As the weather outside finally begins to embrace its frosty facet, and as the annual twinkles of ROYGBIV begin to shine from their little frosted homes, I can’t help but feel giddy. Why? Because these signs along with the miniature tree that has been in my suitemates’ room since early November are sure indications that Christmas is right around the bend. In fact, as I am writing this blog right at this very second, December 25th is only 19 days, 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 27 seconds away. No I’m not some crazy fanatic who keeps a continual countdown until Christmas rolls by (that’s what the internet is for), but I include this seemingly insignificant detail to illustrate how dear we hold this holiday and time of season in our hearts. Does any other holiday have such an extensive list of family traditions? Does any other holiday have as many advertisements? Does any other holiday spark enough fire in our hearts to risk getting on a slippery, ice covered roof solely to adorn our house in colored lights? If your family is anything like mine, than the answer is clearly Of Course Not. To even suggest a rival holiday would be like suggesting 2 +2= 5. Throughout the world and especially throughout America, it seems as if Christmas has enough power to create eternal memories, has the ability to make time standstill, and has the capacity to wipe away our fears and failures of the previous months. Now I’m aware that many people also feel the stinging of tears around this time as they are often reminded of the death of a beloved, or at the recognition of their self imposed loneliness, but for the sake of simplicity and generalizations I think we can agree that during Christmas we seem to enter a bubble of tranquility and happiness- or an undisturbed snow globe perhaps may be more fitting.
Normally I’m one of the first to advocate getting the old tree and ornaments down from the attic. But this year (and maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m away from all of the nutcrackers, garland, and tinsel for the first time in my 19 years of existence)I have a heavier heart than normal. At first I wasn’t really sure why I felt so sorrowful at a time as joyful as Christmas, but then it dawned on me as I listened to a church service online this morning. The pastor that was preaching this morning proposed the idea that somewhere in the last few decades our outlooks on Jesus and on the good ole Saint Nick have become blurred. I must admit this was a very intriguing idea to me and a somewhat provoking one at that. On one hand you had a man/God, who lived with 12 disciples in the Middle East over 2000 years ago, and on the other you have a red clad, rotund, pink cheeked, white bearded myth who received its origin from the Dutch hundreds of years later. How could any sane human being confuse the two? Surely either this pastor was insane or there was a case of mistaken identity that even Shakespeare would laugh at. For a few minutes I pondered and even scoffed at anyone who could get the One who walked on water confused with the one who flies a sled. But then it hit me, and it hit me hard. This crazy pastor may just have a point.
Have we reduced God to a mere Santa-like figure?
Of course many of you many now think that after this rhetorical question I too have lost some of my marbles, but please indulge me a little bit. In today’s society it appears that we think God is some kind of figure similar to Santa Claus. If we do good deeds, God will reward us with his grace and mercy, and perhaps even bestow us with gifts and blessings. If we do bad deeds, God will revoke his hand from our lives and remove his grace from us. Basically, our whole faith now totters on the Good and Naughty List. But does it say anywhere in the Bible that Jesus came or died so that we may act as model citizens? Or does it ever say that making errors in judgment would result in the revocation of our salvation? According to Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (NIV). It is by grace and by grace alone that we are saved. Christ, and this is where He strays from most other major religions, did not teach that one had to first be good to then receive His love, but instead taught that by His mercy and by His grace He has extended His hand to us in hopes that we may leave our sins for the greener grass on His side.
So what then does this mean for our faith, for our culture, and for our cornerstones of thought? Are the traditions and associations of Christmas wrong? Is that jolly ole Santa Claus an idol or vice? Am I suggesting to not celebrate the seasons? By all means no. I do not wish to discourage anyone from rejoicing in this time of the year, and in fact rather encourage everyone to plug themselves into the contagious festivities. But I do want to suggest (and I know you have probably heard this thousands of times before) that you rethink the purpose of this holiday.
And I hope that you rediscover the true Christ behind Christmas.
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