Rediscover Christmas with AJ Sherrill’s Fresh Take on the Nativity Story

In a sit-down interview with Crosswalk, Sherill opens the door to why this season is his favorite season to experience the gift of Jesus. 

Crosswalk Headlines: How did this book come into play? 

AJ Sherrill: I used to pastor a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I just noticed people started sitting up a little higher and paying attention a little bit more, which isn't always common around Christmas because everyone thinks they've heard the story. I had begun to dig into context in my life of really getting into the historical components of the first century and realizing that some of the stories that we read and the stories we tell around Christmas might need some revision that are a little closer to the historical sort of context of what nativity is all about. Some Christians are rather bored and are really looking for depth that is accessible and meaningful in the story that they thought they knew. I sort of unearthed 13 characters that surround the nativity story and dug deeper into the context that was entirely relevant to our lives today. And that was really the beginning of me saying, 'I think I'm going to need to put some words down on paper for this.'

CWH: How did you rediscover Christmas for yourself? 

AJS: I'm a bit of a history buff, but walking the land for the last decade has been good for me. So, particularly in this book for the first-century Jewish context in the land of Jesus, you just learn so much. They call the land the fifth Gospel for a good reason, because so much when you get out of the two-dimensionality of reading, and you inhabit these spaces that many of them are somewhat still preserved. So, going and studying for the last decade in the Holy Land helped me rediscover Christmas. 

CWH: The book is broken down into two main parts; why did you decide to do that? 

AJS: Well, so you have the beginning in December, the first Sunday of December, usually depending on how the calendar breaks down, you have the four weeks leading up to Christmas morning, and that's called Advent. And that's a season of waiting; it's a season of allowing ourselves to cultivate expectations and not satisfy those expectations through lesser loves. I can speak more about that, but the other part is what happens past Christmas. We start the celebration so early, like right after Thanksgiving. We are like, the tree is up, the Christmas music is going, and the 24-hour radio is constantly pumping joy to the world. But really, we're called to wait in the dark until the light comes on Christmas morning. And then Christmas begins. Historically, it was at least twelve days, you know, the twelve days of Christmas, that song you gave gifts on every day, and you lingered in it rather than putting all of the decorations away and getting ready for football in the new year. The real action of the game is that Emmanuel has just now started. And so, we're called to party into the weeks to come. The book is divided into pre-birth narratives and then post-birth narratives. 

I'll give you an example. Zechariah is a pre-birth narrative of Jesus. And then you have the Magi, that are a post-birth narrative of Jesus. So the first seven chapters help you with Advent and the last six chapters help you with Christmas. 

CWH: During your research, what did you find out about Zachariah? 

AJS: He's overlooked; we quickly get to John the Baptist and skip over his story, here's a guy that was in his old age baron, which is socially shaming the primary blessing of the first century was childbearing. And here they are, this old religious couple who had been faithful to the Torah to the way of the old covenant, and he's one of the hierarchies, like at the top of the food chain, and here he is barren. You have to wonder what that was like, so when he goes into the temple, he draws the straw to go into the room that's literally next to the Holy of Holies. Talk about a bucket list moment for him. Here he is, in old age without a child, probably feeling a sense of underwhelming and disappointment, maybe even a sense of anger at God. At that moment when he is visited by the angels, there is no reason that he is startled; he probably has stopped expecting God's presence in his life. He had waited all these years to see God come through. 

CWH: You've said that you needed this book. Can you explain that? 

AJS: The Christmas story can breed a lot of apathy; when we think we know everything that there is to know, I think we can stop becoming curious about the infinite nature of the kingdom of God. We will forever be discovering the treasures of who Christ is. And so I think that begins now, and I think stories like the Christmas story help us understand the kingdom of God better. 

Photo Credit: ©Instagram/AJ_Sherrill

MAINA MWAURA is a freelance writer and journalist who has interviewed over 800 influential leaders, including two US Presidents, three Vice-Presidents, and a variety of others. Maina, is also the author of the Influential Mentor, How the life and legacy of Howard Hendricks Equipped and Inspired a Generation of Leaders. Maina and his family reside in the Kennesaw, Georgia area.