“Christmas! Bah, humbug!” The infamous line belongs, of course, to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. And this year countless people will once again hear Scrooge “humbug Christmas” by reading the book or watching a version in a move or seeing a play. “Humbug” itself means dishonest talk or behavior meant to deceive people. So to Scrooge, at least in the beginning of the story, he experiences all the cheer and generosity of Christmas as a deception compared to the ledgers in his business. Life and choices have made him an “outsider” to Christmas.

In truth, the Christmas season can be difficult for many people. Loss and grief seem to magnify during the holiday. Long lists of “to dos” increase stress. Anticipated difficult family gatherings fill others with dread. Tight budgets can frustrate some parents. Holiday obligations exhaust still others, as do longer lines and heavier traffic. And who doesn’t get tired of hearing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” on the radio. There are more than a few whispers of “humbug.”

But the great Christmas promise is “Emmanuel”: “God is with us.” And so I trust the promise and try to pay attention. I start by doing a little less; a little less going, a little less doing, a little less buying, a little less decorating. And I try to make time for a few simple things: walking around the lit Christmas trees at Lake Julia in Buhl Park, watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and reading again A Christmas Carol. The beauty and peace of the 11PM Christmas Eve service is always filled with wonder for me. And I find that when I slow down and pay attention, quieter things seems to speak to me the peace of Christmas. And “Emmanuel” happens.

“Humbugging Christmas” – that happens, too. Life goes sideways at times for everyone. But the God who is “Emmanuel” is patient. And so this God waits for us to do a little less, and to do a little simpler, and to pay attention to beauty and wonder. Sometimes it takes the “spirits of Christmas past, present, and future.” And sometimes it just takes candlelight on Christmas Eve singing “Silent Night.”

Glenn

“…and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’” – Matthew 1:23