Should We Go to Church on Sunday Christmas morning?
Once every seven years or so we feel the tension of Christmas falling on a Sunday morning. As we find ourselves on another of these years, I want to encourage us with some reasons of why we should choose to gather Christmas morning.
1. It's a Sunday. The priority of Sunday is above everything else. This is the day the church gathers for worship around Word and Sacrament. It’s not just Christmas, it’s a little Easter.
2. It's Christ-mas. The very name of this day indicates that Christians celebrate this as a Sacramental day. It is "Christ-Mass," the day we share together in the Lord's Supper. Of all the days to celebrate the Lord's Supper - Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the Holy Mass - it is this day. The day we celebrate the Word becoming flesh, the Son of God becoming human, Christ making himself present in our midst.
3. It's a Holy Day (Holiday). While our personal Christmas day traditions are good and right, the day started as and continues to be for Christians a holy day. A day that is pregnant with spiritual and religious meaning and therefore one we gather together for. Not gathering as a church on Sunday is like not having a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. In our secular culture, we have to resist the temptation to allow holy days to become merely secularized celebrations.
4. It's about Jesus. Above anything else this day is about Jesus. If anything else becomes more important then celebrating Him, we have missed the point of the day. One of the most powerful ways to remind ourselves, our children, and the world around us why Christmas is so important, is to take 90 minutes to gather together.
5. It's Christmas everywhere. Even if you find yourself away from home this Christmas, I encourage you to find a Christmas day service you can attend. No matter where you are around the world, it's Christmas everywhere and you can be sure to find fellow Christians gathering to celebrate this day.
Will gathering on Christmas morning require us to move some of your other traditions around? For sure. But is it worth it? Absolutely! What better way to keep Christ in Christmas than to gather together and worship Him!
You are invited to bring your friends and family to Trinity on Christmas morning for our 10:30am worship service!
Pastor Matthew