Repost: Keeping Christ in Christmas

I originally posted this on December 12, 2008.  This was before we had been to Europe.  On our 25th anniversary trip we visited Ephesus.  There we saw an Ichthus carved in the Marble Road.  Our guide, Hakan, explained it to us:

Most Christians know of the Fish symbol. In Greek IXOYE (Ichthus) is the word for “fish.” For ancient Christians, though, it held deeper symbolism:  Iota is the first letter of the name Jesus in the Greek alphabet.  X, or Chi, is the first letter for “Christ.”  O, the letter Theta, is the first letter for the Greek term for God.  Y, or Upsilon, represents “Son,” and E, or Sigma, is for Savior - "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."  Hakan showed us how it was drawn by overlaying the letters:

 How many times have you seen "Merry Xmas" and thought, "here we go again, taking Christ out of Christmas?" I've done it myself on a regular basis since I was a child. But I learned a little something this week - Christians invented Xmas!

 

This abbreviation for Christmas is of Greek origin. The word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. During the 16th century, Europeans began using the first initial of Christ's name, "X" in place of the word Christ in Christmas as a shorthand form of the word. Although the early Christians understood that X stood for Christ's name, later Christians who did not understand the Greek language mistook "Xmas" as a sign of disrespect.

So the next time your agnostic neighbor or atheist co-worker says "Merry Xmas," just smile and say thank you! Or take Paul's approach in Acts 17:23 "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you" and introduce them to the Christ of Xmas.

When Christmas Punches You in the Heart

I've written a lot about Christmas during my ten years of blogging.  I plan to re-post some of those in the next days or weeks.  I've shared about my first Christmas after Rod passed away, Crying Over Jingle Bell Rock, but I've never shared the first time I heard "The Christmas Shoes."

I'm pretty sure it was December 1998.  Mom had only been gone a couple of months.  I have no idea what the church Christmas program was about that year, but I do remember someone singing "The Christmas Shoes."  Somehow I had never heard that song before.  I was so completely unprepared for it...

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if mama meets Jesus tonight

It was the words in the second verse that hit the hardest:

He said mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without...

My Mom loved Christmas.  She loved giving gifts to her family.  She loved making candy and giving it away.  Her birthday was one week later on New Year's Day and she often got the "it's for your birthday and Christmas" gifts with little celebration.

When I heard that song that night, I just sat with tears streaming down my face.  Oh how I missed her!  The most wonderful time of the year hurt so much.  Twenty years later, Mom is still missed.

Maybe this is your first Christmas without someone.  All the hearts singing and bells ringing when loved ones are near is just a reminder of your loss.  It is going to hurt.  Don't be afraid to cry.  You don't have to explain yourself.  Many of us have been there.  That punch to the heart is a reminder of love you've shared.  But with the pain I hope you will take time to remember the joy they brought. Recreate a special tradition, hold close a decoration from long ago, and let the memories warm your heart.

Repost: Giving 100 Percent

Here we are, the final few weeks of 2018.  It's so often a blur of busyness, with travel, parties, shopping, decorating, celebrations and more.  I've had the added joy of jury duty thrown in, with a trial that we hope to wrap up Tuesday afternoon.  It's also a time to start looking towards the new year and reflecting on the old.  No matter how you feel about the year, today is a good day to give 100 percent.

My latest issue of Runner's World magazine had an interesting article about the Chicago Marathon. Sammy Wanjiru was the winner in 2009, but as the 2010 race drew near his participation was in doubt. His two previous events had finished with three horrible letters - DNF (did not finish). Rumors and doubts were plenty, but as the gun went off Wanjiru was there. At the halfway point, he was in the front group, on course-record pace. By mile 23, it became a two-man race. With half a mile to go, he pulled away to the win with an overall time of 2:06:24, less than a minute slower than last years race. The sentence that stuck out to me was this:

He proved that even when you are not AT 100 percent, you can still GIVE 100 percent of what you have.

I really like that!! When you really think about it, how many days are you at 100 percent? You feel great, you're wide awake, full of energy, excited, pumped to face the day - feeling 100 percent! More days than not, life gets in the way, troubles come, sickness hits and feeling 100 percent is a distant memory. But we can still give 100 percent of what we have!

In my lifetime there is no greater example of that than my brother, Rod. I remember him singing many times, but I will never forget the time he sang sitting down. He had been very sick, his body weakened by disease. But there he was singing "I'm Gonna Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet," belting it out for all he was worth! He had few days in his lifetime that he would say he felt 100 percent, but over and over I saw him giving 100 percent of what he had.

2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us that "God loveth a cheerful giver." That is not just talking about money! The following verse says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." So cheerfully give in every good work, even when you're not at 100 percent!