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This edition is sponsored by Aspen Group
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"We all have our nice Christmases, usually in the form of to-do lists," writes contributor Clare Coffey this week at CT. "We need to go get firewood from that guy in the pines who sells it crazy cheap; we need to pick up a case of bubbly; we need to make sure the children’s stockings haven’t molded during their time in the basement; we need to make dough and peel potatoes and acquire, slice, brine, and stuff various meats."
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But the Perfect Christmas is another story altogether. It’s not just a list of to-dos: It’s the seductive fantasy that if we take the perfect Christmas-card photo, set the perfect tablescape, and cook the perfect prime rib, we’ll have, well, a perfect day.
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But of course—people aren’t perfect. Squabbles break out; perspectives clash. Odd relatives are odd. Kids have tantrums. Feelings get hurt.
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None of that matters, argues Coffey. Our Christmas celebrations were never meant to be domestic bliss. They are about hospitality, however incomplete, and the coming of a Savior who welcomes us, in all our shortcomings, to gather around the manger and behold.
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"The imperfect Christmas will mean unfinished to-do lists, hurt feelings, disappointments, awkward silences, boring conversations, the pepperoni on the cheese board disappearing too fast," Coffey writes. "It will mean songs and colored lights and homecomings and Waterford crystal, and it will make you so very happy but never happy enough. Celebrate it anyway. The celebration will never make us happy enough, but the reason we celebrate will."
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P.S. More Christmas reflections in our digital pages this week: What it meant for one family to celebrate Christmas without gifts, and how Christmas and Revelation are connected.
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This Christmas, join over 50,000 members who trust Christianity Today for truth and insight. Start your subscription before 12/20 and get $25 off your first year. You’ll also enjoy seasonal devotionals, our popular January/February Book Awards issue, unlimited digital access, subscriber-only events, and more.
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This week on Being Human: Five emotional well-being tips for Christmas gatherings.
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"Tip number one: Reactivity is contagious. Noticing and curiosity are an antidote." | Listen here.
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Is your church space furthering your mission—or hindering it?
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Aspen Group understands this having spent over 30 years helping churches create spaces that are not just functional, but deeply mission-driven. By prioritizing your church’s unique ministry, your reimagined space will connect your community with each other and your mission.
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Let your building be more than a backdrop. Make it a space that cultivates transformation. Discover what’s possible in your church space with Aspen Group.
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Ashley Hales, editorial director, features: We always watch the livestream of Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God at the Ryman Auditorium, then listen on vinyl throughout the Advent and Christmas season. (Tune in to Peterson’s interview with CT editor at-large Russell Moore this week.)
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Kate Lucky, senior editor, features: I’m making these chewy gingerbread cookies for my church’s lessons-and-carols service.
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| paid content for gloo |
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In the United States, more than 450,000 churches, ministries, and non-faith-based organizations combine into an ecosystem. This is more than double the number of fast food restaurants across the country,…
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The heroine reminds me what it means to be beloved as I raise three children who were abandoned like her.
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The executive order reverses a Biden-era push for LGBTQ policies that shut Christians out of fostering and adoption, but its legal mechanism is left vague.
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Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.
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Our therapy culture has made us too comfortable with God.
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