28 Nov 2007
Do you feel as if we are losing Christmas? Never mind Thanksgiving which has been gobbled up [sorry about that] by the ever increasing commercialism of the last major holiday of the year (formerly known as the birth of Christ). Never mind that our so called pluralistic culture that is tolerant of all faiths seems scared to death for anyone to be wished a “Merry Christmas” or display a Christmas tree or nativity for fear of being offended. Never mind that everyone wants peace on earth, good will towards all, but wants nothing to do with the Prince of Peace who is our only hope.
See, we can rant and rave (see above paragraph) about everything that is wrong about how our culture celebrates or remembers Christmas; we can grieve over how the true meaning of Christmas is over-shadowed by everything that Christmas is not; we can give up and protest by not being involved at all or ...
… we can do exactly what some wise men did during the very first Christmas season, and follow the Bethlehem Star.
Yes, December in America is not just for Christians anymore. December now reflects the religious and cultural diversity that is America: Christmas for Christians, Hanukkah for Jews, Kwanza for those from Africa, and even Winter Solstice for pagans and atheists I suppose. No wonder so many prefer the bland greeting of Happy Holidays.
Some Christians would have us give up, pointing out that the Bible doesn’t specify the day of Christ’s birth, that the Church didn’t even start celebrating Christmas until the beginning of the fourth century under the Roman emperor Constantine, and the date picked was actually a pagan day to celebrate the birth of the sun (Winter Solstice). These facts are true, but that is no reason to give up on honoring the birth of the Son who brought Eternal Light into the world!
Instead I would suggest that just as the first Christmas happened in a non-Christian culture, we too must introduce Jesus to our culture. Just as the wise men asked, “where is He who is born king of the Jews?” we can ask our culture if they’d like to know about the birth of the king of Kings. Just as the shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” we can tell what we know about the Savior. Just as the angels announced “good news of great joy …for all the people” we know the good news that is meant for all to hear, even if they have no idea of what Christmas is really all about. The theme song of our Christmas program Bethlehem Star encourages us with this message: And the soft steady light of the Bethlehem Star keeps lighting our darkness and touching our hearts. And calling us back from wherever we are, back to the Father above, back home to the heart of His love. Obviously our culture doesn’t seem to get Christmas even as they celebrate it. But this isn’t cause for despair or doom, but rather an opportunity to pull back the glitter and clutter, and tell our world the simple but powerful story of God becoming human so we could all find Love. As Nettie, one of the main characters in Bethlehem Star, says “God is still calling people to come and see. To come draw near and get to know His Son, Jesus. And Jesus is still looking for room to be born in people’s lives.”
The Bethlehem Star still shines. Christ is born. Salvation is near. All we have to do is continue to carry that light, and take every opportunity to tell the story of the greatest gift the world has ever seen—the gift of salvation offered by God on Christmas day, and every day, that one would come to worship the newborn king.
Denis Whittet
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