The Simplicity of Christmas
Consider with me the simplicity of Christmas. The entry of God’s Son into the world came without any human fanfare, even though angels sang His birth to humble shepherds over the arid and thorny pastures of Galilee. There were no creature comforts in His lodging, just a rough stable and scratchy hay and humble swaddling cloth and the cool night air, thick with the pungent smell of animals and the occasional sounds of their discomfort. Perhaps not even the customary midwife arrived to attend his birth. The delivery occurred in the simplest possible space, as Jesus and His parents found no hospitality in a guest room.
Jesus lived in the same simplicity into which He was born. No liveried footmen carried Him in a litter from place to place throughout His life, nor did He ride in a carriage pulled by fine horses; He walked or rode a donkey. As He once said to His disciples, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20 ESV). The Gospels tell of His camping or His staying in the homes of friends, and occasionally we read that He passed the nights praying in vigil outdoors or sleeping on the deck of a fishing boat.
When the time came for Jesus to die, He shed the royal robe that had been placed on Him in mockery by Pilate’s soldiers at the Roman praetorium before being crucified on the cross, exiting the world as He had entered it: bloody, naked, and wet from water breaking out—this time from the hole in His heart.
The same signs of simplicity marked the beginning of Christmas and the apparent end of the story, but appearances are deceiving. The beginning and the end held the most profound mystery and irony; much more was at stake than what appeared to the casual observer. No one, not even His forewarned disciples, would have predicted the resurrection or the glory that was to follow. Yet all that glory lay latent in the simplicity that marked His life from its beginning till the dawn of New Creation.
And so, as we prepare our hearts for Christmas, remember the simplicity of His lifestyle and consider how to take His words seriously: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:25–33 NIV).
Whatever you were desiring to receive for Christmas, let it go. Set your heart on the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. In that simplicity, you will surely receive with Him all things. This Christmas, find the simplicity, and you will find glory wrapped up in it as well.