Christmas Every Day
Celebrating Christmas with young children at home has its advantages and disadvantages. The upside is the sheer joy they get from seeing the house decked out and the tree in place with gifts around it. The downside is...the waiting! For the past few weeks, the first thing our four-year-old son says every morning is, "Daddy, is it Christmas today?" With a tired smile I have to tell him, "No, son, not yet. Almost..." The children see that everything is ready, so it's logical to ask, why can't it be Christmas already?
What's even even harder for kids is the day after Christmas: "Mommy, do we really have to wait a whole year for it to be Christmas again? But why can't it be Christmas every day?" And...well...why not? Is it possible to celebrate Christmas every day of the year?
We find an answer in the least-expected place: John Wesley's deathbed. At the end of February, 1791, an 88-year-old Wesley had fallen ill and was nearing the end of his life. On March 2, surrounded by friends and partners in ministry, this towering figure, now weak and dying, sings with a fragile voice one last hymn. Then he pronounces his last words: "The best of all is, God is with us."
"God is with us" or, in the words of Isaiah, "Emmanuel." It is a title for Jesus, one of the many that the same prophet gives us, along with Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and others. But unlike the other names, which speak of some characteristic of Jesus himself, "Emmanuel" speaks of Jesus' relationship with human beings. Jesus is simply God with us. He's not in a heavenly palace, nor in some inaccessible cosmic sphere. No, he's with us.
During Christmas it is easy to imagine Jesus in the form of a cuddly baby. But his name Emmanuel reminds us that he is with us in every aspect of his earthly and heavenly life. He is with us as a healer, teacher, comforter, and example of how to live. He is with us in every aspect of his life, and he is present at every stage of our lives as well.
As writer Ruth Chou Simons puts it, "God with us wasn't one event on Christmas Day, or one lifetime in the 33 years that Jesus walked the earth. God with us is forevermore in the lives of those who receive him as Savior and King."
That is why Jesus, after his resurrection and before ascending to the right hand of the Father, promises, "I will be with you always, until the end of the world." That is, Jesus is always with us. God is always with us. The miracle of Emmanuel is that he makes every day Christmas.
This could be what John Wesley meant with his last breath. The amazing truth is not just that God came into the world in the form of a baby, to be celebrated for a few weeks each December. The most amazing thing is that God came to stay with us—to heal us and teach us and comfort us—every day of the year.
Our prayer is that these Christmas days are a blessing for you and your loved ones. And that starting on December 26th, you would continue to be aware of the presence of God in your life: Emmanuel.
