Does The Origin of Christmas Offend You?

Today was the Youth-Christmas pageant at my church where I sported a gold and red robe as I played Wiseman #2. Our brilliant director, who was one of the highly intelligent youth that I minister to as her youth-leader directed a comical rendition of the nativity story - and believe me it was funny! 

Me and my two fellow wisemen were cranky senile old geezers who were constantly tripping over ourselves and each other. As a part of the skit, I was supposed to go over and help one of my fallen wisemen to his feet; however, - this was not supposed to be a part of the skit - one of our 3 year old sheep ran onto the stage with the same idea in mind. Also as a part of the skit, one of the shepherds called in sick; however the day was saved by someone who was aiming to arrive at a party, but took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on the hill with other two shepherds; he as such became an honorary shepherd and a witness to the frightening angel who came to tell some great news!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2:11 

In some Christian circles, this sort of rendition of the Christmas story, (or perhaps doing any rendition of the story) might be construed as mockery to the significance of the Christmas message. However I would argue that it is not; as with a few ad-libs hear and there and adding a couple of interesting humorous twists we followed the story, religiously (pun intended). Mary and Joseph resorted to a smelly stable to give birth to their miracle child. Shepherds, who while were looking after their sheep got the good news of this Messiah child via a horde of angels; and the proverbial and probably inaccurate number of 3 wisemen followed a bright star to the manger and gave to the Messiah, the newborn king, gifts of murh, frankincense and gold. This is the Christmas narrative, or at least in part. Sure, we played with the theatrics, but stayed we faithful to the theology.

However when the modern media, TV and movies for an example do a rendition of the Christmas story, do they only play with the theatrics? Sadly no. Today society is so off-kiltered regarding the Christmas’ origins, its depressing. Ottawa Sun journalist Ron Corbett learned this the hard way when he went into a store to get nativity-scene based products. He wrote an opinion piece in the Ottawa Sun entitled: Have we all forgotten what Christmas is really about?[i] He tells the story of the clerk who in all honesty had no idea what he meant by the term 'Nativity Story'; however the clerk's scary lack of knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas is a widespread phenomena. Above I alluded to the idea of some hypothetical Christians taking an offence of any rendition of the Christmas story but the original; however allow me to introduce you to the critically acclaimed and history's longest running TV show: The Simpsons. I recently watched a Christmas special of The Simpsons where the Simpson family put on a rendition of their own of the nativity story; however their creative liberty leaves a lot to be desired as, although they did keep to the theology - sort of - they gutted all of its significance. (However for any Simpsons fan this should not come as a surprise as being offensive is The Simpson's modus-operandi.)

However the sad thing about this is The Simpsons, in all their mockery told a story that was closer to the real meaning of Christmas than any of the feely-good, morally upright Christmas movies that played this year. Every Christmas TV movie that I saw this year or at least I saw advertised was centred around Jolly'ol Santa Clause, Christmas trees and lights and helping those who are in need. That is at least until last nights episode[ii] of The Simpsons. On this episode Reverend Timothy Lovejoy gave a riveting sermon. The following is the main thesis of his sermon, Lovejoy preached:

Every Christmas I stand up here and tell you that Christmas is about the Lord. However that is not the meaning of Christmas! The meaning of Christmas is about helping others.

And this was the message that every Santa movie and Christmas tree movie I watched or saw advertised this year. I have one very important question: "Why has ‘the world’ taken away Christ from Christmas, except when they are making fun of it? To provide a decent answer for the second question one commenter in Corbett's article alluded to above sheds light on one reason. Pertaining to Christmas being in public schools the commenter writes:

...observing a Christian story in a public school excludes every non-Christian in that school, ...[iii]

In sum observing Christmas is offensive for some non-believers of Christianity as it's origins excludes them, in terms of allegiance. How is this offensive? Should I be offended that the Islamic celebration of Ramadan excludes me as a Christian? According to the Qu'ran, Ramadan is practiced to “...glorify Allah for that which He has guided...” the Muslim believer (cf. Sura 2:185)[iv]. Would it be proper if I was to replace the focus of Ramadan with a Christian focus? No! If I don't subscribe to Islamic theology, I don't have to celebrate Ramadan; my lack of acceptance in Islam theology does not give me the right to mock the Muslim's beliefs and practices by robbing their religious celebrations of their significance. 

How should non-believers treat Christmas? 

Although Santa Clause's routes are founded in a real-life Christian man, named Bishop Saint Nicholas, 343 AD[v], neither he or his fictional persona is the meaning of Christmas. Although practicing selflessness, is a great Christian value, the practice of selflessness is not the meaning of Christmas; that is with the exception of God's selflessness (cf. John 3:16); selflessness is actually the necessary response to the meaning of Christmas. There is nothing wrong with encouraging family unity by decorating Christmas trees; but family unity is not the meaning of Christmas; but again it should be a necessary application taught by the meaning of Christmas as Paul states many times:

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,... - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

And Christmas time is a great time to practice this! So what is the meaning of Christmas? ANSWER: To celebrate the fulfillment of God's promise of the messiah (cf. Matthew 1:21) and his mission's purpose:

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. - Luke 19:10

Christmas should continue to be a nationally accepted holiday as it does promote the "good will to men" message; however it should likewise support is routes, irregardless of unbelievers. So if you don't believe in Christian theology, but you do agree with the morality of Christmas, that is selflessness and community, great, practice selflessness and community! If you want to propagate the idea of a fictional character to help you do this, great, do all of these things, but just don't call any of them 'the meaning of Christmas'! If you reject the Biblical account of Christmas' origins, fine, but just remember, Christians don't; and just as anyone should not mock Islam's Ramadan, or Judaism's Yom Kippur, or any other religious beliefs and practices, by gutting them of their significance, please don't do it to Christmas.

Keep Christ in Christmas!

And if you are offended at the idea of Christmas having Biblical and Christological origins just think: divorcing Christ from Christmas offends the Christian - and rightfully and justly so!

Keep Christ in Christmas!

________________

[i] - http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/12/15/have-we-all-forgotten-what-christmas-is-really-about - accessed Dec., 21, 2013

[ii] - December 22, 2013

[iii] - http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/12/15/have-we-all-forgotten-what-christmas-is-really-about - accessed Dec., 21, 2013

[iv] - http://quran.com/2/185 - accessed February., 10, 2014

[v] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas - accessed February 10, 2014

The True Meaning of Christmas: Putting the Christmas season into perspective

In a few days from this year’s Christmas, I will be sporting an oversized, sparkling, red and gold robe, as I’ll be transformed, from being the mid-thirty year old youth leader that I am into "Wiseman #2" - a cranky old wise-guy whose sense of humor has a lot to be desired. One of my highly organized and equally intelligent youth will be directing a humorous rendition of that famous wonderful story; the story that has been annually repeated in churches around the world since that great day; the day where the angels came and scared the living jeebies out of the lowly shepherds with the the good news that “...will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” - Luke 2:10-11 You guessed it - I’ll be playing the part of one of the wisemen in the Christmas story, or known in other circles as ‘the nativity story.’

What is this story? Its a simple story of a young, first-century newlywed couple who is desperately trying to find a place to rest, as they are expecting their first child; a child who by the way came into the situation under very unusual circumstances: by being miraculously and divinely conceived via the Holy Spirit; however the method of conception is not the centre of this story as much as is the conceived baby: the savior of the world (cf. Matthew 1:21), Jesus Christ, the Lord. This story is a story of not only a budding love between a husband and a wife, but also supernatural creatures, known as angels, lowly and humble shepherds who experienced a night at work that they will never forget, and about 1500+ years of prophetic utterances being fulfilled. However it is also a story of great violence as a jealous Roman governor commands that all boys under 2 years old be slaughtered because of a rumor of a new king who is coming to town; a king who is now only a toddler, but who will, in the Roman governor's mind, grow up and cause him more trouble than what he would like to deal with.

Usually when a Christian clergyman preaches on a Sunday morning service at or near Christmas time, this story, or at least parts of it gets honed in on; and for good reason as like the rest of Scripture the Christmas story is multi-dimensional in its education and application. It is more than a story of angels scaring shepherds, Mary and Joseph and their miracle child, and wisemen with expensive gifts. Its a story of great humility, wonder and joy - and sadness!

Sadness? Well, what is the reason for Christmas? Jesus explains that “...the reason [He] was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” - John 18:37 What truth? That he is the king (cf. John 18:36). That he is the light of the world. (cf. John 8:12) That he is God (cf. John 8:58). That he is the redeemer from sins and that we sinners have to accept that he is God or we will die in our sins (cf. John 8:24). That he is the only way to salvation (cf. John 14:6); and that his death, burial and resurrection is the only way to save us from our sins (cf. John 8:28, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Where does the ‘sadness’ come in? To put it simply - the need for Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection: we disobeyed God, corrupting the entire creation and severing our communion with him. However this story has a happy ending; an ending where there is eternal happiness due to being reunited with his creation. The story of Jesus ministry is a five part story of which his birth is only part 1. However what is the support beam for this story; what part, if taken out the story the entire collection of narratives and dialogues will be rendered nonsensical and useless? Is it, part 3 - his pre-crucifixion suffering and death on the cross? How about, part 2 - the social and moral education that he gave throughout the three years of his ministry? Or how about part 5 - his triumphant second return? Although all of these facets of is ministry are vital to his service here on earth, with the exception of part 5, there is only one other facet of Jesus' ministry that is a ‘make or break’ aspect. In addition to his triumphant return there is only one other aspect of his ministry that if it was taken out or was never implemented would render the rest of His ministry, educationally and functionally useless, in fact the doctrine of his second return would also be affected; that part is part 4 - his resurrection. The Apostle Paul writes:

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. - 1 Corinthians 15:12-18

Without Jesus resurrection Christians, both on and off the pulpit are liars; their preaching is useless and they are, like the rest of the world, condemned. So Jesus could have born; he could have taught all the good things he taught, did all the miracles he is recorded in doing and died a gruesome death on the cross; but if he is still dead or to put it another way if he did not rise, then you and I are eternally condemned to death.

What does this mean for Christianity? This means that out of all the ligaments that all play a part in making Christianity what it is as a belief system, the entire veracity of Christianity hinges on Jesus rising from the dead. In sum if Jesus’ resurrection can be proven to be just a tale, then Christianity is proven to be nothing more than a complicated story of culture, miraculous events, action, love, and thought provoking wisdom. In fact without the resurrection of Christ then realities like justice, mercy, good and evil can be called into question or at least they would have to be reassessed in a different light; perhaps all these facets are best explained under the guise of Islam or Sikhism; or perhaps they are really misnomers as the entire spectrum of ‘theism’ is phony and atheism is correct; but more importantly and a more crucial fact to accept is that no matter what, if there is no resurrected Lord Jesus then there is no second return. If there is no resurrection of Jesus, the son of the living God, then there is no Christianity; and if there is no Christianity there is no Christmas.

So this year, when you go door to door caroling, perhaps you might want to integrate into your collection of songs and even consider it as an honorary ‘Christmas Carol’ the song: Lord, We Lift Your Name on High. As him coming from heaven to the earth, then to the cross and grave and then to the sky has given all of us good reason to be grateful this Christmas season.