John 11 & Christmas in May

I want to share two pieces of inspiration I got last night and today.

While walking last night, God reminded me of the story of Lazarus (John 11).  I pondered on the phrase that Jesus faced when he arrived on the scene "If you were here, my brother would not have died."  If Jesus had arrived at the "right time" the tragedy wouldn't have happened.  If Jesus would have come sooner, Lazarus would not be laying in a tomb.  He'd be talking and laughing with his sisters.  If Jesus would only do what we want right now, our lives would be so much better.

This is what Jesus was told through that statement, and it was out of hysteria that Mary and Martha posed this to him.  They were emotional, and very upset at the loss of their brother.  They had faith that Jesus was able to save their brother, but that faith turned to try to meet their needs when they felt it was supposed to occur.  They almost seemed disappointed in Jesus for not coming soon enough.  

The base of this story, Lazarus needed to die for God to be fully glorified.  Yeah, it would have been cool for Jesus to come at "the right time" and heal Lazarus like Mary and Martha wanted/expected Jesus to do.  But, how much COOLER is it for a dead guy to walk out of the tomb fully alive??  Mary and Martha didn't see this at the time.

So often, we are caught thinking what we want and being bitter when that doesn't happen that way.  Some of us are still weeping...and Jesus weeps with us.  But in his right timing, we will see the glory in our disappointments...notice I didn't say Jesus' disappointments. 

Jesus never disappoints.  If we feel disappointed by Jesus, it's because something is not right with us.  We need to change our perspective if this emotional response happens often inside of us.


Now, today at work, I sat with the residents for a hymn sing, and one lady recommended "Silent Night."  Now, you can all sit and say "Oh silly elderly lady, she's confused."  But the next lady asked for a Christmas song, and the one after that.  The chaplain said "Some people celebrate Christmas in July, but we decided to celebrate Christmas in May."

And then I got to thinking...since when did songs like Silent Night become songs that were only appropriate to sing around Christmas?  We hear these songs one time a year, and it happens to be one of the most joyous occasions known to Christians everywhere.  Traditions and society make us hesitant to sing these songs outside of the expected time frame.  Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that our God wants to be that personal with us every day?

No, I won't bust out Christmas worship...but it made me really think about the barriers that my heart felt when that first song was called out.  I won't lie, I did think "Oh silly Eva, it's not Christmas time."  Now I feel ashamed.  It's not Christmas, but that shouldn't hold us back from celebrating what Christmas is about.

So have Christmas in May, June, July, October...March...anytime!  Celebrate all the good that God as done, and don't hesitate to sing about the glorious gift given during that time.  Traditions are good if they are heart-felt, but today I realized that society had inscribed on my heart that certain celebration is not appropriate at certain times...this is something we can and should celebrate every day!

If you are weeping about your expectations lying in a tomb, be prepared to watch Jesus make them walk again.  I pray that God would also show you the walls that you have built up between you and Him, and how those walls are hindering your worship and intimate time with Him.  We don't even realize it, and sometimes it takes a little old lady singing Christmas songs to open the eyes of your heart wider. 

I love you all.