Celebrating Christmas As A Christian
¡§A little girl came home from Sunday School triumphantly waving a paper, ¡¥Mommy!¡¦ she said, ¡¥My teacher says I drew the most unusual Christmas picture she has ever seen!¡¦
The mother studied the picture for a moment and concluded it was indeed a very peculiar Christmas picture. ¡¥This is wonderfully drawn, but why have you made all these people riding on the back of an airplane?¡¦ the mother gently asked.
¡¥It¡¦s the flight into Egypt,¡¦ the little girl said, with a hint of disappointment that the picture¡¦s meaning was not immediately obvious.
¡¥Oh,¡¦ the mother said cautiously. ¡¥Well, who is this mean looking man at the front?¡¦
¡¥That¡¦s Pontius, the Pilot,¡¦ the girl said now visibly impatient.
¡¥I see. And here you have Mary and Joseph and the baby,¡¦ the mother volunteered. Studying the picture silently for a moment, she summoned the courage to ask, ¡¥But who is this fat man sitting behind Mary?¡¦
The little girl sighed, ¡¥Can¡¦t you tell? That¡¦s Round John Virgin!¡¦ We laugh but the sad truth is that little girl¡¦s mixed-up perspective of Christmas is not really much more muddled than the notions the average person carries around. Christmas has become an elaborate fabrication, and our cele-bration reflects that. The cast of characters we bring out at Christmas is no less bizarre than the ensemble that little girl put on her airplane. Our Christmases are the product of an odd mixture of superstition, fanciful legends and plan ignorance. The real message of Christmas is all but lost in the chaos.¡¨ [John MacArthur. ¡§God With Us: The Miracle of Christmas.¡¨ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989) p. 13-14.]
After the letter I read addressed to Santa in this morning¡¦s service I thought it might be appropriate to deal with the subject of how should a Christian celebrate Christmas. It is not that I am against mentioning Santa Claus, but that we should teach our children the truth about Santa.
¡§In the popular ¡§Hi and Lois¡¨ comic strip, writer often puts into words what is in the mind of the little baby girl who is the pride of the family. During a comic strip that appeared during the Christmas season, the little girl is pictured as thinking, ¡¥I sure do love Christmas. I don¡¦t know what it is all about yet, but I sure do love it.¡¦ Many are in the same boat as this little girl. They enjoy Christmas, but they just don¡¦t know what it is all about. Think how much more enjoyment they would receive if they understood the full significance of Christmas.¡¨ [J. Michael Shannon
/Robert C. Shannon. ¡§Celebrating the Birth of Christ: Worship, Preaching and Program Resources for Christmas.¡¨ (Cincinnati: Standard Pub., 1985). P. 44]
This evening by way of answering how to go about ¡§Celebrating Christmas as A Christian¡¨
I want to look at three issues.
1. SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
Some suggest that there are several reasons why a Christian should have nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas.
First, some say that a Christian should have
nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas, because of the name of the holiday, Christmas. The very name Christmas is offensive to some because the name is derived from the combination of two words, ¡§Christ¡¨ and ¡§mass¡¨. The word means ¡§the mass of Christ.¡¨ Some therefore are offended by what they think is an association with the Catholic Church. But the root mean does not in reality have anything to do with Catholicism it means ¡§Christ is sent.¡¨ It would seem that name accurate presents what the holiday is all about. In fact Galatians 4:4 says, ¡§But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son¡K¡¨
Secondly, some say that a Christian should have nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas, because of the commercialization of the observance. There can no doubt that the world abuses Christmas. But the abuse of others does not mean that the Christian should abandon a reverent celebration of Christmas.
Third, some say that a Christian should have
nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas, because of use of Xmas as an abbreviation for Christmas. Some would maintain that the use of the abbreviation leaves Christ out of Christmas. But in fact the abbreviation is not a modern attempt to leave Christ out of Christmas, although some may use it as such. The first use of the abbreviation can be traced back to 1551. The X in Xmas is not the letter X in the English alphabet it is symbol ƒ³ (chi) of the Greek alphabet (although almost indistinguishable to the eye in print). The Greek letter Chi is the first letter in the Greek word Christos or Christ and has been used down through the centuries as an abbreviation for Christ.
Fourth, some say that a Christian should have nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas, because of the use of Christmas trees. Some quote Jeremiah 10:2-4 as forbidding the use of Christmas trees. ¡§Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. (3) For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. (4) They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.¡¨ (Jeremiah 10:2-4) If indeed this passage referred to decorated Christmas trees it would most certainly be wrong to have them. But when we read this verse in the context of the whole chapter we find that what is being described is the practice of felling trees and carving idol from them.
Finally, some say that a Christian should have nothing to do with the modern celebration of Christmas, because December 25th is the wrong date. Jesus was probably not born on December 25th . There is a 1 in 365 chance that it is the right date (366 if you believe as many do that he was born in a leap year). This date was chosen because it was a pagan holiday already being celebrated. It seems Christian leaders endeavored keep Christians from being a part of this pagan celebration by giving them a Christian festival on the same day, celebrating the birth of Christ. [Raymond Cox. ¡§Is God Against Christmas?¡¨ Answers in Action : unpublished data file(www. answers.org).]
Would the Lord be opposed to the cele-bration of a non-biblical holiday? We might find some guidance in what transpired in John 10. Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem at the beginning of a observance of a non- biblical holiday (non-biblical in the sense that it was not commanded in the word of God) called the Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights (Channuka). How did Jesus respond? Did he stay at home and refuse to participate? Did condemn those that did participate? NO!! He was right there in the temple in the middle of the celebrants using it as an teaching opportunity.
2. WHAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT SANTA CLAUS?
The figure of Santa Claus, as I mentioned this morning, sometimes overshadows Jesus in our modern secular culture does in reality have a historical and religious precedence. The character of Santa Claus is derived from a real man who lived in the fourth century named Nicholas. He became know as St. Nicholas or St. Nick. Nicholas was a man who was moved by the poor children around him who did not have enough food or clothes. Nicholas used his own money to food, clothes and toys for poor children. He did not want them to be embarrassed by his gifts so he gave them secretly.
Legend also says that Nicholas told everyone about Jesus and how much God loved them. Many people became believers because of what he said. Finally, his enemies had him put in jail to keep him from telling people about Jesus. But Nicholas kept on telling people about Jesus until his enemies had him killed.
Because of how much Nicholas loved Jesus and because of his many gifts to the poor children of his town, he was remembered at Christmas time. In time pretend stories were made up about him living at the North Pole and having elves and reindeer. But the truth is that every time we see a Santa Claus we would be reminded of the real St. Nicholas who loved Jesus so much.
¡§Nicholas was particularly popular in Holland. It is there that the customs linking Nicholas to Christmas seem to have first begun. Dutch children expected the friendly saint to visit them and ¡K..developed the custom of placing their wooden shoes by the fireplace to be filled with gifts. Santa Claus is the Americanization of his Dutch name Sinterklaas.
¡K. Clement Moore, an American poet, may have more responsible than any other single person for popularizing the myth of Santa Claus. He wrote ¡§A Visit from St. Nicholas¡¨ in 1822 which begins with the famous line, ¡§Twas the the night befor Christmas,¡¨ and it was published in Troy New York Sentinel. It was immediately popular and has endured ever since.¡¨ [MacArthur. p. 109.]
By teaching our children the truth about the origins of Santa Claus we can enjoy Santa Claus and at the same time be reminded of the gospel and the true meaning of Christmas. I have even seen figurines of Santa kneeling at the manger, worshipping the baby Jesus, reinforcing the idea that everyone, even St. Nicholas, must kneel before the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
We should not go out and try to destroy the Christmas celebration of our non-Christian neigh-bors, giving them the truth and setting them straight but rather we could ask, ¡§Have you ever heard the real story about the origin of Santa,¡¨ and then tell them. What wonderful opportunity to share the gospel in a non-threatening way.
3. SOUND TEACHING FROM AN UNUSUAL SOURCE
Many people know the lyrics to ¡§The Twelve days of Christmas.¡¨ But many do not know that behind the somewhat silly counting song is essential Christian doctrine; the song was composed by Christians in the 16th century to teach their children basic doctrine in a time of persecution.
The song begins ¡§On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me.¡¨ The first day of the Christmas celebration was counted from December 26th the day after Christmas to January 6th the traditional day for celebrating the coming of the wise men.
¡§A partridge in a pear tree¡¨. A mother partridge (much like a American Killdee) will literally risk her life in order to protect her children. It is a hidden reference to Christ who came to lay down his life for his sheep (John 10: 14-15). The pear tree symbolizes the cross on which he would shed his blood for the remission of sin.
¡§Two turtle doves.¡¨ The two doves stand for the two testaments in the Bible (Old and New) and for the two turtle doves offered at the dedication of the Jesus when he was twelve (Lev. 12:8, Luke 2:24).
¡§Three French Hens¡¨ French hens were very expensive at the time and were symbolic of the three costly gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) given by the wise men (Matt. 2:10-11).
¡§Four Calling Birds¡¨ stand for the four gospels, (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
¡§Five Golden Rings.¡¨ The Rings stand for the first five books of the Old Testament.
¡§Six Geese A-laying¡¨ Eggs are a symbol for new life. The ¡§laying geese¡¨ stand for the six days of creation (Genesis 1:31-2:2)
¡§Seven Swan A Swimming¡¨ symbolize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in (Rom. 12:6-8).
¡§Eight Maids A Milking.¡¨ The eight maids stand for the eight beatitudes or blessings listed in Matthew 5:3-10).
¡§Nine Ladies Dancing¡¨. - remind us of the nine Fruits of the Spirit listed in Gal. 5:22-23.
¡§Ten Lords A-Leaping¡¨ stand for the ten commandments (Exodus 20:3-17).
¡§Eleven Pipers Piping¡¨ symbolize the eleven original apostles (Acts 1:13).(minus Judas).
¡§Twelve Drummers Drumming¡¨ is a reference to the twelve doctrines summarized by what is called ¡§The Apostles Creed.¡¨ [Gretchen Passantino. ¡§The Twelve Days of Christmas.¡¨ Unpublished data file (www. Answers. org.) ]
Conclusion
We should be happy that people even non-Christians celebrate Christmas each year. We should use the opportunity that it makes even non-Christians mellow and teachable. We should be right there among them looking for every opportunity to tell them about the reason for the season, the child who was born to save them from their sins. Let us approach this Christmas echoing the glory expressed by the angel in Luke 2:10-11, ¡§Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.¡¨
