routines of life. They had more children and Joseph settled into working as a carpenter (Mt. 13.55). There Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him (Lk. 2.40 ESV).

The events in Matthew 2.19-23 are not as dramatic as the other events relating to Jesus' birth. Nevertheless, the sovereignty of God and the obedience of people (Joseph and Mary) are no less prominent. Here the Lord worked out his will through the mundane just as he had through the dramatic as Joseph submitted to the Lord's instructions. Similarly, today the Lord wants to fulfill his plans through us as we submit to his instructions given to us through his word (the Bible) and his spirit. He wants to do this not just at special times (such as Christmas) and in special ways (like holiday celebrations). The Lord desires to carry out his will and expand his kingdom through our everyday lives and routines. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3.17 CSB). Whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10.31 CSB).

So, as we take down our Christmas decorations and pack them away until next year, let's not lose the joy of worshiping Christ the Savior, who has been born. Let's not let our praise, thanksgiving and passion for him diminish as we settle back into the routines of everyday life. Our oldest son loves Christmas as much as I do. To keep the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart and life, every day throughout the school year he wishes his students "merry Christmas" at the high school where he teaches. You may not decide to go around saying "merry Christmas" throughout the new year; however, I hope the spirit of celebrating Christmas every day at the heart of my son's practice fills your heart and mind throughout the coming year long after the Christmas tree and decorations are down.

DAN UPCHURCH is a native of Bollinger County. He and his wife, Lori, have spent many years as missionaries in Ukraine and currently serve in Poland.