In the papers today, there was talk of a group pushing an eco-friendly Christmas. What got my attention was the talk about renaming 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer' as 'Gary the green nose reindeer'. I reckon the idea has merit. Good name, anyway. But they also had this list of 12 environmentally friendly days of Christmas that I reckon was so close to being good, but ended up short of the real thing. For example, Day five said,
5. Turn Christmas lights off overnight.
If they were fair dinkum, they would suggest using LED solar powered lights.
But it was their last suggestion that came so close to the truth, but then at the last second fell short. Day twelve said,
12. Keep the emphasis on presence, not presents, by spending plenty of time with family and friends.
"Keep the emphasis on PRESENCE, not PRESENTS" is a great idea. I was getting excited that a major Sydney newspaper was saying this, and then I was all let down when they explained that this means you should spend time with family and friends.
It's just so heart breaking when people can get so close to the truth and then miss the main point at the last second.
Another example was an email I received today that said,
"Hi Gary,
The festive season is well and truly upon us, and that means two things - parties and the search for the perfect Christmas gift for friends and family."
Of course the company then offered to help me find and buy from them the perfect Christmas gift. But the sad thing is that for them, Christmas meant parties and presents, without any reason whatsoever. Why party if you have no hope of peace with God and eternal life? Why bother with presents if you're not reminded of the PRESENCE of Jesus, as God with us, as our king and Saviour?
As we head into another Christmas, let's remember that it's not so much about presents, but presence – the true gift is the gift of Immanuel, 'God with us'.
Rev Gary Haddon
7th December, 2007.