Chris is having a bad year:
“It’s bad enough that gas prices were so high, and it was harder than ever to cover all my expenses and pay the bills, but on top of that, my boss has been hassling me about something that wasn’t even my fault. Now there’s also family trouble, and I’m caught in the middle once again. It seems there’s no end. With the holidays coming up, that’s just one more source of stress. There’s nothing merry about Christmas, because my life is just one big ‘Chris-mess’!”Whether you picture Chris as a man or woman might depend on how much you identify this individual with yourself or someone close to you. In fact, there is no single person named Chris whose life is described above, but his or her experiences are representative of all of us. Maybe you don’t relate to everything Chris said, or maybe you have different troubles like health concerns or marital struggles, but each of us has our own “mess” that we won’t be able to avoid, even as we try to celebrate the holidays.
It is because of this mess, however, that Jesus came to earth in the first place. Into a world of pain and suffering, of sin and injustice, Christ came to bear our transgressions and give us the hope of eternal life. Even if your name isn’t Christopher or Christine, your name is “Christian,” and Jesus came for you, to take your “Chris-mess” and turn it around.
On December 25, you might see some visible “mess” that is a result of Christmas, such as piles of wrapping paper torn from presents or stacks of dirty dishes from a big holiday meal. “Such a mess!” you might say. But remember that Jesus is not responsible for the mess; instead, He is the one who can take all the“Chris-messes” of your life and clean them up, just as you are washed clean in Baptism. The festival of Jesus’ birth reminds us that He came on a rescue mission that would not end before He had died on the cross and risen to life, so that we could live life in Him! So have a Merry Christmas, Christian!
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