Christmas Means a Little Bit More

Does everyone remember Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas?” If you haven’t read the book, you probably have at least seen one of the movie versions.

The Grinch is arguably Dr. Seuss’s most widely known character. The Grinch is an unusual character who is both loveable and hateable. The Grinch is an all together miserable fellow. Whereas some us would look at a glass of water and call it half empty and others would say it is half full; the Grinch likely would say that it doesn’t matter whether the glass is half empty or half full because the water is probably contaminated anyway. The Grinch goes well beyond mere pessimism; the Grinch is a totally negative person, but eventually he is transformed by the gentle and caring nature of the Who’s of Who-ville on Christmas morning. He becomes a new person after witnessing the love and community of the Who’s.

Interestingly, Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” speaks to the priorities of our lives, and especially during the Christmas season and that’s what I want to talk about this morning. What gets most of our attention? The most time? The most energy? Is it things or is it people? Are we more concerned about owning or being? About making more money or growing closer to other people and to God? Do we get excited about the presents more than the event? Do we understand what truly makes us happy? During the Christmas season, what are you excited about?

We routinely hear various religious commentators expound on what has gone wrong with our society, and why many of us seem to discount the true meaning of Christmas. They blame various factors, including the decline of family values, the entertainment industry, the media, and the banning of organized prayer in public schools. In the midst of this kind of analysis, it seems that the negative influences of materialism rarely get their proper due.

Every year Christmas leaves us with the sense that we live in a materialistic culture, defined in terms of “busyness”, a society that is much more interested in material things than spiritual things. A society that spends more at Wal-Mart buying gifts for Christmas than in the collection plate all year. As a society, we are captive to our seemingly unquenchable thirst for more. Advertisements suggest to us, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways, that we are not really living if we don’t drive a certain kind of car or wear a particular brand of clothes.

It seems that no matter what people have, whether a little or a lot, they all want the same thing: more. This would not be a problem if we were satisfied when we got the “more” that we wanted. But the problem with human nature is that, short of a spirituality that ultimately rejects materialism, more seems to be never enough.

As we have accumulated more and more things, we, as a culture, have become more and more independent and self-sufficient. We have abandoned the front porches that used to serve as gathering places for neighbors, and we have picked up the remote control for our garage door so we can get into the house without having to see, let alone speak with, a neighbor.

Not only is it true that things cannot produce happiness, but also there is plenty of reason to believe that things can actually stand in the way of ultimate happiness. They provide the illusion of contentment while preventing us from exploring the relationships and making the emotional and spiritual connections required to produce true and lasting joy. Thus, things produce the expectation of happiness, only to let us down.

Perhaps we should listen to the words of the many people who testify that they feel they had more back in the days when they had less – more happiness, that is, even when there was less money and fewer things.

The shepherds we heard about in Luke’s gospel may testify to this. What does their reaction upon hearing the news of Jesus’ birth on the first Christmas teach us?

As the scriptures reveal, the shepherds were tending their flock of sheep, working in the pastures when they heard of the birth of Jesus. Luke tells us that an “angel of the Lord” appeared to the shepherds and said, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Overjoyed by the good news, the shepherds immediately decided to stop what they were doing, leave their sheep, and go to Bethlehem. The shepherds understood the magnitude of what they had been told and desired to be with their Savior. After spending time with the new born baby, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”

Are we this excited by Christmas? Are we excited and thankful for the event or for the gifts? Do we stop what we are doing so that we can glorify and praise God during the Christmas season in order to thank him for his gift to us? Enough that we would stop what we were doing and go . . .

I can remember as a child . . .running from house to house trying to gather enough friends to play a baseball or football game outside in our front yard. My brother and I would burst into a friend’s house screaming and yelling, trying to get friends to join in our game. 9 times out of 10 our friends would drop what they were doing (sometimes homework to their parents’ chagrin) and immediately come play in our game. The shepherds were that excited. Once they heard of the birth of Jesus they dropped what they were doing and went to be with Him. They wanted to be with their Savior.

Granted, the shepherds had a slight advantage in that an angel appeared to them, but we too have been given the knowledge of Jesus’ birth, even though it may not be in such a miraculous way. In many respects we should be even more excited than the shepherds, because we know what Jesus did later in his life through his death and resurrection. But, to the shepherds, Christ’s birth alone was something monumental, something worth their complete and undivided attention. Christmas to them was not just a day to get away from the sheep, but a time to praise and glorify God.

Christmas to us should not be simply a day off of work or a day away from school. Or even simply a good time to be with family. As the shepherds did, we too should glorify and praise God for his great gift to us. In order to do this, though, we must remove ourselves from the materialism of Christmas and connect with the essence of Christ’s birth. The shepherds had nothing around them that they could not leave. They could get up and go. Could we? Do we have our priorities straight? Are there things in our lives that are holding us captive, that would prevent us from simply going? Would we try to pack up our computer, or make sure the car was locked in the garage before we went?

The shepherds understood the source of true happiness and knew that material things could not bring it. They knew that true happiness was not to be found in their pastures but in that simple manger on Christmas. We too must understand this truth.

We too must realize that the material things of Christmas do not bring us true happiness. Although appealing for a moment, our Christmas presents under the tree do not bring lasting happiness. Money just can’t do that for us. Take Jack Whittaker of West Virginia, for instance. His friends had always described him as a boisterous, generous and happy-go-lucky guy until he won a $315 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day 2002. To most of us that would seem like such a blessing, but with money comes great temptations and complications. Whittaker’s winnings were the richest undivided jackpot in U.S. history. Although he quickly gave millions away to his church and other charities, his money eventually got the best of him. He became a slave to his money and it led him down paths where he never thought he would find himself. Since winning the jackpot in 2002, Whittaker has been arrested twice for drunken driving and has been ordered into rehab. Recently, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge for attacking a bar manager, and is accused in two lawsuits of making trouble at a nightclub and a racetrack. His wife, understanding the effects that the money has had on her husband, recently was quoted as saying, “I wish all of this would have never happened, I wish I would have torn that ticket up.” The Whittakers have come to realize that money and material things do not bring happiness.

You know, the Grinch had a similar experience in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The Grinch seems somewhat content in his own misery until he witnesses others who don’t share in his misery, others – namely, the Who’s – who have found happiness, contentment, and love. The Grinch reasons that if he can’t be happy, he’ll fix things so that no one can be happy and so he targets the Who’s who were preparing to celebrate Christmas. At first, the Grinch thought that he could ruin the Christmas in Who-ville by simply taking all of the Who’s things, their toys and their tricycles and their pudding and roast beef. He thought he could take away their happiness and make them angry and miserable by taking their things. When the Who’s woke up Christmas morning everything was gone.

But instead of crying and wailing about all of the things they had lost, the Who’s never missed a beat. The fact that they were missing all their presents and trimmings and food didn’t faze them one bit. All the things that the Grinch had taken, were mere symbols of the more important and lasting values that the Who’s held dear. And so the Who’s formed a big circle and held hands. Young and old, male and female, they joined together in song, celebrating life and love, family and friends. Nothing that was truly important to them was missing on that Christmas morning; everything that was important was present.

As the Who’s recognized what was important, we too must cherish what is important about Christmas. The Christmas gift . . .Jesus himself. For it is through him alone that we will experience the happiness that we desire.

It was ultimately the Who’s tacit, but visible rejection of materialistic values that enabled the Grinch to draw closer to a truer understanding of the importance of Christmas. “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store . . .Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . .means a little bit more.”

And it was this understanding that enabled the Grinch’s undersized heart to grow three sizes. Christmas does mean a little bit more. In fact, it means a lot more and the shepherds in Luke understood this. The savior of the world came into that world born of a poor, humble virgin who came to town on a donkey. He spent his first night in a barn among the animals. In such humble places, not in the things of this world, can be found the keys to true and lasting joy.

The Who’s excitement and enthusiasm for family and friends changed the heart of the Grinch. The excitement of the shepherds about the birth of their savior likely changed the hearts of many around them as well. The shepherds and the Who’s understood that Christmas was more than things.

This understanding of Christmas became even more clear to me when I reflected upon my grandma’s life who passed away unexpectedly a week ago. My grandpa passed away before I was born, so my grandma had lived alone since I had known her. My grandma was an energetic and extremely passionate woman who enjoyed learning and reading books. Naturally, over her life she had amassed a great deal of stuff, most of which was scattered throughout her house. Some things were fascinating, and others were less significant. As I went through her house the day after she died I could not help but notice all the stuff she had left when she passed away. She was gone, but all the things that she had accumulated over the years was still there. At death, she took no things with her, all she took was what was in her heart. What ultimately mattered in her death was her faith and the promises of eternal life that she had through Christ. Her things were of no importance. This is the lesson I have begun to understand more clearly this Christmas season.

This is the lesson that the shepherds understood and the lesson that the Grinch learned. Christmas is not about our things, but about Christ. As we remember Christmas and seek to live out the new year, let us strive to put Christ and our faith first in our hearts. Let us not be so attached to this world that we cannot simply go as the shepherds did.