Since millennials are known to value authenticity, one young adult preacher is reminding people about how important it is to focus on the authentic Christmas story.

The Rev. Allee Willcox, 24, is the Associate Pastor at Suntree United Methodist Church in Brevard County, Fla. In a piece written for Florida Today, the millennial preacher said the weeks leading up to Christmas known as Advent should be inspiring everyone to seek out authenticity during the holiday season.

“Our Christmas story has been sanitized for so many years that we miss the truth about it. Jesus was not born to a community of power or prestige,” she wrote. “He was born to a young woman, in scandal about his paternity, in the lowliest of circumstances. The first visitors of this baby were shepherds, the lowest paid and least regarded occupation in all of Judea.”

While people get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, she urged them to focus on who Jesus really was.

Instead of forcing people to express their holiday cheer, the preacher is encouraging people to let God meet them where they are.

“He was born in an era of political turmoil to a people without hope,” Willcox wrote.“The real, authentic truth of Christmas is this: Jesus came to say that wherever we are, he would be there too, and he would shine light into the darkness of our human and broken world.”

“These next few weeks I’ll spend my time in that millennial clergy intersection saying what I think we all need to hear: Christmas is meant to be a time to be real and tell the truth. No fake holiday joy here,” she said. “Feel what you need to feel, ask what you need to ask, and if you happen to seek out a Christian space this year, know that you are welcome to come question, mourn and be real along with me. Otherwise, wherever you are, it is my earnest prayer that light and authenticity break into your darkness and mess this holiday season. I’ll be praying that one for myself, too.”