Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.
Well, decades before our contemporary culture wars and the complaints about its commercialization, T.S. Eliot described various perspectives about Christmas in a poem called The Cultivation of Christmas Trees. It is a poem worthy of Advent reflection. And I quote, There are several attitudes towards Christmas, some of which we may disregard. The social, the torpid, the patently commercial, the rowdy, the pubs being open till midnight, and the childish, which is not that of the child for whom the candle is a star and the gilded angel spreading its wings at the summit of the tree is not only a decoration, but an angel.
The child wonders at the Christmas tree let him continue in the spirit of wonder, at the feast as an event not accepted as a pretext, so that the glittering rapture, the amazement of the first remembered Christmas tree, so that the surprises, delight, and new possessions each one with its peculiar and exciting smell, the expectation of the goose or turkey, and the expected awe on its appearance.
so that the reverence and the gaiety may not be forgotten in later experience, in the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium, the awareness of death, the consciousness of failure, or in the piety of the convert, which may be tainted with a self conceit, displeasing to God and disrespectful to children. And here I remember also with gratitude Saint Lucy, her carol and her crown of fire.
so that before the end, the eightieth Christmas, by eightieth meaning whichever is last, the accumulated memories of annual emotion may be concentrated into a great joy. which will also be a great fear, as on the occasion when fear came upon every soul. because the beginning shall remind us of the end. and the first coming of the second coming. Yes, that poem is one that you will have to read again, but it identified two perspectives that Christians should adopt about Christmas.
The first, wonder, like that of a child arrested before a Christmas tree. According to classical educator David Diner, wonder means recognizing ignorance and responding with a longing to know in simplicity to mystery. Put differently to wonder is a rich human activity in which we marvel at what we do not yet know. As Eliot captures in his line, the child wonders at the Christmas tree, let him continue in the spirit of wonder. But how often, both in education or even by the church, is a child's beautiful ability to wonder at the truth of Christmas?
dismissed or squashed and how quickly adults have been taught to gloss over the incredible miracle of Emmanuel, God coming to dwell with us, a reality that left shepherds and wise men both marveling in wonder. Eliot also recommends another aspect of childlikeness, that of waiting in expectation with the goal of the day being fulfilled. While adults wrestle with the challenges of Christmas preparation, Elliot reminded his readers that the accumulated memories of annual emotion may be concentrated into great joy. Of course, as C.S. Lewis noted in an epigraph to the abolition of man, there's also a dark side to Christmas.
Eliot also emphasizes the same point, reminding readers of the fear in the Christmas story, in Mary's encounter with Gabriel, the shepherds quaking at the angels, and Joseph's life-altering dream, or Herod's order to slaughter all male infants. Only Christ can bring lasting peace on earth and goodwill toward men. He's the one who called for childlike faith. And a childlike wonder of Christmas offers a powerful posture for all of us. Childlike faith involves humility, to trust in our Savior, who descended from heaven, took the form of man, overcame sin.
and is restoring all things anew. Such childlike faith is not childish. Philosopher J.P. Moreland put it this way: quote: To be a child in this sense is to be humble and willing to trust in or rely on others, especially God. The opposite of the child is the proud, stiff-necked person, not an intelligent, reasonable one.
A childlike faith will allow us to see Christ's birth in view of His death and resurrection, as well as our roles as reconcilers in God's unfolding story of reality. We can thus live in view of His return and His triumphant reign. As Eliot put it, that Christ's first coming should fill us with hope for His second, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Andrew Carrico.
If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast. And you can always find more resources like this at breakpoint.org. Tickets are nearly sold out for the 2026 Colson Center National Conference this May in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you want to be there, now is the time to claim your spot. Our theme is: You Are Here.
We'll think about what it looks like to live out our Christian calling in this cultural moment with the help of amazing speakers like Oz Guinness, Claire Morell, Frank Turek, Chloe Cole, and more. As a Christian, you're here to do more than exist or survive. You can be confident you're called to this moment for God's purpose. Register now at ColsonConference.org. That's ColsonConference.org.
