Why Worship on Christmas Day?
Christmas Day comes on Sunday this year, and I have heard of some churches deciding not to have services. Christmas morning home traditions are important but so is the meaning of Christmas. God came in the form of a baby, born in a stable in Bethlehem, to save the world. This is the tradition of Christmas!
I remember a Christmas at St. Thomas UMC in Manassas. We had four Christmas Eve services. It was after 1:00 a.m. when I got home Christmas Day, and I had to head back to church for a 10:00 a.m. Christmas Day service. When I arrived at St. Thomas at 7:00 a.m., the church was already full of workers preparing Christmas Day lunch. We took meals to the doctors and nurses who worked on Christmas Day. We took meals to the rescue squads and the fire departments. We served anyone who showed up at church that day.
After worship and after all the dinners were delivered, we all sat down as the family of God to celebrate Christmas. We were all worn out, but we gave thanks for Jesus coming into our world and teaching us about God. It’s interesting! Of the many Christmas traditions that I remember – this is the one that sticks out in my mind. Was it worship on that Christmas morning, was it the four Christmas Eve services the night before, or was it the fellowship around the table that Christmas Day? I’m not sure, but I think it might have been a combination of all three.
What are you going to do on Christmas Day? A worship service on Christmas Day gives voice to the meaning of Christmas beyond the commercialization of Christmas. Christmas needs to be more than stockings and gifts under the Christmas tree. Jesus came to bring peace, hope, love and joy into a world that needs it, and boy does our world need it. Worship on Christmas Day honors the Sabbath. Without Christmas, without the birth of Jesus, the church wouldn’t be the church.
A Christmas Day service could be everyone singing Christmas carols around the piano and having someone read the Christmas story. It could be inviting everyone to wear their Christmas pajamas or Christmas sweaters. It could be serving a meal to everyone who attends. It could be as simple as inviting someone who is by themselves to share Christmas dinner with you.
Christmas is coming! The trees need to be decorated, presents bought and wrapped, and groceries bought for Christmas dinner. All these things need to be done, but the greatest thing is to realize that God has come in the form of a baby to save the world. May you worship on Christmas Day and praise Jesus for coming into our world to save us!
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
VP of Legacy Giving & Stewardship Development
Image by Eduardo Flores, courtesy of Unsplash