“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel.”

Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Christmas

Christmas has connotations of happiness, brightness, and cheer. But for many that is not always the case. Holidays and Christmas in particular can also bring feelings of anxiety or sadness. It can bring reminders of dysfunction in families or the loss of loved ones. We also tend to attach Christmas to things that can cause discomfort or suffering- social expectations, consumerism, and difficult emotions. Is it just about the gifts, the family gatherings, the lights, and the festivities? It has become that, and it is easy to see why we do have blue Christmases when any of those expectations are absent or not up to par. 

So let’s take a step back and zoom out for a moment. As believers, we also realize that “Jesus is the reason for the season” and that it is an “O, Holy Night”. It is a time to celebrate his coming with “joy to the world”. But He was also the “Consolation of Israel”. In Luke 2, we read of Mary and Joseph coming to the temple according to Jewish law requirements (Leviticus 12, Ex. 13:1–2). They encounter a man named Simeon. All we know about him is that he was “righteous and devout” and the Holy Spirit was upon him. This means he was right with God and a faithful servant. We also read that he was “waiting for the consolation of Israel”. And through the revealing of the Spirit, he would not die until he saw him. Through his prophecy, we know that as soon as he saw Jesus, that wait was over. So what did this mean?

Simeon had been waiting, along with the whole nation of Israel, for the One Isaiah had spoken about to Israel. The coming Messiah. A whole section of Isaiah is appropriately called the “book of comfort” (Isaiah 40:1–48:22), where he describes the Messiah as One who provides this comfort to God’s people. The history of Israel was full of suffering, either due to their own sins or the oppression of other nations. They had experienced slavery, oppression, and exile. They had been disciplined severely by the Lord for their sins. They were in need of “a person or thing to bring comfort after experiencing loss or disappointment; to alleviate or lessen the grief, sorrow, or disappointment of; give solace or comfort” (Dictionary.com ). Not only is this comfort for the things we experience in the world, but also for the redemption of our sins. Redemption is defined as “the action of saving or being saved from sin. The action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.” Reading further in Luke 2, we see that Simeon was not alone. There was Anna, an aged widowed Prophetess who spent day and night at the temple “praying and fasting”. She was also there as a second witness to Jesus as the Savior that was to come as the “Redemption of Jerusalem”. This child was to bring consolation by giving us hope in the fact that we would no longer be in the prison of sin, chained to the penalty of death. He brought good news by His birth, freedom from sin by His death, a living hope by His resurrection, and a future glory for by His ascension. 

Now finally in the temple, two blessed individuals would experience in the lifetime the consolation and redemption come in the flesh. What a relief and tremendous joy for Simeon and Anna. Here was the One born to take away our grief and disappointment. Here was One that had come to replace the blues with rejoicing. 

Although we have this solace now, it is still a partial fulfillment. We may still experience the Christmas blues. But as we wait, this is no means a practice in idleness. Scripture always associates waiting with faith in action. Biblical waiting involves:

Strength and courage

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait on the LORD. Ps . 27:14

Trust

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 

Hope, seeking, and not fretting

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord”. Lamentations 3:25-26

Patience and rest

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…Ps.37:7 

Rejoicing in the wait

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice,for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Ps.23:20 

Christmas time and the holidays may always be difficult to navigate for some reason or another. But for those in Christ, we must remember that the consolation and redemption of Israel has come. This means it has come to all – Jew and Gentile- that believe in Christ. Placing our hope and trust in the LORD will give us rest and joy in this life. May this truth give you comfort, and peace as we wait for His second coming, when there will be the complete fulfillment of the promise, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” Rev.21:4

The Lord be with you, 

Bianca