Does it really matter?

This advent we are taking special effort to de-clutter Christmas, to surgically remove anything that detracts from a godly celebration of the incarnation. The last 2 weeks in our worship services we have discovered that “bigger is not better” and “frenzy is not beneficial.” We are finding that without conscious review, our practices morph into something unintended.

As I thought of the things that get added to our celebrations and practices I thought of the marine creatures known as Barnacles. Wikipedia describes them this way “Barnacles are encrusters, attaching themselves permanently to a hard substrate” and goes on to say there are over 1220 species of barnacles.

One of the “barnacles” that gets attached to the incarnation is the debate as to the date of the birth of Christ—was it 4 B.C.? was it 2 B.C.? was it truly year 0 as the basis of the Julian calendar? If it happened in Winter what were shepherds doing in the fields? What was the “star” that was observed by the Magi and when did it appear? (According to this website, Jesus may have been born on June 17.)

I don’t think this really matters and it is just a distraction from the truth of the incarnation. IMHO, (that’s text language for in my honest opinion) the Bible never instructs us to remember or celebrate the birth of Christ. His Death, Resurrection and 2nd Coming are to be remembered in Baptism and Communion. His Resurrection is to be celebrated on the first day of each week. But his birth was never an event that was ceremoniously observed until hundreds of years later.

Back to my original thought…What are the “barnacles” that get added to your class or small group. Some elements start with very good intention (e.g. snacks/beverages help people to relax and become more open) but then become a distraction from the main purpose (i.e. becoming better followers of Jesus). Sharing of prayer requests can turn into a game of “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” Even the study of God’s Word can become an opportunity to showcase the knowledge or the library of the leader.

Over 20 years ago I heard a quote attributed to a former President of Moody Bible Institute, George Sweeting, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

As we celebrate Advent and lead our groups, are you keeping your eye on the main thing?