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The Emptiness of Christmas BRAD STRAIT, MDIV ALUMNUS AND PASTOR OF CHERRY CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH is a season best and life. It is time full childlike Christmasfavorite songs,encapsulating themore.Spirit.worst ofring. Lightsareleased atofChristmas wonder, and the transforming Bells sparkle. We try to be kinder to each other, and think about giving New movies seem to be and classic favorites replayed. Our eyes are full as we join Cindy Lou Who singing, "Welcome Christmas!" Christmas is full of joy and hope! "Unto us a Savior is born!" But Christmas is not always so angelic. To arrive today, the Christ Child must wander through overstuffed mall parking lots, push past angry shoppers, and skirt a national heart fueled by spiritual barrenness. The city's manger scene has been replaced by a blow-up Santa declaring, "Happy Holidays!" There still is no room at the inn. Often when families gather, old patterns rip the scabs from past wounds. Tensions rise. Discouragement comes down the chimney with a clunk. Christmas tables have empty chairs. Ornament boxes hold dusty dreams. Weariness is the most played song. Joy, hope, and love seem bagged by the Grinch and carried away. No wonder we feel torn at Christmas. This season has always been—at its source—a time of emptiness, too. Think about it: "For unto us a child is born" means that the unchanging and omnipresent Son of God emptied Himself, becoming limited in space and time to the little town of Bethlehem. The most powerful One now required feeding and changing. The One who created everything in the universe—starlight, warm tides, rainforests, and every type of life—immersed Himself in the decaying scents of a barnyard stable, in the chill of a winter's wind, in the struggles of a world full of turmoil and war. The Eternal One came to die. For Jesus, the Incarnation involved an unimaginable emptying. "RATHER, HE MADE HIMSELF NOTHING BY TAKING THE VERY NATURE OF A SERVANT, BEING MADE IN HUMAN LIKENESS." (PHIL. 2:7) Empty and full—it is the Christmas mystery. If emptiness, regret, or depression pursue you this Christmas, take hope. Filling is always preceded with a tipping of the cup. God has not forgotten us. The emptiness of the Baby Jesus has emptied death of victory. His purity mixes with our dirt, and sanctifies it. His emptying becomes a path to our spiritual filling. He seeks. He loves. DECEMBER He comes. Wait for it. Feel the emptiness, but seek the fullness of Christmas! God's promises have been laid out like a Christmas dinner, waiting to fill everyone. 23 28 DENVER SEMINARY CHRISTMAS 2013