christmas talk

i was super complimented to be asked to speak on the sunday before christmas sunday. i love christmas and everything about it so i was definitely up for this one. growing up on a farm in the australian bush, i have so many wonderful memories of "aussie christmas" but one of the ones i love the most was one christmas when one of the senior missionary couples from america came to breakfast and mum decorated the table and house with blue gum everywhere. it smelled and looked amazing and i have been obsessed with aussie christmas ever since. i wouldn't want it any other way. this year mum made me (and various friends of mine) this gorgeous bush wreath and i love it. it has just made my christmas! anyway... back to my talk - here we go!

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Good afternoon brothers and sisters. I’ve been asked to speak today about how we bring Christ into our home during the Christmas season. When Brother Dowe called me a few weeks ago with my assignment, he said, “you’re a Christmas person aren’t you?” Mate, I am literally a Christmas person. Born just before Christmas and everything. You can’t get more Christmassy than that. With all those combined Birthday and Christmas presents I’ve had? It’s in my blood. You know what they say, “All I want for Christmas is for someone to remember my December birthday.” As a child, my mother would wait until after my birthday to put the Christmas tree up so I didn’t have to celebrate “Birthmas”, but now I have children of my own, it’s up on the first day of December. I just can’t feel festive or excited until there is a tree in my lounge room, twinkling with lights.

As a small child, we would go and select an appropriate tree (well, really more part of a tree) from somewhere on our property, hack it off and bring it home to plant it in a bucket where we would decorate it. To this day I associate the smell of eucalyptus with Christmas because of these trees. We would water the tree each day which of course didn’t do much… it always died within a few days after Christmas was over. Come to think of it, maybe that was mums reason for not having the tree up before my birthday!

My favourite part of the decorating though, was when mum would pull out the black tin that held our family nativity. She would allow me to unwrap each piece from their paper and place them just how I wanted them (don’t get any ideas kids!) in the stable my father had built. To me this was the real start of Christmas and the thing I looked forward to the most. I have no doubt this stemmed my adult obsession of nativity scenes. To me they are the best kind of decoration as they are what Christmas is about. There are plenty of those sets in our home.

I was raised in a home where Christmas was celebrated in a beautiful manner. Everything we did was centred on Christ and giving. As President Thomas S Monson taught in the 2012 Christmas Devotional “Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Saviour the focus of the season.”

My all-time favourite Christmas memory is sitting outside on the verandah one hot Christmas eve, with my parents and the youngest of my brothers, I am fairly certain the two older ones were on their missions at the time. We sat with candles burning and sang the Christmas carols from the hymn book one by one. There was no fanfare, no gifts, just a family, sitting together in the still.

Jeffrey R Holland said, “Shepherds would soon arrive and later, wise men from the east. Later yet the memory of that night would bring Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph. But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees and tinsel. With a family – that’s how Christmas began.” To us all of us that follow Christ that family is still and always will be, the most important part of Christmas.

So how do we ensure Christ is at the center of Christmas in our home? Each year we do things that remind us of the birth of Christ, the first and most wonderful gift. Christmas is the spirit of giving without the thought of getting. 

Each year we have an advent calendar. But not a chocolate one (although yes we have those too), one that has a scripture and something we can do to bring us closer to Christ each day. For example, doing something kind for a neighbor, singing carols as a family, giving food to a charity, one year we packed a box for a solider on active duty… The best part of this type of advent calendar is that it will allow you to go about doing good each day, just as the Saviour did. When actively seeking one thing each day in the lead up to Christmas, you become more focused, allowing you to see other opportunities to serve right in front of you. The Light the World initiative the church introduced a few years ago is the same sort of thing and brings love both in our families and those we come in contact with. 

Watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional has always been something we’ve done in our home since we were married. As new parents we watched it after putting the children to bed as we wrapped gifts. Now we attempt to watch it with the children (not always successfully) so they can enjoy the festive stories and beautiful music that are shared.

We go to the Road to Bethlehem each year to watch the Christmas story acted out. This experience is especially wonderful for children to enable them to see what we believe, played out in front of their eyes. Instead of hearing the story read from a book – they have the opportunity to see and recognize each person that they have heard about.

On Christmas Eve, we watch the nativity video before the children goto bed, then in the morning, we read the Christmas story found in Luke chapter 2 before opening our gifts.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed a bit of a recurring theme here? I keep coming back to the story of the nativity over and over. Why? Because that is what Christmas is all about. Over 2000 years ago an angel appeared to a young engaged woman called Mary to tell her that she would bear a child. The son of God. She meekly accepted his words by saying, “behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Joseph was also told of this miracle that would occur by an angel who told him not to be afraid to take her as his wife. It is obvious to see that Mary was a virtuous and faithful woman chosen by the Lord to bear His son. Joseph a righteous man had also chosen her to be his wife. They were prepared for the coming of the son of God by their faith.

Shepherds were also alerted of the arrival of the Saviour. These Shepherds lived a simple and righteous life. They were dedicated to caring for their sheep, with a  great love for them and I would assume for others. The angel spoke to them and although they were afraid, they followed his instructions and went to see the baby.

Perhaps the best prepared for his arrival were the wise men. The wise men were well respected and educated men. They had wealth and servants and knew of prophecies that had been made concerning this Saviour who would come. They had studied the skies and the words of ancient prophets who foretold his arrival. They watched and waited for many years knowing the signs that would be given.

So each of these people was prepared to meet the Saviour, but how can we be like the wise men and prepare beforehand? To be ready to receive Christ into our homes and lives this Christmas? They had read and studied and were ready to meet him. Are we? I love that Christmas quote that says “wise men still seek Him”. Are we prepared to welcome Him into our homes as we celebrate His birth?

President Thomas S. Monson said, “When we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit. It will block out all the distractions around us, which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning. Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christ. There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ.”

As members of the church we can focus our attention on the Savior and inspire others to do the same. He is the true reason for the season. In a world where people no longer do good “just because” we can make a difference and be the people who do. Smile a little brighter, give a little more, show more patience, be a peacemaker and avoid contention and show love as Christ did. Not just at Christmas, but always. By doing these things and sharing them with our children, we will raise them to love the Saviour, by showing that we love him. We will help build a generation to follow us, who grow in faith and continue to walk the covenant path.

Our celebration of Christmas should be a reflection of the love and selflessness taught by the Saviour. Giving, not getting, brings the Christmas spirit. We feel more kindly one to another. We reach out in love to help those less fortunate. Our hearts are softened. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things. To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.

The Saviour loved all men. Not just those who loved him, but all men. Is there someone we could love more? Someone with whom we have disagreed? Someone who just isn’t our favourite? Is this season the time to make amends? To start anew? Service is the greatest act there is. By truly serving one another, we will forget ourselves and our troubles and become closer to the Saviour than we ever thought possible, for His was the greatest example of service.

May we give as the Saviour gave. To give of oneself is a holy gift. We give as a remembrance of all the Saviour has given. May we also give gifts that have eternal value, along with our gifts that eventually break or are forgotten. How much better the world would be if we all gave gifts of understanding and compassion, of service and friendship, of kindness and gentleness.

Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example, which if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others. Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence. Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or in distress, wherever they may be. Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came. Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life. Because He came, we are gathered to worship Him in bonds of  unity and love.

May His precious Spirit be with us, and may He ever be the center of our celebrations and indeed of our very lives.  I am forever grateful for the Saviour, born so many years ago and for the blessed lives we enjoy within the safety of this His restored church.

May I leave you with a poem written by Christina Rosetti?

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

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in other not so festive news, the doctors told steve there is not much else they can try and asked if dougs sister can come home to spend time with steve as it looks as though it may be the end. she arrived this week. of course we are pleased to have her here, but are sad that its for that reason. we are hoping for a christmas miracle, but things are looking pretty bleak.