Critics of the celebration of
Christmas within the Church find the holiday offensively wrapped in earthy
materialism.They claim Resurrection Sunday should be the primary focus of Christians.
I say the birth of Christ—even amid the tinsel and excesses—deserves to be gloriously celebrated with His Resurrection. We cannot separate the Manger from the Cross.
What should Christians shout from their decorated housetops this season? The beloved Christmas carol says it best: "Joy to the World, the Lord is come!"
To help us better appreciate what this phrase means, grab your favorite brew and sit down with me for a little informal, coffee shop theology.
During a probationary period between the fall of humanity’s representative on earth (Adam) and the arrival of humanity’s redeeming representative (Christ), innocent animals bore the penalty of humanity's sins. Their blood provided a temporary covering, but not a final remedy.
When God determined the time was right, His Son assumed human flesh and stepped into the limitations of our time and space. He was given the earthly name Jesus. He allowed His humanity to be tempted in every way so that He could identify with our needs and struggles. Yet, He remained sinless--qualifying Him as the final, innocent sacrifice to bear the sins of all people. The remedy had come!
The humanity that tragically broke fellowship with God was reconciled through the redeeming work of Christ. The estranged children were brought home through the perfect obedience of another. Salvation is a done deal for everyone. It is universally offered, but its benefits are limited to those who embrace Jesus and the work He accomplished at the Cross for them. No one is coerced. God created us with one of His greatest attributes--free will.
Once someone receives this gift, they are instantly regenerated and justified. Regeneration means that by grace—undeserved favor--a person becomes alive unto God for the first time by the power of the Holy Spirit. He or she is able to contain God’s indwelling presence for the first time.
Justification means that although clearly guilty, the person has been legally cleared of all charges before God in the highest of courts. The condemning record of wrongdoings is permanently wiped clean. (Jesus took the place of the guilty party and fully bore the consequences unto death as forensic evidence that justice had not been thwarted.)
Both the Father's holiness that could not wink at wrongdoing and His extravagant love met at the two beams of the Cross. Justice AND mercy were satisfied as the Son willingly stood in humanity's stead.
Therefore, I fully understand why the Church was compelled to set a date to call Christians throughout history --in one voice and mind--to honor a yearly, renewed proclamation of the Good News that the all-powerful, transcendent God of the cosmos is also intimately available to human hearts.
There's been a great deal of controversy surrounding the December 25 observance of the birth of Christ because it coincides with a pagan feast. Truth is, early church documents reveal that the birth of Christ was already being observed on various dates by Christians as early as 200 A.D.
I'd like to quote from "Christmas Is NOT Pagan"--a very thorough and scholarly work from Dr. Richard P. Bucher, former pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lexington, KY:
"The Romans, like many other cultures at the time of the winter solstice, had various festivals. Saturnalia, was a festival that honored Saturn, the god of agriculture, from Dec. 17-24. It was the most popular festival of the year and did involve merrymaking, gift-giving, relaxed morality, and temporary freedom for slaves, who were allowed to do and speak whatever they wanted.
"But not unlike many of our Christmas feasts today, by the early Fourth Century, the religious aspect of Saturnalia had faded, and the secular merrymaking had come to the fore. It is not likely, however, that Christians chose Dec. 25 to celebrate Christ's birth on the basis of Saturnalia.
"By the time that Chrysostom was Bishop of Constantinople (398-404), Christ's birth was being observed on Dec. 25 throughout Christendom, though the Church in Armenia observed it on January 6.
"But how did it happen that the early Christians began observing Christmas on December 25? Why this date? There are two theories about why December 25 was chosen:
" (1) The first theory holds that after careful research, Julius (337-352), Bishop of Rome, determined that Christ had been born on December 25; or at least he determined that December 25 was the best authenticated date in the Tradition. John Chrystostom states this in one of his writings (John Chrysostom, Homil. Diem Natal., 2; PL, 49, 552ff.).
"Chrysostom claims that Julius, after he had been requested by Cyril of Jerusalem, had the official records of the Roman census examined and determined that December 25 was the correct date. As Weiser points out, however, there is no evidence to back this up; in fact, "it was expressly stated in Rome that the actual date of the Saviour's birth was unknown and that different traditions prevailed in different parts of the world" (F. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs - New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1958, 61.).
"The second theory states that the Church of Rome deliberately chose December 25 as the date of Christ's birth to turn people away from a pagan feast that was observed at the same time. Since the time of the Roman emperor Elagabulus (218-222), the god Sol Invictus (he Unconquered Sun god), had been one of the chief deities worshiped by the Romans.A pagan-inspired conspiracy to corrupt the faithful? Hardly! Many churches in America offer alternatives to Halloween, such as Harvest or Hallelujah events on October 31. Will Christians years from now seek to ban these church celebrations are being rooted in evil paganism, using the same points as their unskilled predecessors?
"When emperor Aurelian (270-275) came to power, he sought to restore the worship of the Sun god to prominence and make him the chief deity. In the last years of his reign, Sol was hailed as "The Lord of the Roman Empire." Sol, along, with Jupiter, appeared on the coins Aurelian had minted. In 274, the emperor built a magnificent temple to Sun god, and established a new college of senators which he named "the priests of the Sun god." Finally, December 25 was observed as "the birthday of the Sun god" (natalis solis invicti).
"Because the Sun god was identified with Mithra, a popular Persian god that also was viewed as the Sun god, pagan celebrations occurred throughout the empire on Dec. 25 (see Clement A. Miles, Christmas, New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912, 23).
"The Church at Rome seems to have chosen this date to counteract this pagan feast of the sun god and turn people instead to the "Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2; Luke 1:78). Or put another way, Julius chose December 25 so that the Son of God rather than the Sun god would be worshiped.
"Though there no direct evidence that proves that the Church of Rome deliberately chose December 25 so that Christ's birth would replace "the birthday of the sun," we do have sermons from fathers of the church who soon after this used this line of reasoning. For example, Augustine (354-430) in his sermon 202 and Leo the Great (440-461 -- PL 54 Sources chrtiennes 22) gives this line of reasoning."
In my opinion, getting the EXACT date right is not as important as choosing to set aside a time to ponder the wonders of the birth of Christ. In America, we've moved observances of several historical dates to coincide with weekends, making participation easier for working families. The meanings of these events have not diminished. Why the fuss about the accuracy of the Nativity?
Our calendars are full of activities, but I don't mind a symbolic reminder on March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation) to halt my busy schedule and examine my heart for a suppleness like that of a young teen named Mary. She dared to trust God at the risk of being ostracized and even stoned.
Nine months later, on December 25, I love the idea of ending my year by celebrating what gives me hope for the new one--"Christ in me the hope of glory!" (Colossians 1:27)
The word "Christmas" is really two words put together: Cristes Maesse--the "Mass of Christ". It was not a day, but something you attended on the 25th. That day was known as The Feast of the Nativity.
On this holy day, Christians would traditionally attend one of three masses, attesting in a very tangible way to the truth of the Incarnation: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us..." (John 1:14)
Mensa is the Latin word for 'table', and the word Mass denotes a 'sending forth" from the Lord's table to serve the world as the visible Body of Christ. Another closely related word is the Spanish MESA, also meaning "table".
The first Mass was observed at midnight on Christmas Eve. Called "The Angels' Mass", it focused on divinity taking the initiative to reach down to redeem man in an extraordinary act of love. (Other religions focus on man striving to reach God.)
"The Shepherds' Mass" was celebrated at dawn. Its purpose was to honor Christ's willingness to be exposed to human needs and suffering from the womb to the grave in order to fulfill the Father's redemptive plan. His arrival was announced to ordinary men at work whose names we do not know--men of no import to the wealthy or noble. It pleased God to invite them first to see the Christ Child!
The final service on the Feast of The Nativity was usually held during the day and was known as "The Mass of the Divine Word". Christians worshiped the eternal God/Man Jesus Christ--fully God and fully man--a faithful, compassionate High Priest who is acquainted with our infirmities AND the King of Kings who reigns forevermore.
Many churches do not schedule Christmas Eve or Day services, preferring to let their congregants celebrate with family and friends. Although historic churches may have multiple masses on the 25th, they are often scheduled to accommodate larger crowds rather than designed to present the three-fold revelation of the Incarnation.
Does this mean that Christians who go to church on Christmas are holier than those who don't? No, far from it! Saints and sinners gather alike in a building and go through the motions, but only God knows who is really His. Again, it's not about how many times you go to church, what church you attend at Christmas or that you even go to church on December 25! It's about the receptivity of your heart toward the Incarnate Christ and how that affects you the other 364 days of the year.
If, after immersing yourself in holiday shopping, decorations, presents, and all that delightful food, you still find yourself secretly asking at the end of another Christmas Day, "Is this it?"
And...if you have an unexplainable emptiness in spite of the family and material blessings of the season, then I encourage you to explore beyond just knowing it's Jesus' birthday.
Delve deeper to understand what it cost God to come to earth to be sacrificed for people who did not know, much less love Him. Yet, rejoice in a Love so strong that it would spill its blood for the redemption of the whole world--past, present and future.
As we approach The Feast of the Nativity, I plan to re-post a series of articles on The Incarnation of Christ. These insights began as teaching notes for folks at my church who missed crucial foundation blocks in their faith. However, you must know that these truths have changed MY life as well!
In these articles, I try to explain, in easy language, concepts that puzzle many people—even Christians—when they hear the phrase “God with Us”:
How can Jesus be God when the Bible calls Him God’s Son?
How can Jesus be both God AND human at the same time?
If Jesus is God, then who was in Heaven while He was on earth?
We’ll start with a basic apprehension of the Trinity. One doesn't have to have full comprehension of God in order to apprehend Him. Whew! Aren't we thankful?
In another informal, coffeeshop-like setting, we'll take a closer look at God who wholly and simultaneously presents Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet meets us in human history as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. (As Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit makes hearts ready for God through revelation and conviction, equips and matures Christians for better service in the world, and prepares them to meet Christ.)
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