John Bytheway

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The Three Levels of Christmas

December 11, 2015 3 Comments

I have always appreciated this essay from William B. Smart, who wrote the editorial messages which appeared on the back page of the LDS Church News for many years. Many of these editorials have been compiled in a book called “Messages for a Happier Life” which is currently out of print, but available used, and as a kindle book on amazon.com.

 

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It’s simple and profound!  You’ll enjoy this too!

 

Three Levels of Christmas
by William B. Smart
Messages for a Happier Life, (Deseret Book, 1989), 33-34.

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. We love the excitement, the giving spirit, the special awareness of and appreciation for family and friends, the feelings of love and brotherhood that bless our gatherings at Christmastime.

In all of the joyousness it is well to reflect that Christmas comes at three levels.

Let’s call the first the Santa Claus level. It’s the level of Christmas trees and holly, of whispered secrets and colorful packages, of candlelight and rich food and warm open houses. It’s carolers in the shopping malls, excited children, and weary but loving parents. It’s a lovely time of special warmth and caring and giving. It’s the level at which we eat too much and spend too much and do too much – and enjoy every minute of it. We love the Santa Claus level of Christmas.

But there’s a higher, more beautiful level. Let’s call it the Silent Night level. It’s the level of all our glorious Christmas carols, of that beloved, familiar story: “Now in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus….” It’s the level of the crowded inn and the silent, holy moment in a dark stable when the Son of Man came to earth. It’s the shepherds on steep, bare hills near Bethlehem, angels with their glad tidings, the new star in the East, wise men traveling far in search of the Holy One. How beautiful and meaningful it is; how infinitely poorer we would be without this sacred second level of Christmas.

The trouble is, these two levels don’t last. They can’t. Twelve days of Christmas, at the first level, is about all most of us can stand. It’s too intense, too extravagant. The tree dies out and needles fall. The candles burn down. The beautiful wrappings go out with the trash, the carolers are up on the ski slopes, the toys break, and the biggest day in the stores for the entire year is exchange day, December 26th. The feast is over and the dieting begins. But the lonely and the hungry are with us still, perhaps lonelier and hungrier than before.

Lovely and joyous as the first level of Christmas is, there will come day, very soon, when Mother will put away the decorations and vacuum the living room and think, “Thank goodness that this over for another year.”

Even the second level, the level of the Baby Jesus, can’t last. How many times this season can you sing, “Silent Night?” The angels and the star, and the shepherd, even the silent, sacred mystery of the holy night itself, can’t long satisfy humanity’s basic need. The man who keeps Christ in the manger will, in the end, be disappointed and empty.

No, for Christmas to last all year long, for it to grow in beauty and meaning and purpose, for it to have the power to change lives, we must celebrate it at the third level, that of the adult Christ. It is at this level—not as an infant—that our Savior brings his gifts of lasting joy, lasting peace, lasting hope. It was the adult Christ who reached out and touched the untouchable, who loved the unlovable, who so loved us all that even in his agony on the cross, he prayed forgiveness for his enemies.

This is Christ, creator of worlds without number, who wept because so many of us lack affection and hate each other – and then who willingly gave his life for all of us, including those for whom he wept. This is the Christ, the adult Christ, who gave us the perfect example, and asked us to follow him.

Accepting that invitation is the way – the only way – that all mankind can celebrate Christmas all year and all life long.

 


Comments

  1. George says

    December 13, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    I really enjoyed, “The Three Levels of Christmas”. I plan to make this the subject of our next Family Home Evening.

    Reply
  2. Ray L. Gibb says

    December 8, 2016 at 4:29 pm

    I have never seen this before, and I wish I had. How would I get permission to turn this into a poster, framed to hang in my Motel and Restaurant I will be opening in 2017.

    Although this has a Christmas theme, I think the overall theme resonates throughout the year.

    Thank you for sharing it.

    Reply
  3. Peggy says

    December 8, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    What a wonderful analogy. Thank you for filling my heart and mind with the true meaning of Christmas. I will share this with my family as a reminder to them of all the blessings that have come from the birth of the Christ child , to the atonement of the sins of all mankind. May you be blessed for sharing this very thoughtful message.

    Reply

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JOHN BYTHEWAY served a mission to the Philippines and later graduated from Brigham Young University. He has a master's degree in religious education and is a part-time instructor at the BYU Salt Lake Center. John is the author of many bestselling books, audio talks, and DVDs, including How to Be an Extraordinary Teen; Life Rocks; and his first children's picture book, The Sacrament. He and his wife, Kimberly, have six children.

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