I love Christmas Carols, but this year I was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. Even as I sit behind the soundboard or in the control room, these songs just become noise. Even if I get the opportunity to sing along it feels to come out of sheer muscle memory.
Do you ever feel like that? Like worship has just become your job? Well, if you'll indulge me and hang in here I promise not to take up too much of your time. What I want to share is simple, and it's not just another “Jesus is the reason for the season” bumper sticker message.
Like I said, I have had trouble getting into the Christmas Spirit this year. Just a lot going on both at work and at home. Plus, there hasn't been any snow yet here in central Indiana. Then the other day, our leadership staff requested that we get our chapel setup with audio/video support to act as overflow for the Christmas Eve services. I was immediately annoyed. I have been asking to do this for years and was always shot down due to cost. Now, suddenly it's imperative that it happens in less than three days. I love the idea, just wish I had more lead-time.
I began to resent the project a little, so I started weighing costs vs seating capacity. The electricians time, my staff's time, and the equipment costs, and for what a room that holds 75 people it wasn't adding up. There was so much other stuff to get done and I was pouting.
Then it hit me, while on a 12-foot ladder with my head poking through a ceiling tile. I am such a hypocrite. No sugar coating here, I am 110% guilty. I cannot tell you how many times I have given the pep talk before service that if one person comes to know Christ all our work is worth it. That if one person finds salvation because of our efforts we rejoice.
So there I was, the cheerleader for that one person when I'm being “spiritual,” but in the heat of the moment…it was all about me. I had lost focus.
This bothered me, more so than the last-minute request. I had to stop and really think about my motives and where my head was at the moment. I began to think of all the positives of my labor.
First thing I had to do was to forgive my leadership and let them off the Holiday grudge I was brewing. I realized they began to think of contingency plans because attendance figures were growing. I'd rather work through the night than turn someone away on Christmas.
Second I began to realize it wasn't that much work. If I'd quit being a drama queen and just do it, it would be done in a matter of hours.
Finally (and here is where the Jesus juke comes in) a carol came to mind --- words I have said a thousand times: “What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ the King...”
Christ left all that he knew, his royal life in heaven, to come and be born in a stable. What love that is, what devotion to us that is. I am bummed out because I have to pull a cable – a cable that I'm being paid to pull. Shepherds, wise men, and who knows who else travelled for miles to see a baby they had heard was born. They came seeking hope and the fulfilment of a promise. That is still true today. On Christmas Eve, our auditorium will be filled with people who are still seeking. With a little effort, 75 more people will have that opportunity to seek Him. What a powerful role I have been given. I was given the task to make sure anyone that wanted to hear the message of salvation could hear it.
I know we're all busy. We have 1,000 things to do and never-ending tasks to accomplish. We're tech people. We go, go, go. I have to warn you, don't become cynical this time of year. Don't become callus to the miracles of Christmas. They still happen today. Want proof? While up in that ceiling I found a conduit that I've never noticed before. It ran to the tech booth in the chapel – and there was a pull line in it.
If one person, just one, crosses the line of faith and says I believe that child asleep on Mary's lap grew up and paid the ultimate price for my sins, isn't it all worth it? Don't put a price limit on what God can accomplish through you.
Merry Christmas.
