Friday, December 15, 2006
Christmas and Jesus...
Random reflections on this time of year and my Christianity.
I am so excited to see so many people in the world talking about Jesus. People are actually talking about the fact that God's Son came to this earth. Of course it is "cutsied up" so we don't really talk about why he came. But at least attention is paid to some extent to the birth of Jesus.
I don't think Jesus is the reason for the season. Or at least any more than he is the reason for December 26, or February 11, or June 18. I worry about seasonal Christianity. I think my spiritual life is daily. Christmas can be a great teaching opportunity for our kids, but I never felt Christmas was important spiritually. And I just don't think being able to "keep the Christ in Christmas" makes us a Christian nation.
On the other hand, isn't it a little silly to say that a Christian can't celebrate Christmas? I don't think you are wrong to ignore Christmas, nor do I think you are wrong to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Just don't make either of those a test of fellowship or a mark of spirtual maturity
I like Christmas because we all make a special effort to spend time with family, to give gifts to those we care about, and to realize how blessed we are.
So mybe we should just celebrate Christmas every day.
I am so excited to see so many people in the world talking about Jesus. People are actually talking about the fact that God's Son came to this earth. Of course it is "cutsied up" so we don't really talk about why he came. But at least attention is paid to some extent to the birth of Jesus.
I don't think Jesus is the reason for the season. Or at least any more than he is the reason for December 26, or February 11, or June 18. I worry about seasonal Christianity. I think my spiritual life is daily. Christmas can be a great teaching opportunity for our kids, but I never felt Christmas was important spiritually. And I just don't think being able to "keep the Christ in Christmas" makes us a Christian nation.
On the other hand, isn't it a little silly to say that a Christian can't celebrate Christmas? I don't think you are wrong to ignore Christmas, nor do I think you are wrong to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Just don't make either of those a test of fellowship or a mark of spirtual maturity
I like Christmas because we all make a special effort to spend time with family, to give gifts to those we care about, and to realize how blessed we are.
So mybe we should just celebrate Christmas every day.
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I grew up in an environment that seemed to consider even the mention of Jesus around Christmastime a heretical act. This was, of course, the logical extreme of the "Christmas is not in the Bible and we celebrate Jesus every Sunday" philosophy. To me this became synonymous with the idea that we should not celebrate each other's birthdays because we should be honoring and loving each other every day. The special nature of birthdays and the joy that come with them obviously do not detract from our honor and love of people everyday, just as Christmas is a wonderful time to reflect deeply on the nature and birth of Christ and what that meant for the world. I consider Christmas to be very much in the Bible - Luke 1:26-2:21. Is the recognition or celebration of Christmas integral to or commanded by our faith? Of course not. Does it present an amazing opportunity for the world to consider Christ? You bet.
Finally- someone said something with succinct clarity about the whole Christmas/Jesus situation that so many feel the need to use as a sword to fall on this time of year! Thank you Steve for speaking up and putting this in it's proper place. If we don't live our lives 24/7/365 as God's child, why should people believe us when we make such a stench out of whether or not we 'own' one particular day of the year? I say quit griping about it and live it.
Good one, bro!
-TMS
Good one, bro!
-TMS
I also grew up in a home where even singing a religious "Christmas Carol" was frowned upon at Christmas time.
I explain to my own children that we think it's great for people to be focusing on Jesus, but to find out about his birth, we need to look at the Bible. It never tells us when he was born--though it was more than likely in the spring of the year--and the the shepherds were the only ones who came to worship at the manger--the wisemen came later. And it never says anything about THREE wisemen--just three gifts. And the gifts weren't even "birthday" presents. They were gifts for a king. There could have even been other offerings
strapped to pack animals outside.
It is an opportunity
for us to teach them, again, the facts that God gives us surrounding the birth of Christ.
While doing some research for a reluctant reader class,
I also found it VERY interesting that an entire section on the Snopes.com website was devoted to misconceptions people have about the birth of Jesus--it was pretty cool to see a www. view of what is truthful and what is tradition.
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I explain to my own children that we think it's great for people to be focusing on Jesus, but to find out about his birth, we need to look at the Bible. It never tells us when he was born--though it was more than likely in the spring of the year--and the the shepherds were the only ones who came to worship at the manger--the wisemen came later. And it never says anything about THREE wisemen--just three gifts. And the gifts weren't even "birthday" presents. They were gifts for a king. There could have even been other offerings
strapped to pack animals outside.
It is an opportunity
for us to teach them, again, the facts that God gives us surrounding the birth of Christ.
While doing some research for a reluctant reader class,
I also found it VERY interesting that an entire section on the Snopes.com website was devoted to misconceptions people have about the birth of Jesus--it was pretty cool to see a www. view of what is truthful and what is tradition.
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