IN three days, we shall celebrate Christmas.
But if you have been down to the wharf area over the last few weeks, you will have seen ships fully loaded with people and cargo, ready to take passengers out of Honiara and back to the provinces for holidays.
Most businesses around town will have finished their boom trading time, as all sorts of food, clothing and other items and gifts have been purchased with hard earned holiday money.
When people go home to the province, they do not go empty handed.
One ship I went on to see someone off was so full just sitting at the wharf that water was six inches deep inside the ship floor, and to move around you were going to get wet.
So, like the stores, the ship owners too must be having a boom time as people go home, and then in a few weeks time, the reverse journey begins as people make their way from the provinces back to Honiara.
How empty can Honiara get over Christmas? Perhaps it doesn’t really matter.
It might be a welcome thing not to have to struggle through the busy traffic flow that congest the only road going through town.
Churches will feel the same thing around town.
Pews that are normally filled each Sunday will stay empty for as long as the families are back in the village.
The few faithful that remain in Honiara or that have to work through may even feel lonely or deserted.
How empty can Christmas get?
Of course, this question does not really apply to people moving out of town.
Because if town is empty, the village will be full. Rather, I raise the question because I want to draw attention to the meaning of Christmas.
For some people, Christmas may be little or nothing more than a time of holidays, a time of rest, a time of parties and having fun, and spending some family time together.
I am not suggesting these things are unimportant and have no value. The opposite is true.
It is good to have some ‘down-time.’ It is good to unwind, rest and relax, and get refreshed for a new year.
Family time is important, and there is nothing wrong with parties. But that can happen anytime, and these things do not give meaning to Christmas.
Whether we like it or not, Christ is still essential to Christmas.
Sadly, in some places, they have even removed Christ from Christmas, choosing instead to call it Xmas.
But that is just the point, isn’t it? Christmas without Christ is as empty as it can get. It loses all its meaning, it becomes an empty blowing of wind.
Mind you, even with Christ, Christmas can still be empty. What I mean is this; for some, Christmas is only about a sweet little baby being born.
There is the heart warming picture of a poor couple in a stable, with a few sheep and donkeys standing around with a contented look.
There are the shepherds, standing in awe before the little baby, and then the wise men from the east, bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh with a sense of reverence before a new born king.
Now of course, this is the Christmas story… but it is only half of it. There is another side to the story that some will choose to ignore. It has to do with why Jesus came.
In the story of the angel visiting the parents, they are told to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Jesus came with a purpose. God’s plan for the coming of Christ, is a much more grim picture than just a little baby being born.
Babies bring smiles and joy. We celebrate new life. But Jesus came to die. He came to suffer. He came to endure the cruel cross of Calvary.
Old Simeon in the temple prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart. This was a reference to the cross.
A Christmas with only the baby of Bethlehem and not the Christ of Calvary is still empty. We need to embrace the whole package.
Have you ever wondered why so many are unwilling to accept the second half of the deal?
Why people are so reluctant to accept the crucified Christ as part of the Christmas story?
It has to do with knowing something real about ourselves. It has to do with knowing that Christ came to save sinners, and that means us – yes, you and me!!
When Jesus went to the cross, he died in the place of His people. He died in place of miserable sinners like you and me.
It is we who deserved to die on that cross. All of us are guilty of rebellion against the holy God. We have all turned away from following his ways. We have all fallen short of the glory of God.
Many people do not want to admit this.
They think that they are OK – they are good enough, and that at the end of time, some loving God is going to weigh up their lives and give them a pass mark into the eternal kingdom of heaven.
This is wishful thinking and sadly mistaken.
The reality is that none of us are good enough. But by accepting and trusting and loving not just the Babe of Bethlehem, but the Christ of Calvary, Christmas takes on its full meaning.
It is only then that we can rejoice, and sing about peace on earth and peace in our hearts.
In the words of the old hymn: “O Come, O come Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.”
The Lord Jesus Christ came to set us free from the captivity of sin.
He did that not just through his birth, but through his death and resurrection.
When we accept and believe that for ourselves, then Christmas will not be empty, but full of grace, joy and peace.
May that be true for you this Christmas.
REV. KEVIN RIETVELD
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