Christmas Constroversia
I know you will be surprised when I tell you that Christmas is not actually a biblical holiday. God never declared Thou shalt celebrate my Son’s birth on December 25th of every year. Apart from the historical accounts of Christ’s birth in each of the four gospels, Christmas as a holiday is never mentioned in the Bible. The early Christians did not celebrate Christmas. In fact, the church didn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus until about 300 years after his death and resurrection. The only thing Jesus actually instructed us to do in remembrance of Him, was to practice the ritual of the Eucharist, the bread and wine (communion), as a reminder of the sacrifice He made for mankind.
Christmas is actually a "spin off" of the winter solstice celebration which began hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. On the longest winter day of the year, knowing the days would be getting longer, the people celebrated the hope of spring when there would be new life and new crops. Plants which stayed green during the winter months were used to decorate their homes to symbolize the hope that life would come forth again from the barren earth when the warmth of spring would awaken it from its frozen, sleepy state.
Branches from the evergreen tree became the most popular plant used to decorate for solstice celebrations largely because the tree is... ever green.
Ba-dum-bum! Thank you very much, folks. I’ll be here all week!
Anyway...
By the beginning of the fourth century Roman church officials decided to institute a holy feast day marking the birth of Jesus. Since the Bible makes no mention of the date, or even the time of year, when Jesus was born, Pope Julius I arbitrarily chose December 25th as the day for the “Feast of the Nativity". There is no official accounting of why Pope Julius chose December 25th as the date for the Nativity Feast, but most likely he did so with the hopes that, since Christians were celebrating the solstice festivals anyway, they would adopt or incorporate Nativity into their revelry. Although the Church decreed the holiday, it gave no instructions on how to celebrate it. So, people borrowed traditions from other cultures.
It shouldn't be surprising that Christians (Catholic or other) took a common, secular festival and infused Jesus into it. Essentially, they took the “common” or the "secular" and used it as opportunity to point others to God. Every culture did it. So, why is Christmas so controversial? The same tactics have been used for centuries! In fact, they are being used by Christian churches today!
For example, there is a church in Florida this year that is spending what will no doubt be a ridiculous amount of money to present their Christmas Play in 3D! Just a guess, but I highly doubt that was sanctioned by God. Now, whether you think such an event is as ridiculous as I do or not, they claim they are using it to bring the gospel message to their city - or to draw their city to the gospel message - and the matter of whether they are or not is between them and God. While God certainly doesn't need a 3D reenactment of His incarnation to touch lives, I have no doubt that He can use their common and secular efforts for His good. The power to change lives is not in the method - but the message.
But listen, isn't that what the birth of Jesus represents, though? Taking something that is otherwise secular, common or unholy; immersing Himself into it; and turning it around for good? Let's take a look.
Scandalous Love!
Creator of everything seen and unseen, a holy God, loved humanity so much that left His throne and riches and chose to be born into the poorest of society. His incarnation alone was scandalous! Mary, a 15-year old teenager, wasn’t even married when she became pregnant! Joseph, the man she was engaged to, knew full well the child was not his and tried to find a way to graciously divorce her. He would have but for Divine intervention.
The two youngsters were so poor, that when it came time to obey the Levitical offering for the birth of their child, they had to give the poorest offering of two doves. The law read that in the event the mother could not afford a lamb for the offering, she was allowed to offer two doves or two pigeons. (Lev. 12:8)
The poorest of poor. The most common.
The Creator God was born in a smelly old cave, in a wooden box to two poor people. He shed his heavenly robe to be wrapped in rags. The first scent he smelled with his tiny human nose was not the fragrant smell of one of His glorious fragrant creations, or even the welcoming smell of fresh baked bread or pie in His new home, but of animal dung and urine soaked straw.
So, why would the Eternal God of the Universe trade all that He had, wealth, reputation, honor, power and glory to become impoverished and eventually murdered? Love. Pure love. He wanted to redeem His creation.
The birth of Jesus was a revolutionary, paradigm-shifting event, not to mention the greatest love scandal ever! He literally changed the world!
Didn't God look at humanity in all its depravity, perishing in a sin-sick condition, and declare He would redeem us back to Himself? Jesus voluntarily immersed Himself into the dregs of humanity, fulfilled all of the righteous requirements for God’s justice so that He could offer abundant, eternal life to all who would believe in Him. To ALL. To everyone. Regardless of gender, culture , creed, social status or religious affiliation.
His birth was revolutionary.
His life was controversial.
His death brings hope.
His resurrection brings new life.
His love was scandalous.
In the cold, dead, winter solstice of this human existence,
Jesus is our evergreen of hope!
Definitely worth celebrating!
There are many well-meaning people who stand in opposition to celebrating Christmas because of its origins, and if that is their personal conviction, that is fine. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think Jesus cares so much about whether we celebrate Christmas as a holiday or not. I think He cares more about the condition of our hearts. Whether Christians should or shouldn’t celebrate Christmas is an individual decision based on individual conviction. But perhaps we should just do a little self-check before deciding:
- What is the true reason you celebrate Christmas?
- Where is your heart regarding Christmas? Is it to genuinely commemorate and celebrate the greatest gift to the world, Jesus? Or is it simply an outward ritual used for personal gain?
- Do you just go through the motions because that's just what you've always done?
- Are you capturing the spirit of scandalous love toward others and effectively sharing that in your celebration? Or are you just caught up in the superficial ceremony of it?
- Do you give scandalously for the betterment of others, or for the promotion of yourself?
Look at what Christmas has become and wonder if those who celebrated solstice weren't a tad more spot-on with their reason to celebrate their hope than modern-day Christians are with ours. At least they knew what they were celebrating! If you have gotten a little lost or feel you have no real sense of purpose for celebrating Christmas, you are not alone. Many people have. Guess what? There is hope!
The Advent Conspiracy
A group of pastors in 2006, decided to put the real scandal (Jesus' scandalous love) back into Christmas by starting a movement called The Advent Conspiracy. If you need help trying to find a more meaningful way to participate in the Christmas holiday, visit their website and see if there is something there for you. AC is based on the premise of reclaiming Christmas for the purpose of Christ, and not commercialism. Worship Fully
Spend Less
Give More [Presence]
Love All
I encourage you to prayerfully consider what you can do this year to bring Christ to the forefront of your Christmas celebration. It doesn’t have to be monumental - just sincere and done in a spirit of humbleness, love and good will.
Remember, the greatest revolution known to man did not start with the wealthy, the one who had the most stuff, or the best church play production... it started with a baby in a small wooden box...
May we love one another scandalously this
Christmas season,
Christmas season,
and all through the year!
