December 9
Xmas
Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
This Christmas the culture wars will rage, as they usually do, and then die down until the season comes around next year. Christmas music and decorations are everywhere equally among those who have some belief about God and Jesus and those who have no idea what the core story on which Christmas was built is about.
In the midst of all of these commercial and cultural practices, supported by a cacophony of seasonal music, will come some Christian people who will rail against the secularism and the commercialism and unleash slogans like “keep Christ in Christmas” and “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
The aim of these and similar slogans is twofold, one to protest the non-Christian celebrations that are taking place, and two, to attempt to draw people back to a focus on Christ. People are usually surprised when I shrug off these slogans and protests and argue that you cannot keep Christ in Christmas because he was never in it in the first place. So yes, I am ok with Xmas, and I don’t think that anyone is trying to X out Christ.
Christmas, in fact, is of very recent vintage. When I tell people that Christmas has no roots in the Bible they are startled. When I teach that for hundreds of years Christians did not observe or celebrate the birth of Jesus at a particular time they are confused. That the birth of Jesus was never referenced by the early church or the Apostles is a shock to the modern mind.
Christian faith was taught and observed without 12 days or weeks being dedicated to cleaning, food, drink, gifts, and a worldwide entertainment and cultural phenomenon.
If you need proof that Christ is not in Christmas go to Google and type Christmas Characters and you’ll get Santa, Ebenezer Scrooge, Rudolph, The Ghost of Christmas past, Mrs Claus, Krampus, Jack Skellington, Frosty, the Grinch, Elves and more. However, notably missing from the Google list were the Little Drummer Boy and Kevin.
Christmas is more a part of the culture, especially in the West, than it is a sacred or religious festival, and Christians should stop pretending that it is. I believe that this pretence is actually harmful to the Christian message and the cause for which Christ came.
Now before you get all hot and bothered please stay with me to the end of this piece at least. I am not suggesting that we must sulk and pout and not participate in socio-cultural norms of our community. In Guyana, I would be very disturbed if we come to the end of the year and we aren’t refreshing our surroundings to welcome the new. I would be even more disturbed if the delicacies and special beverages are not available at every home I visit.
I am not trying to spoil the fun for children who enjoy the yearend and receive gifts. And certainly, I am not trying to dislodge the breath-taking decorations in the city and around the community. Where we are able to enjoy these things, we should.
However, what I am asking us to do is to recognise that this is not the Christian message. Jesus was born in very difficult political times, in challenging social circumstances, and into limited economic means, and at a time when the culture was in rapid metamorphosis forced on the occupied people by a foreign power.
God was at work, like He is today, harnessing the arrayed forces for the fulfilment of the word of His prophets. Ushering into the world, through the miracle of a virgin birth, a Child with all of the human vulnerabilities, who is the answer to the human condition. A Child would confront the political, social, economic, and cultural challenges of our world by addressing the underlying spiritual condition of men.
The context of the world today at Christmas is as challenging as the world into which Jesus was born. We have a compelling message to tell the world that, ironically, gets neglected in our Nativity play in church, put on by the children’s ministries department.
The real message at this difficult, confusing, and frightening time is this, “… she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21.
Think on these things:
- Do you consider Christmas to be a Christian religious festival or just a cultural festival with some Christian references?
- Do you think that there is room for the Christian message to be heard in the midst of the noise of popular entertainment and commercial activities?
- What could your church do to get your community to focus on the significance and consequence of the birth of Jesus?Let us pray today that in our engagements during Christmas we find an opportunity to share with someone the significance and impact of the birth of Jesus.
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that as we reflect on the different names given to Jesus, we would better appreciate His person and work and effectively share this with others.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex