Keep Who In What?

I think we should move when we celebrate Christ's birth.

Really, how many people are actually honoring Christ on "Christ"mas anyway, despite what many people claim the day is truly about anyway? Maybe we say a prayer or two. Maybe we reading something from the Bible. Maybe we sing some songs. But then what do we do? Demonstrate gluttony at the dinner table? Overindulge our children with gifts that they don't really need, many of which will find their way to the donation bin or the trash heap? Pretend that we have something meaningful to say to people we don't see the rest of the year, so we can have some false sense of "relationship" or "fellowship"?

I argue that very little of what we do on this holiday has anything to do with what we as Christians are supposed to be celebrating on the day bearing the title of our savior, Jesus.

I've had this picking at my brain for a little while. Then I went on two rides at Disneyland that amplified it -- The Haunted Mansion and It's A Small World -- all decorated for "Christmas". I knew it was going to be the world's version of Christmas, but at first it still really bugged me. A bunch of Santa crap, decorations, food, and presents. None of that has anything to do with what Christmas is supposed to celebrate.

About halfway through the Small World ride, I realized something. You can't keep Christ in the middle of that kind of Christmas. I actually thought "hey you bozos, where's the nativity scene here" -- but no, our savior doesn't belong among all that foolishness, to be cheapened and brought down to that level. It would be more of an insult to my God and Savior to slap a Christian's Christmas in the center of all that pomp.

Now there are those who want to take "Merry Christmas" and turn it into "Happy Holidays" because they are offended by Christ. There are many of us who are Christians who absolutely hate this and want to hold fast to the name of the holiday. But how well do we hold on to the purpose? Anything sacred about it has been so completely mixed up with this secular rich western idea of Christmas that it seems so difficult to get any real meaning out of it. Let's just cut our losses and let the world have their "holiday" of glitz, overindulgence, and commercialism, and pick a new one that can have real meaning for God's people who want to actually celebrate the incarnation of his Son Jesus Christ.

I realized that no one, including myself, is going to seriously campaign for another day to celebrate the birth of Christ on. We'll just go on as usual, saying that Christmas is about Christ and then not really making the day itself about him. Let's just stand up and be honest about this one day of the year, and then do our best to celebrate Christ's birth, death, and resurrection every day of our lives in our thoughts, words, and actions -- without feeling the need to claim this one day as something any more sacred in lifting up the name of Jesus.

Nehushtan!

Grace and Peace