Call me Scrooge...

I know I'm not the only one who cares nothing about the holiday that is approaching fast. You see it all over Facebook.  Either you're giddy with Christmas fever or so over it.  Personally, I haven't been joyful, ecstatic, celebratory, blah, blah, blah, about Christmas for as long as I can remember.  Every year I ponder the question of "why not be excited" for a moment but as soon as my ADD mind moves on to what's my speed (I was driving tonight when the thought occurred), it rarely recurs until, well, next Christmas.  I guess I've just accepted that I don't care that much about the retail payload, that I just don't like Christmas music, that there's a 99.9% chance of temperatures in the 60s with NO snow, that traffic will be triple what it normally is from black Friday to December 26, and that those incessant bells accompanying the red bucket will be making my ears ring for 6 months.  Yes, I'm a Scrooge.

But why?  Again, that is the question (well, at least for today).  I am a believer in Jesus Christ, Immanuel, Prince of Peace.  Why am I not joyful and in the mood to celebrate in song and nog and mistletoe?  Why do I feel like hurling when the scent of cinnamon pine cones slaps me in the face as soon as I walk into EVERY store?  Why doesn't my heart warm at the sound of O Holy Night?  The bible says, "BEHOLD, a child is born".  That word behold tells me "TAKE NOTICE!  THIS IS A BIG BIG DEAL!"  And I don't mean blue light special on aisle 9.  It means the God of the universe has arranged for a play date that turns very serious at age 9.  It means, "it's time!".  The old testament is rife with references to this very birth.  It also means that in 33 years, every sin you and I have ever and will ever commit is paid for with bloodshed.  So why can't I just focus on that?  Is it because I am bombarded with  "Christmas" and not Jesus?  You may say, "what about all the little phrases like Jesus is the reason for the season and the carols."  As true as these utterances are, they seem cheap in comparison to the what we are actually celebrating.  It seems that if you live in America you celebrate Christmas no matter what your religion is which takes away the uniqueness of it.  And so, I fear, the hype that surrounds such a pivotal event has hardened my heart.  This makes me sad.  For years, I have pondered my state of mind on this and come to no conclusions.  Perhaps my friend, Jesus, can chime in on this one and show me the Christmas light.