Merry Christmas to you!

I think the best place to start this morning is with a little bit of honesty. I suppose quite plainly, the Bible never pretends that the world is other than it is. From Genesis onward, it describes a creation that groans beneath a weight it was never meant to endure. A glance to one side or the other in our surroundings reveals weariness. It’s not hard to identify. It’s in the headlines. It’s in families. It’s along the streets we walk. It’s in the human heart, too. That alone tells us something important. This world requires Christmas.

Now, to say that we need Christmas is to confess something far more than sentiment. It’s to admit that something decisive absolutely must interrupt the long fatigue I described.

On the surface, Christmas brings a rare pause. Even in our culture, which is so often bent inward, this day still nudges people toward generosity, reconciliation, and maybe even a little bit of genuine goodwill. For a brief moment, the rhythm of take-take-take slows, and the instinct to give emerges. People wrap and give presents to others. Dinner tables are set for more than just the immediate family. Indeed, people make room in their homes, even for people they’d prefer to see only once a year. These traditions, however imperfect, testify to something deeper than the mushiness of human nostalgia. They’re winks to a world that’s supposed to be something so much better than it is.

That said, there’s still more. Traditions do not exist in a vacuum. They always point somewhere. For one, a gift is never meaningless. It assumes a reason. And the reason for Christmas—regardless of what its underminers would say—has never changed. Long before the décor and melodies, Christmas had a name. To remember the day is, at some level, to remember Him. Christ is not one of many accessories to the holiday. He is its origin.

Christians know this, not necessarily by intuition, but by faith. That is why the Church gathers on Christmas Day. The pews are not empty because the promise is not. At Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hartland, Michigan, there will be people who understand that the world’s deepest hunger cannot be satisfied by even its best seasonal traditions.

I admire the people who set aside everything else for worship on Christmas Day. Those are the ones who seem to know, truly, that no amount of giving or receiving, no feasting on holiday ham or snacking on Christmas cookies can quiet the concerned conscience made weary by sin. That’s because none of these things can conquer sin’s wage—the last enemy we all face, which is death. Only Christ can do that. Faith recognizes that without Him at the center, even the joy of a fabulous Christmas gift fades quickly. With Christ, however, joy endures long after everyone has gone home, the ornaments are back in their boxes, and the tree is out at the street awaiting the garbage truck.

All year long, believers live from the same confession the Apostles proclaimed. With Saint Paul they trust that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). With Saint John they cling to the truth that “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Christmas fixes a moment in history and declares that rescue entered time itself (Galatians 4:4). God did not shout salvation from a distance, but sent His own Son into the world (John 3:17). He stepped into the darkness to overcome it. Indeed, “the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:5, 9). And He did just that!

So yes, Christmas brings warmth to a frigid landscape, both literally and figuratively. Yes, it has always involved gifts. But Christians know the heart of the season lies elsewhere—in something entirely different. Worship invites you into that “something.” It invites you to God’s house, where the order of giving is wonderfully reversed. We arrive empty-handed, and the One we celebrate supplies all the gifts. Life, forgiveness, salvation—these are the heavenly treasures He delivers. These are the gifts He just cannot wait to give!

This is why we need Christmas. This is why, no matter how the world recrafts it, Christmas will forever remain as the greatest news—the best invitation! By the power of the Holy Spirit for faith in this Gospel, receive that invitation. Do not set it aside as the world does. Instead, rejoice in the Savior who exchanged heavenly glory for a manger, and who would later exchange His innocence for your guilt. That work saves you.

I began by mentioning this world’s weariness. Maybe this is where Christmas finally meets with it. Like the Word of God in which it rests, the Christmas narrative does not pretend the burden isn’t there, nor does it ask weary sinners to carry it a little longer on their own. Instead, Christmas announces that rest has entered the world in the flesh of God’s own Son. The world may remain tired, and hearts may still feel heavy, but they are no longer without help or hope. Into our exhaustion, God has sent His Son, Jesus. Into our darkness, He has given His Light. Into the world’s prolonged fatigue, He now speaks a promise meant for sinners like you and me, saying, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). That rest is not found in a day on the calendar or in a season that fades, but in the Savior who came—and who remains.

I hope you’ll think about these things. Even better, I hope you’ll be immersed in them in a church pew.

I’ll leave you with that. And once again, Merry Christmas!