Christmas housecleaning

My friendly Hungarian-born neighbour was working her fingers to the bone when I ran into her shortly before Christmas. She wasn’t baking dozens of goodies or searching for countless gifts. The circle of her loved ones was limited to her husband and their only child. There would be no invited guests or an elaborate turkey spread.

So what was she doing feverishly rushing around in preparation for Christmas? “I’m doing a thorough housecleaning,” she explained. Curtains would be washed, windows shined, cupboards cleaned and organized. The best in cleaning fluids and a generous amount of elbow grease provided her with the necessary equipment to ensure success. For her, a spotless home was equivalent to Christmas readiness.

My neighbour’s firm resolve and action led to the inevitable question: What should I do to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth? What are my priorities before the holiday? Things around my home usually look respectable enough for the big day. Would a little more shine make December 25 more meaningful for our family?

Another option might be to spiritualize all the glitz and gifts and glory, turning them into acts of worship and “putting Christ back into Christmas.”

But are these things enough to properly celebrate the event that changed humanity’s life on earth forever?

I agree with my neighbour. Cleaning house is the right way to prepare for Christmas. But I suggest we begin with the home of our soul. What needs to be polished and what has to go?

Has the dust of care and worry about health, a job, children, finances, or old age accumulated unnoticed over time, disguising the truth of God’s care for his children? (1 Peter 5:7)

Is the guilt over a sin long ago addressed and confessed to God still hovering at the doorstep of our soul, denying God’s promise of forgiveness? (1 John 1:9)

Are the rush and hurry of good programs, dinners, and events blurring our vision to the point where we miss the joy of Christ’s coming? (John 16:24)

Are there vestiges of resentment or an unforgiving spirit – those dark, shadowy feelings over earlier hurts – lurking in the crevices of our soul and keeping us from the freedom Christ gives when we forgive others? (Matthew 6:14)

Or is there unbelief raised by unanswered prayers and questions about God’s sovereignty in a world filled with suffering and war? (Hebrews 3:12–13)

Yes, there’s a lot of cleaning to do in preparation for Christmas. But the elbow grease of well-meant self-effort and firm resolve won’t suffice to rid us of the impurities in our soul.

There’s a better way, the only way, to deal with sin in our lives as we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth. Matthew explains it when he records the words of the angel to Joseph in chapter 1:21 of his gospel. “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

It is he by whom God promised long ago to defeat Satan and sin. He spoke to the serpent in the garden, saying, “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

It is he whom the prophet foretells in Isaiah 7:14 when he says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

It is he whom John the Baptist declares in John 1:29: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

It is he whom Paul announces in Acts 13:23: “God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.”

It is he who will save his people, you and me, from our sins so we can celebrate Christmas in the right spirit every day of our lives.

Myron Augsburger says in his commentary on Matthew, “Salvation among other things is . . . the correction of perversion so that we may be persons who express again the image of God.” That’s how I want to prepare for Christmas – shining from the inside out, reflecting the image of God. How about you?

Matthew 1:21

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Elfrieda Balzer is a former broadcast missionary with MBMSI and member of North Kildonan MB Church, Winnipeg.