Invitation to festive joy

Every year for the last 12, Speak Life has put out a Christmas video, or four.

We’ve made fun of Santa, and we’ve parodied Scrooge. We’ve put on a Down syndrome nativity, and we’ve made a time-travelling rom-com. We’ve viewed Christmas from heaven, from space, and from the Colosseum. We’ve seen it from the perspective of a Christmas tree, a Christmas present and a Christmas mouse. We’ve created animations with dragons, with snow globes, and with Happyland figurines. And last year, because it was the World Cup, our video was called ‘Christmas Coming Home’.

It was based on Baddiel and Skinner’s classic song: Football’s Coming Home. Picture the scene: a centurion hands around a scroll,

It’s come from Rome,
It’s come from Rome,
It’s come from,
Census come from Rome…

And away we went. Well, away Nate Morgan Locke went. We dressed him up as every character from the angels to the Magi to Mary and everyone sang along to the Three Lions chorus:

David’s line of birth,
Prophets kept us dreaming.
Heaven come to earth,
Son of God redeeming.

But it wasn’t universally popular. Understandably one reaction was to say: ‘It looks like you all had fun, but you’re an evangelistic ministry. Why make such a video?’ Good question. One response is to point to the theme of champions which sporting tournaments bring to the fore. Through the World Cup we were able to present Jesus as:

The Saviour of all,
He’s a substitute for
All the failures who fall.
Our Hero’s here, oh!

But there’s something even more fundamental. Most basically, the video was trying to communicate festive joy. Whether we succeeded or not is another question, but I think the attempt is important. And actually our own enjoyment is part of what’s important. Let me explain.

Imagine your church puts on a nativity play this December. Naturally, you will want festive joy to permeate the event. But often we can think of such joy as the bait, while our intention is to hook people for a different purpose. So we advertise ‘a real donkey’, and festive refreshments, and a good old sing-song. But then, when people show up, we lock the doors for a talk to challenge the ‘outsiders’ in a tone that screams: ‘Where were you the other 51 Sundays of the year?!’

It seems to me that having ‘a real donkey’, and amazing refreshments, and plastering the neighbourhood with invitations is wonderful. But it’s wonderful as the overflow of our own festive joy. The joy is not the ‘spoonful of sugar’ to help the medicine of gospel preaching go down. The joy is very close to being the point. It’s a case of: this thing is too good to keep to ourselves – it’s festive joy to which the world’s invited.

And even if no-one from the neighbourhood turns up, your church will be there, rejoicing in the goodness of the Christmas Child. And, yes, you might invest in all kinds of publicity and urge church members to bring their friends. But, as I keep saying in this column, evangelism is not gaining converts. It’s offering Christ.

Remember how Paul puts it: ‘Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well’ (1 Thess. 2:8).

Paul considers life-sharing and gospel-sharing to be a double gift. He does not share his life in costly ways so that he can take the opportunity to gain converts! It’s not tit-for-tat. It’s not: I’ll give you some mulled wine and mince pies at the end of the nativity play, but in return you’ve got to endure my challenging gospel talk. No! Paul considers it a gift when he shares his life, and he considers it a gift when he shares the gospel. Both the welcome and the word are offerings.

So let’s remember: Christ’s birth is ‘good news of great joy for all people’ (Luke 2:10). First and foremost, let us enjoy Christ this Christmas. And let that be the heart of all our outreach – Joy To The World.