Phil Strong.
I have one of those friends who just can’t read the room. He’s socially awkward, not very good in crowds, and just always seems to do the wrong thing. He’s the kind of guy that would flatulate loudly at a funeral and then laugh because he thought it was funny.
Phil Strong
Like I said, he’s not able to read the room.
I’m not perfect by the way. A long time ago, when I was much younger, my father asked me to help him at work.
My father was a funeral director and asked me if I would travel across town to a house where I would be collecting a deceased person to bring back to him at the mortuary. Upon arrival, I reversed the wagon up the driveway, bounced out of the car to greet my dad’s colleague who introduced me to a lovely old man. “Hello sir,” I said, “it’s wonderful to meet you. How are you today?”
Not cool. The man’s wife had died only hours earlier. Like I said, some people are not able to read the room.
Jesus was surrounded by people who were not able to read the room. I mean, he was also a little tricky in the way he explained things, but a lot of people just missed the point. Take Nicodemus, for instance.
He was a scholar, a wise sage, a teacher of the Bible that the Jewish people would study at church. When Jesus said to him, “In order for you to obtain eternal life, you must be born again,” Nicodemus got confused and asked how a grown man could enter again into his mother’s womb to be reborn. Jesus had to explain he was talking about spiritual rebirth.
Just like Nicodemus missed the point, many of us do the same at Christmas.
Christmas has arrived at my house with a flurry of colour, plastic ornaments, Santa, nativity scenes, tinsel, and loud carols playing on most devices. I thought Bing Crosby was dead – he sure sounds like it.
Whether you celebrate Christmas for faith or family, it’s worth asking: what’s the heart of this season? Christmas is a time when many people miss the point. They don’t read the room and they don’t grasp what is actually happening.
Christmas is not about tinsel. Christmas is not about turkeys. Christmas is about celebrating the person who came to visit earth to connect with us so that we might connect with Him for eternity.
Let’s not misread the room this Christmas. Let’s not make it about something it’s not meant to be. Let’s not get distracted. Let’s not get diverted. Let’s not deviate from the purpose of celebrating Jesus as the one who loved each one of us so much that he came to earth, gave his life, and made a way for us to be reunited with God as our Father. Don’t misread the room this Christmas.
Celebrate the right thing, not the wrong thing. Celebrate with loved ones. Celebrate with neighbours. But make sure you celebrate the right thing.
Friends, Christmas begins with Christ.
Zion Church pastor Phil Strong
