“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day!

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which apparently, contradictory terms appear side by side. “Jumbo shrimp”, “controlled chaos”, or an “open secret” are some obvious ones. We often joke in oxymoron’s to make a point, like “military intelligence”, “government efficiency” or even… an “adult male.” Ouch, that last one hurts. Why, just yesterday, I overheard my wife telling one of her girlfriends that she felt like a single mom with 5 children! ”Hey, hold on!”, I said. But I knew that it was true.

“Christmas Rest” may feel like an oxymoron too. Already, my ministry, personal, and family holiday to-do list is longer than my arm and far outreaches my capacity to do in the next 18 days: I haven’t gotten the outdoor Christmas lights up yet, I’m just beginning to think about gift shopping, our dishwasher went on the fritz last week and the new one is back-ordered, I have sermons to write, hospital visits to make and year-end meetings to attend, and then layered on all of that are about a dozen school concerts and another dozen “social events.” AHHHHHH!!!!!

It is so easy to lose sight of the simple wonder of Christmas. We forget that Christmas is an especially good time to soak in the love, joy, and peace that Jesus came to give. We wake up frantic instead of resting in His goodness; we are consumed with worry when we could be worshipping. How ironic that we celebrate “Emmanuel – God with us” when we often prioritize Jesus right out of our schedule during the Christmas Season.

Here’s a final oxymoronic thought for you. You have to work to make room for rest. In other words, we need to be intentional, passionate, and even disciplined about prioritizing our rest in Jesus. Jesus said that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. HOW TRUE! So, right now in the power and authority of God’s Spirit…get out that black sharpie marker and go to work on your schedule…minimize a few things, cross a few activities out, say “NO” to the complexity & busyness of a commercial holiday, and build in time for worship, praise & contemplation for you AND your family. It’s not too late! You can choose a less busy, more restful holiday with Jesus. If you do, you will discover that Jesus is indeed still the wonderful counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and your Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)