Overcome Christmas Discouragement by Remembering Your Powerful Why

Part Four: Carols I Want My Grandchildren to Know

Christmas baking here in the Morin compound involves eleven different recipes. Most of the goodies are either carried or mailed offsite, and having a generous supply on hand makes party food, unexpected guests, and random gifting quite stress-free—even enjoyable.

But looking at the list at the end of November?
It’s a lot.

Christmas preparation, Advent celebration, and winterizing a house in rural Maine all seem to land at once. Maybe you’re feeling the same, today? Discouraged? Anxious? Dismayed?

That last word—dismayed caught my attention in an old English Carol from the 18th century. Written in scandalous rebellion against the somber carols of the day, the author chose to seek refuge in anonymity. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” urges us to replace dismay with remembrance of Jesus’s birth!

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay!
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray;
Oh tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.”

I don’t know about you, but having a “why” changes everything. The cookies, the decorations, the gifts, and the parties are not an end in themselves. They are an invitation to celebrate Christ’s checkmate over Satan’s strategic moves.

C.S. Lewis wrote an essay about standing in a dark tool shed (I know, right? He could apply wisdom to any experience!) that helps me every year with all the bells and whistles of Advent. Lewis recalled that the sun was shining brightly outside, and a beam of light streamed through a crack at the top of the door. Looking directly at the sunbeam, he watched millions of dust motes dancing in the light.

But then, he shifted his position and instead of looking at the light, he looked along it. Instantly, his view changed. Looking along the beam of light, he could see through the crack at the top of the door: green leaves waving in the breeze, the sun 93 million miles away! Looking at the beam of light and looking along the beam yielded two very different experiences.

The baby whose birth inspires all the tree trimming, carol singing, gift wrapping madness did not come to lay a heavy burden on his December daughters: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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Look Along the Celebration—and Find the Savior!

And it’s the devil’s own work to keep us looking at the beam! Looking at the cookies and the rolls of gift wrap and the bulging December calendar squares yields dismay, discouragement, and fatigue. Looking along whatever’s filling up our days leading up to Christmas, we stop to remember the powerful why behind it all.

We find courage to sort through the multiple conflicting priorities and choose what’s important.
We “remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we were gone astray.”

It’s possible to “go astray” in so many ways on a busy December day. Instead? Lets’s take the comfort and joy that come with the rest we find in the gospel.

The baby whose birth inspires all the tree trimming, carol singing, gift wrapping madness did not come to lay a heavy burden on his December daughters:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

And one last word about this fun-loving carol: This year, I noticed for the first time the placement of the comma: “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.” Merry is not an adjective describing gentlemen. It’s an adverb telling us how to rest! “Rest you happy” or “rest myself content” are archaic formations that show up in Shakespeare, Tennyson, or other writers of that era.

The message of the carol, then, becomes “Rest Merry!” Look along the celebration of the season and gaze at the Savior. He’s there, and he’s for you!

Holding You in the Light,

The Christmas cookies, the decorations, the gifts, and the parties are not an end in themselves. They are an invitation to celebrate Christ’s checkmate over Satan’s strategic moves.

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This is Part Four of my Advent series for 2023: Carols I Want My Grandchildren to Know. We’re a singing family, and I love the traditional carols, so I’m grateful that our grandkids are growing up in homes where hymnals are used. Stay tuned for upcoming Sunday posts featuring theological musings on some of our most-loved Christmas carols.

And in case you missed Part One, CLICK HERE for thoughts on “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” and HERE for my musings on “Silent Night.” Then, PART THREE takes us to Bethlehem where we remember what to do about “the hopes and fears of all the years.

Thank you for celebrating this season with me!

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