My mentor during seminary, The Rev. Darren Elin once remarked that we get our two biggest holidays backwards: we celebrate Christmas the night before and Easter the morning after when it should be the other way around.  Boy was he right.

This is my first Christmas in 5 years in which I wasn’t one of the leaders in worship.  I have to tell you, missing Sunday morning Eucharists is one thing, but not doing a Christmas service is just weird.  But I digress.  I found myself in the same spot everyone else was.  We headed to the “family service” at 4:30 pm on the day before Christmas (which, by the way, is ridiculously early for normal people with families.  I’m just saying.) and we aren’t planning on going anywhere this morning.  And it’s Sunday for GOD’s sake.  Ugh.

I wonder what kind of challenge it really is to switch our priorities.  If we really cared about Christmas as we say we do, why are so few of us in attendance when it actually is?  I’m afraid of what the real answer reveals about us.

• We care more about family traditions than our church ones; and
• We care more about our church traditions more than their meanings.

I know all of the legitimate reasons for how we do what we do in the way that we do them now.  Hey, I just succombed to it!  I’m just wondering why it isn’t easier.  Why wouldn’t it be easier to get more people to show up on actual Christmas rather than before?  Why can’t we expect people to make room on Christmas morning for worship?

I have to say, considering that whole GOD coming to earth thing, I have to say that it seems like the least we could do.