Breakpoint: "Cultivating Christmas Wonder"

Host: John Stonestreet
Date: December 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, John Stonestreet explores how Christians can recapture true wonder and expectation during Christmas, drawing on T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Cultivation of Christmas Trees.” He examines the tension between childlike awe and adult disenchantment with the holiday, emphasizing the virtues of wonder, humility, and hopeful anticipation rooted in Christ's coming.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. T.S. Eliot’s Reflection on Christmas ([00:01]-[02:20])

• Stonestreet begins by quoting T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Cultivation of Christmas Trees,” which contrasts several attitudes toward Christmas: the social, commercial, rowdy, and “childish (which is not that of the child).”
• Memorable Poetic Image:
  • "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..." – T.S. Eliot, quoted by John Stonestreet ([00:44])
• Eliot urges that the awe and excitement of a child at Christmas should remain with us, warning against letting joy become diluted by routine, fatigue, or the self-satisfaction of “piety.”

2. The Virtue of Childlike Wonder ([02:21]-[03:15])

• Stonestreet interprets Eliot’s message, emphasizing that Christians should approach Christmas with two key perspectives:

  1. Wonder: “like that of a child arrested before a Christmas tree.”
  2. Expectation and Waiting: retaining the excitement and fulfillment of the day.

• He references David Diener’s description of wonder as “recognizing ignorance and responding with a longing to know in simplicity to mystery.”

• Quote:

  • "To wonder is a rich human activity in which we marvel at what we do not yet know." – John Stonestreet ([02:40])

• He notes how both education and church settings sometimes neglect or suppress this capacity for wonder, despite it being central to the Christmas story.

3. Expectation, Memory, and Joy ([03:16]-[03:50])

• Adults often become preoccupied with the stress of preparing for Christmas, but Eliot reminds us of the power of “accumulated memories of annual emotion” being concentrated into “great joy.”
• The positive memories of Christmas should deepen hope rather than become mere routine.

4. The Dark Side of Christmas & Need for Redemption ([03:51]-[04:21])

• Stonestreet points out that both T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis acknowledge Christmas’s somber elements:
  • Mary’s unsettling encounter with Gabriel
  • The shepherds’ fear at the angels’ arrival
  • Joseph’s challenging dream
  • Herod’s violence against children
• Yet, it’s only Christ who brings “lasting peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”

5. Childlike Faith Is Not Childish ([04:22]-[04:38])

• True childlike faith involves humility, trust, and the willingness to rely on God.
• 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.” – Philosopher J.P. Moreland, cited by John Stonestreet ([04:34])

6. Linking the First and Second Coming ([04:39]-[04:50])

• Stonestreet closes by echoing Eliot, reminding listeners that the wonder of Christ’s first coming should inspire hope for his return and his ultimate reign.

• Quote:

  • "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." – John Stonestreet ([04:46])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• T.S. Eliot (quoted):
  • "The child wonders at the Christmas tree. Let him continue in the spirit of wonder at the feast..." ([00:44])
• John Stonestreet:
  • "To wonder is a rich human activity in which we marvel at what we do not yet know." ([02:40])
• J.P. Moreland (cited):
  • “The opposite of the child is the proud, stiff-necked person, not an intelligent, reasonable one.” ([04:34])
• John Stonestreet:
  • "Christ's first coming should fill us with hope for his second..." ([04:46])

Suggested Listening Timeline

• [00:01] – Introduction and T.S. Eliot’s Christmas poem
• [01:00] – The spirit of wonder and its importance
• [02:21] – Definition and value of wonder; risk of losing it
• [03:16] – Expectation, memory, and the joy of Christmas
• [03:51] – The dark and redemptive context of Christmas
• [04:22] – Childlike faith: humility vs. pride
• [04:39] – Christmas as both looking back and forward; hope in the Second Coming

Summary

John Stonestreet’s “Cultivating Christmas Wonder” is a reflective meditation on the power of maintaining childlike awe and hope at Christmas, resisting cynicism or mere habit. Drawing from T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis, Stonestreet invites listeners to embrace both the mystery and reality of Christ's birth and to let that wonder shape how we await his triumphant return. Christmas, he argues, is best lived with humility, joyful expectation, and a posture open to both the beauty and gravity of God’s work of restoration.