Why We Are Gathering on Christmas Sunday

Event | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

When Christmas falls on a Sunday

This year Christmas falls on a Sunday. The next year that will happen is 2022, then 2033. For many churches, the question becomes, “What will we do?” Should we cancel our Sunday gatherings or keep them? Or, should we hold Christmas Eve gatherings on Saturday in addition to Sunday? Or, should we just have Christmas Eve in lieu of Sunday? Or, maybe we should compromise and have a Christmas Eve midnight gathering? There are a lot of options.

Christmas complexities

The factors underlying this discussion are many. First, is the issue of volunteers. It takes volunteers to brew coffee, put out signs, greet and usher, play in the band, run productions, and disciple the youngest kids. Without sufficient volunteers it is impossible to host. Second, and relatedly, is the issue of attendance. Who will actually be in town? For those who are around, when will they be available amidst the many holiday happenings? After all, it doesn’t help to gather if there is no one to gather with. Third, is the issue of family traditions. Most families, have treasured Christmas traditions that involve delicious foods, gifts, and more. This is, perhaps, the hardest element to consider sacrificing or making changes to. Fourth, most importantly, is the issue of what moving Sunday gatherings communicates about our convictions regarding Christ and his purposes in the world. Needlesstosay, it can be complicated. 

“Are we free to move our Sunday gathering?”

Churches are free to choose when and where they gather to worship. Churches are not required to gather on a particular day. (Romans 14:5f; Galatians 4:8-11) Churches that cancel Sunday gatherings in lieu of Christmas Eve gatherings are not sinning nor violating a command of the Lord. In some cases, depending on their specific context or resources, that may be the best thing to do. Ultimately, it is up to the elders of each local church to prayerfully consider what is best for the church entrusted to their care and the cause of Christ in their community. 

The significance of Sunday

However, the practice of Jesus’ church for the last 2,000 years has been to gather on Sunday, the first day of the week, due to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) Gathering on Sunday, week-after-week, millennium-after-millennium, is meant to be a joy-filled, conviction-driven, emphatic declaration to the world that He has risen, death is defeated, sin is forgiven, and we are His. Or, to put it more succinctly, that God has come for us. (Matthew 1:23) 

The significance of Christmas

Now, think about what Christmas is. Christmas is not merely an irrelevant celebration; a hold-over from ancient antiquity. Christmas marks one of the most pivotal moments in God’s redemptive story. Outside Easter, Christmas marks the most important day in human history. The truth celebrated on Christmas was announced by angels (Luke 2:13-14), supernatural cosmic events in the starry host (Matthew 2:10), and long foretold by prophetic witnesses (2 Corinthians 1:20). Christmas marks the day God invaded the story he wrote to save those he loves. (Phil 2:5-11; Luke 19:10) In other words, the truth celebrated on Christmas is infinitely more important, and precious, than what we celebrate on our birthdays, or anniversaries, or civic holidays or, yes, even our beloved family traditions.

The unique gift of Christmas on a Sunday

Christmas falling on a Sunday should be viewed as a unique gift, rather than a scheduling nuisance or family tradition breaker. When you put the significance of Christmas alongside the significance of gathering on Sunday, we get a special day to be welcomed, embraced and enjoyed because it simultaneously points us to Jesus’ birth (Christmas) and his resurrection (Sunday). That’s a lot of meaning packed into a single day. Why would we not want to gather on such a Sunday? Does all of this meaning unravel if we happen to cancel Christmas gatherings? Of course not. Do we lose a unique gift if we do? I believe so. We won’t have another opportunity to do so until 2022. Rather than seeing Christmas falling on Sunday as something that gets in the way of our plans, what if we saw it as a beautiful gift around which we organized our plans? 

An invitation

Let’s embrace the unique gift of Christmas on a Sunday. I invite you to join us on Sunday, December 25th, at 9:00am and 11:15am. We’ll sing, pray, enjoy the DCC kids “choir”, and learn from the Scriptures. Cornerstone Kids will be provided for kids up to 4 years old. Parking, as always, will be validated and the lots next to the building available for families and visitors. We hope you can make it as we celebrate the living God, in Jesus, and all that He is for us. Our Saving-King has come – and is coming again.

Because the manger is full (Christmas) and the tomb is empty (Sunday),

Pastor Adam