Four mistakes to avoid in your Christmas message

As a preacher, I’m always trying to subvert expectations. I hate the kind of familiarity that might breed contempt or, worse, boredom! To a speaker, boredom is kryptonite. So I’ll often try to defamiliarise people with topics they think they understand. I find myself using the word ‘actually’ a lot.

But there’s a problem with this (actually)! Sometimes, in trying to offer fresh insights, we end up over-complicating or even undermining truths that are already profound. We subvert, but we subvert the wrong thing, or in the wrong way. This happens a lot at Christmas. We’ll consider four examples. First, the ‘Debunking The Nativity’ sermon.

Debunking traditional Christmas

You know how it goes: ‘Everything You Think You Know About The Nativity Is A Lie. The shepherds never met the three kings, and there weren’t three of them and they weren’t kings. It wasn’t a stable and don’t get me started on the donkey!’ This kind of relentless demythologisation might initially engage the sceptical, but it can deconstruct more than it builds.

When you approach the nativity as a Biblical-theological whole (rather than from below, one text at a time) you do encounter angels and animals, rich and poor, the Gentile Magi and the Jewish shepherds (see Isaiah 1:3; Matthew 2 and Luke 2). The nativity tableau is not doing verse-by-verse exegesis, but it is presenting a theological vision for Christmas that is richly Scriptural. High and low, east and west, the powerful and the paupers – all orbiting around the Light of the World, Jesus. That’ll preach! But the debunking sermon, in an attempt to find surer foundations for Christmas hope, might find itself undermining the most cosmic vision which the nativity presents.

Let’s consider three other ‘Actually’ approaches that might miss the mark. All of them take the form of: You Thought Christmas Was All About X; You’re Wrong. I understand the instinct, but I think that instinct needs to be plugged into a more helpful paradigm. Tim Keller (meditating on the classical law-and-gospel framework) spoke of ‘Yes-but-No-but-Yes’ sermons. This is how that would play out…

Debunking cosy Christmas

A typical ‘Debunking’ sermon would say: ‘You think Christmas is cosy? You’re wrong. It’s not – Herod killed the innocents, for goodness sakes, etc, etc.’ On the other hand, a ‘Yes-but-No-but-Yes’ approach would go something like: ‘Yes, Christmas is wonderful. There’s something good and true about loved ones huddled by the fire. At the heart of the Christmas readings is the light shining in the darkness. But No, our sin has brought darkness into the world, shattering that ideal. But – Yes! Christ’s redemption restores and perfects these things. He was laid in a manger, in Bethlehem, the ‘House of Bread’, to be true nourishment for a starving world.’

Debunking family Christmas

A typical sermon debunking the ‘Family Christmas’ might just say: ‘You think Christmas is about family, you’re wrong, it’s about Jesus.’ But what if, instead, we say: ‘Yes, Christmas is about family, which is why family at Christmas can be so good. But No, it’s not about our nuclear families alone. In fact, Christmas often highlights the strain and fractures within our own households. Our families are not the answer. But – Yes! Christ the Son, came as our Brother to draw us into the ultimate family – the household of God. Or…

Debunking gift-giving Christmas

A typical sermon about the consumerism of Christmas will say: ‘Christmas is not about presents; it’s about Jesus.’ But what if instead we said: ‘Yes, we love gift giving because at the heart of the universe is a gift. The Father places everything in the Son’s hands (John 3:30) and he places the Son in our hands (John 3:16). But No, we often refuse this gift; ‘He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. (John 1:12)’ Our hearts, like Scrooge’s, can be closed off, withholding love. But – Yes! Even to us ‘mini-Grinches,’ the gift of Christmas comes. Won’t you receive Him?

‘Actually’ moments can be powerful. But, to use Dan Strange’s phrase, the Christmas Child is the ‘subversive fulfillment’ of our longings. Let’s allow him to shape our sermons.