by Tom Hunton
Change the Christmas tune
Whilst writing this, in an attempt to get in the Christmas spirit, I have a ‘Best ever Christmas tunes’ playlist playing in the background. You already know what’s on it. Christmas is immensely repetitive. Not just in terms of music – Every Christmas we spend time with the same people, dust off the same old decorations, consume the same foods and drinks and listen to the same Christmas songs regardless of whether they are really good or truly awful (Paul McCartney is playing right now.)
But church can help us break the repetitive cycles. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we also think about the path he walked after leaving that stable, a path towards Jerusalem along which he taught about the way to live and, through dying, opened a new way for us to experience God.
If we listen to the message of Christmas then we might just be inspired to follow that path, to stop going around in circles, doing the same things and not seeing the world and your life in its full glory.
We don’t have to do everything differently though – If you like a repetitive Christmas then don’t ever change that, eat the same food, listen to the same songs (except for that tuneless McCartney one of course.) Doing the same thing over and over gives Christmas some charm. But if, throughout the rest of the year, you’re doing the same old things that keep you from seeing how wonderful this life can be then maybe you need to be prepared to change. Rather than having the same old playlist going in your head, try to listen to the true message of Christmas this year and maybe hear a new tune over your life this new year.