Title: Christmas: A Different Perspective
Author: Beryl Mears
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1638712206
Genre: Christian Books & Bibles
Pages: 44
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Pacific Book Review
A new way of looking at the widely celebrated holiday is presented by author Beryl Mears, who wishes us not only to “put Christ into Christmas” but to recognize who Jesus is and why we remember and revere Him at all times, not merely on His birthday.
We often pat ourselves on the back for giving gifts at Christmas, and perhaps for giving donations to a charity; but our gift giving, though it is admirable, is not comparable to the gift that God gave in the form of his only Son. In fact, too often we speak of what was given to us by Santa, a purely mythological character who only comes into our consciousness once a year, instead of focusing on what we have been given by God and by Jesus. In composing this short but worthy collection of new ideas about this holy day, Mears points out the many very human feelings and failings regarding our observation of it.
For example, we may pride ourselves on giving the right gift to someone who will then return it to get something else. And why should the day after Christmas seem gloomy? Important to her theme is that we do not celebrate the birthday of a one-year-old in the same way we celebrate that of an adult; since Jesus is no longer a newborn baby, but a “grown up Lord and Savior,” we should devise new ways to celebrate His life that reflect that reality.
A dedicated Christian, Jamaican-born Mears has composed her sincere manual with care. One story offered as an example was told to her by her mother, of a woman so fixated on cleaning her house preparing for a visit from Jesus that when Jesus came by, disguised as a beggar, she sent him away empty-handed. “We never know,” Mears states, “how many times you and I missed Jesus because we are too busy preparing the temporal house instead of our Spiritual house.” She stresses “inward decoration” such as repentance, and quotes liberally from biblical passages and the words of time-honored hymns. She suggests alternative ways of marking the day, such as family get-togethers that start with a church service, and dedicating the money spent on decorating our houses to feeding the poor, in a sense, “decorating our hearts.”
Her brief but truth-filled volume would provide an excellent study for church groups and individuals wishing to consider Christmas preparations in a refreshing new light.
