Christmas Is Both/And

In my house, my teenage daughter watched The Grinch who Stole Christmas for the first time this season. On October 31^st. While passing out Halloween candy.

Pentatonix Christmas has been the staple channel on Pandora for the rides to and from school since early November.

To say that we’re ready for Christmas is an understatement. Culturally, whether you acknowledge this as a religious holiday or not, Christmas is a big deal.

I love it. The Starbucks Christmas cups, the sounds of caroling, the smell of pine trees and Christmas cookies. That’s what Christmas means to me. Partly.

Some might lament that the religious meaning behind Christmas has taken a back seat. Maybe it’s a matter of perspective. I don’t loathe that we’ve taken Christ out of Christmas. If anything, if we want Christ in Christmas, what are we doing to keep him there? Isn’t it our job to tell the story?

I’ve seen Christ moments continue to pop up. Whether it’s 9^th graders from Faith, excitedly gathering to find the perfect gifts for children who live at the Hugo Family Shelter.

Middle schoolers decorated gingerbread “churches” and the congregation voted for their favorites. One group had a candy Santa falling off the roof, but they decorated a gingerbread man to look like me praying for him to be ok. That gingerbread church got my vote! 

Santa, in the flesh, showed up at the Lions waffle breakfast at Faith with all the proceeds supporting needs in our community. Smiles were on so many faces while everyone warmed up over food and fellowship, despite subzero temps outside.

I appreciate your efforts to support our immigrant neighbors, even as I continue to hear personal stories of threats and taunting or family members legally residing here being detained. When you hear someone draw the worst conclusions of others, can you remember when someone unexpected showed you kindness or helped you, like the innkeeper, shepherds or the wise men (magi) in our Christmas story?

Have you added a few bucks to a red kettle while a Salvation Army bellringer shares the spirit? Have you volunteered to ring a shift?

One of the biggest Christmas giving moments happened last week when Family Pathways called with an urgent need to have a distribution location for a drive-thru food shelf event. With minimal time to get the word out, an abundance of food, baby supplies, and personal care items were available for anyone in need at Faith. Hundreds were served. Nobody was turned away.

Maybe that’s the part of the birth of Jesus story that sticks out to me.

Christmas is a both/and. It’s about the “stuff,” but it’s really about where our faith shows up to make a difference in other people’s lives. A hug, a kind word, a letter of support. That’s what Christmas means to me. Merry Christmas and happy holy days to you.

Pastor John Klawiter is the senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Forest Lake. For more information, email him at