Christmas of 1985, I was in the second grade. Like any typical 2nd grader, I had a Christmas wish list. I’m sure the list was long, but the main item of interest on that list was the Atari 5200.
Now, the deal at the McMurry house was that we knew Mom and Dad were going to let us unwrap a few gifts from the parents. Maybe something my dad had made, like a Rubber Band Gun, but mostly the essentials like socks, underwear, shampoo. We didn't grow up having a lot when I was younger, so at Christmas Mom would wrap just about anything so that we had lots of gifts to open. Gum. Pajamas. Stamps. Stuff like that.
The big presents though, were from Santa. I'm pretty sure my parents had a deal worked out with Santa because he always brought each of us kids 3 presents. Usually the first 2 were ok; possibly something on the list but not necessarily. The 3rd gift though; the third gift was what Christmas was all about. It was the moment I waited for all year long.
Being the curious 2nd grader that I was, I had a tendency to do a little snooping when the opportunity arose. I had figured out that "Santa Claus" usually hid my Christmas presents in the top of my Mom's closet. On one snooping adventure, I discovered something that has been burned into my memory since. The Atari 5200.
Side note, my kids get presents off of Craigs list; I got presents out of the newspaper classified ads. Same thing. It wasn't new in the box. I didn't care. It was there. And in a few short days it would be mine. Oh yes, it would be mine.
The familiarity of Christmas Eve and the Family traditions were almost impossible to stand. I was like, "Yes, uh huh, angels, shepherds, virgin - don’t really know what that is, don’t really want to ask. Let’s just speed through this, sing some carols, read Twas The Night Before Christmas. Milk and cookies, carrot for the reindeer, and can I please get in bed and cover my head, because Santa Cause comes tonight, and I know he already left an Atari 5200 in Mom’s closet for me!"
When Christmas morning rolled around, we went through the joy of opening all the other presents first, saving the gifts from Santa for last. The whole time I’m opening underwear and t-shirts, I’ve got my eye on the rectangular one with my name on it, and the tag: From Santa.
It seemed like hours of opening shampoo and watching my sister open Sweet Valley High books and my brother open Tarheel basketball “Stuff,” until finally it was time to open our presents from Santa.
The opening order went the same every year. We would go Donald, Caroline, Joseph, Donald Caroline Joseph, Donald Caroline... and then it was time. I knew from snooping that the Atari 5200 wasn’t in a box, so it made sense that “Santa” would put it in a box before he wrapped it. I picked up the box, played the guessing game, you know, gave a little shake. I didn’t want to give away that I knew what was in the box.
My hands were starting to sweat. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I ripped the wrapping paper, and opened the box to find... dun dun dun... A G.I. Joe toy airplane.
I was disappointed, but I couldn't show it. The Atari 5200 had captured my attention. It had taken the place of honor in my life that Christmas.
The context of Luke 1 and 2 lets us know that the first Christmas was about the change from Caesar to Christ.. A change in power. A change in worship. A change in how things had always been done. From supremacy to service. From aggression to peace. The first Christmas was about trying to make the world understand that things weren’t always going to be the way they had been.
In the same way, this Christmas can also be about change. As Jesus’ birth was a direct confrontation of the powers that were in place, so Christmas can be a challenge to us—a challenge to whatever is taking power and precedence in our lives.
What is competing for the place of honor in your life this Christmas? We’ll call it your Atari 5200.
Whatever it is, good or bad, if it’s in the center, then Jesus is not. And Christmas, is nothing if not the chance to remove the powers that were, and put in its place the One that is.
Sure, we can keep some of our traditions: baking cookies, watching old movies, maybe even opening a present on Christmas Eve. But when it comes to the heart; when it comes to what has our attention and our effort and our focus, let’s work this year at getting Jesus to be exactly where He should be: at the center of our lives.
What about the Atari 5200, you ask? I couldn’t ask about it. That would totally have blown my snooping cover. They would have known what a sneaky little punk I was. I had to let the dream die.
On Valentines Day, I got the Atari 5200. I found out many years later that my Dad talked my mom, er Santa, out of giving me the Atari for Christmas because we only had one TV in the house, and there were too many football games on between Christmas and New Years.
Merry Christmas!
