Beyond Christmas Cards Exchange: Giving Christmas Cards that Mean More
Posted: Monday, December 06, 2010
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
The audio version of this article is available. Just press play.
It's that time of year again. Miss Harriet is making a mental list of friends who are likely to receive Christmas cards from us. Will we buy boxes of cards from Family Christian Store, LifeWay Christian Store, or Walmart? How about we custom-print our own unique Christmas cards from the computer in our living room? What if we special order cards with our family photograph affixed to it?
That gets me thinking... Unless we tug dollar bills into each Christmas card, will it really matter to the recipient? Yeah, yeah, I know: they will appreciate the thought, and it is wonderful to be on someone's mind at Christmas, isn't it? But if that were really true, wouldn't I remember who sent me Christmas cards last year, except that they were very likely my good friends who almost always do? What kind or color of Christmas cards were they? Unless the card was rare or very funny, my mind hit the Delete button seconds after seeing and reading the card.
How different is my custom of Christmas greetings in contrast to the biblical Christmas account? The greeting card version of the biblical Christmas story is the angelic message to Mary and the shepherds. We could say God sent two Christmas cards: one to Mary, and another to a group of shepherds.
What was special about the Christmas cards delivered by the angels? Well, they were greetings to the little and lowly, to the forgotten and unknown. God picked the name and address of a peasant girl, dispatched Angel Gabriel … the head of Heaven's UPS, FedEx, DHL and Postal Service combined … to deliver and read a Christmas card from the King of Glory:
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you... Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:28-29, NIV)
That simple Christmas greeting had a profound, life-altering impact on Mary. "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled" (Luke 1:38, NIV).
About nine months later, another angel delivered a Christmas card from the Heavenly King to a group of despised, stinky shepherds outside the city limits of Bethlehem. The Christmas card from the lips of the angelic delivery man read, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12, NIV).
Wow... Before the shepherds could catch their breath in the thick of night arrested by the brightness of God's Christmas light, we read, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests'" (Luke 2:13-14, NIV).
Once again, the angelic Christmas greeting had a life-changing effect on the recipients. "When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about'" (Luke 2:15, NIV).
How can we imitate that model of sending Christmas cards to the forgotten no-namers among us? Let's say, we get the names of two or three unemployed people at a nearby homeless shelter in order to send them Christmas cards. I do know my well-to-do friends take my Christmas cards for granted as much as I do theirs. But I have a suspicion that the jobless and homeless recipients of my handwritten message of peace and joy will appreciate and remember those Christmas cards in ways that exchanges of customary Christmas cards cannot match. I think that's a far more meaningful Christmas expense.
Merry Christmas to all my fans, readers, and the SearchWarp community! ~mogama~
How different is my custom of Christmas greetings in contrast to the biblical Christmas account? The greeting card version of the biblical Christmas story is the angelic message to Mary and the shepherds. We could say God sent two Christmas cards: one to Mary, and another to a group of shepherds.
What was special about the Christmas cards delivered by the angels? Well, they were greetings to the little and lowly, to the forgotten and unknown. God picked the name and address of a peasant girl, dispatched Angel Gabriel … the head of Heaven's UPS, FedEx, DHL and Postal Service combined … to deliver and read a Christmas card from the King of Glory:
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you... Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:28-29, NIV)
That simple Christmas greeting had a profound, life-altering impact on Mary. "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled" (Luke 1:38, NIV).
About nine months later, another angel delivered a Christmas card from the Heavenly King to a group of despised, stinky shepherds outside the city limits of Bethlehem. The Christmas card from the lips of the angelic delivery man read, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:10-12, NIV).
Wow... Before the shepherds could catch their breath in the thick of night arrested by the brightness of God's Christmas light, we read, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests'" (Luke 2:13-14, NIV).
Once again, the angelic Christmas greeting had a life-changing effect on the recipients. "When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about'" (Luke 2:15, NIV).
How can we imitate that model of sending Christmas cards to the forgotten no-namers among us? Let's say, we get the names of two or three unemployed people at a nearby homeless shelter in order to send them Christmas cards. I do know my well-to-do friends take my Christmas cards for granted as much as I do theirs. But I have a suspicion that the jobless and homeless recipients of my handwritten message of peace and joy will appreciate and remember those Christmas cards in ways that exchanges of customary Christmas cards cannot match. I think that's a far more meaningful Christmas expense.
Merry Christmas to all my fans, readers, and the SearchWarp community! ~mogama~
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Good message you send for Christmas Mogama, thanks for sharingPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, David, for reading, commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
When I was a child, getting and giving Christmas cards was so exciting. I've let go of that ritual completely, but I think this year I'm going to send them again. I love them. And happy Christmas to you too, Mogama, and all your family!Please log in to respond to this comment.Good for you, Jennifer! Thanks for commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, this is a splendid idea and a wonderful article. It also is right on the point. I can't remember a single card I received last year, only that I was able to catch up on the lives of some dear friends I rarely get to talk to, thanks to the notes they wrote inside. Otherwise, the cards were eaily and quickly forgotten. Better to send them, and a dollar or two, to that homeless and jobless man at the local shelter. Amen!Please log in to respond to this comment."... I can't remember a single card I received last year..." Yeah, George, I'm just like you!Please log in to respond to this comment.
Merry Christmas to you too Mr. Mogama. I personally feel that every day should be a day of goodness and sharing of hope and love, but if we have to assign such things a particular day, why not Dec. 25th? See you around sir.Please log in to respond to this comment."...every day should be a day of goodness and sharing of hope and love..." Indeed, David; thanks for sharing. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
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