Keep Adoring

Something feels a little different after Christmas is over. Although I wait until New Year’s Day to start putting away all the decorations, it already feels like the letdown. Presents have been unwrapped, put away, or returned. Radio stations put Christmas music on hold until next year. Stores already have Valentine’s Day gifts out. Time to get back to normal.

Lately, I have been thinking like the Grinch, “Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” The Grinch thought that Christmas was just about stuff. Remove the stuff and Christmas is gone. I hope as Christians we know that Christmas is not about the stuff, but I wonder how often we put the decorations away, finish the last Christmas cookie, send our Christmas thank-you notes, silence the Christmas music, and essentially forget the wonder and meaning of Christmas until next December or at least until Easter.

Matthew West’s song “Day After Christmas” captures the idea.

Here comes the letdown Christmas is over Here comes the meltdown, there goes the cheer But before we have a breakdown, let us remember The light of the world is still here

Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season, but He is the reason for every day, every second of our lives. We sing “Come, Let Us Adore Him” throughout December, but come January adoration is primarily reserved for Sunday worship.

There were several songs of worship even before Jesus’ was born – Elizabeth’s, Mary’s, Zechariah’s, and the angel’s. We know that the shepherds came to worship Jesus at his birth, and the wise men later came to bring gifts and worship. But what then? Did life go back to normal? Did the miraculous baby in a manger become just a nice memory? Let’s read Luke 2:8-20, focusing on verse 20.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

A familiar account, but let’s zero in on a couple of things. First, on Sunday, our pastor asked us to put ourselves in the shepherds’ place. An angel appears to you, an unclean, despised, lowly shepherd. Then, not only does an angel appear to you (who can claim that?), but then a host of angels appears, praising God. I’ve been to many concerts, but I don’t think any of them with all the speakers, lights, and special effects could begin to compare to this angel choir. Yet, as our pastor pointed out, the shepherds didn’t focus on the WOW! factor of what they just witnessed. They focused on the message of the angels. As soon as the angels went back to heaven, the shepherds made haste to follow what the angel had told them.

We can get sidetracked worshipping other things besides Jesus. The Christmas season is just one reminder – we get caught up in the music, lights, presents, gatherings, and food. We live as if those things are at the center of Christmas. On Sundays, maybe we are more preoccupied with the style of music or the performance of it, how dynamic the preacher is, whether there is a coffee bar, do our kids like the children’s classes, or will the service finish in time for us to do whatever else we had planned. We sing the songs, and we listen to the sermon, but we are not worshipping Jesus.

Second, we read that the shepherds did indeed follow the angel’s directions. They found Jesus. They shared with Mary and Joseph what the angel had told them. They worshipped Jesus. Their “Christmas” was complete, right? They could go back to their fields and get to work again.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The shepherds didn’t consider that their worship service had ended. No, they returned, “glorifying and praising God” because what God had told them through the angel had proven true. They had seen the Savior, Christ the Lord. The Christmas Angel Musical didn’t transform them. Jesus transformed them. Their response was not just praise in the moment, but continuing adoration and praise.

Christmas is over, but as Matthew West said, “the Light of the world is still here.” Usually, I wait to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving because I want to enjoy that intentional time of thankfulness. Thankfully, continued adoration of Jesus doesn’t require Christmas music (but feel free to listen to Christmas music year-round). Each day we can be purposeful in remembering and praising God that Jesus came to be our Savior, Christ the Lord. Christmas and every day in between Christmases should be filled with adoration, wonder, and awe that Jesus died in our place, taking our sin, and giving us His righteousness. Like the shepherds, may we be purposeful in glorifying and praising God all year long.

Reflection

1. Where has your worship shifted from Jesus to other things? What distracts you or captures your attention in corporate worship or in your personal worship besides Jesus?

2. Is your adoration, wonder, and awe of Jesus and what He has done for you limited to Sunday mornings, Christmas, and Easter? What is at least one thing you can begin doing today to keep adoring Jesus every day?

3. What is one specific thing about Jesus that you adore? Share that with someone today.