Merry Christmas

Tis' the season to celebrate what God has done. While we celebrate that God has given to us by giving to others, let's not forget why he gave to us.

Let's not forget why his gift is so good.

God's gift of his son was so good because Jesus was an ambassador.  Jesus was an ambassador to foreigners who did not know him and who were not know by him.  

This is why we are taught that both knowing and being known by God is a big deal.  We know God by revelation and God knows us by relationship.  These were both made possible through the advent of Christ.  
 
Jesus came to make peace where there was no peace. Jesus came to offer a way when there was no way.  He came to grant life where there was only death.  This is why the gift of God is amazing, this is why the gospel is such good news.

We were at odds with God, with no way into his presence, and he made a way.  
This is why Jesus proclaimed when asked about the way to the Father.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."    John 14:6

The awesome gift of God in his Son Jesus was to provide a way to himself.  
Paul explains this in detail in Ephesians 2:12-20:

¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

This is a reason to gather as family and as Christians at Christmas. Christ not only brings people together, but he gives his people a reason to gather together.  He has made us one, he made a people where there was just many individuals.   

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

He brings us peace, formerly we did not have peace with God, we did not have peace with fellow man. Jesus came not only to grant us peace with himself but to teach us the way of peace with fellow man.  This is part of the Christmas spirit, and the Christian message. The angels announce “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2.


Obviously we do not see the culmination of the many benefits of his coming until Easter but without Christmas there would be no Easter.  He had to first come and present himself to the world. As the angel tells Joseph as recorded in Mathew 2.
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”'

And thus:
 
¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

So when we are busy trying to complete our gift lists and make it to the parties and squeeze all the busyness of the Christmas season into a few days, remember why we are doing this.  It is similar to that passage where it says we love because he first loved us.  Likewise we should remember our giving is because he first gave to us, or at least it is supposed to be. 

thanks 

Unhostile Takeover

There are some people who have a bit of a problem with the idea of Christmas. Why? Because yes some of the traditions do have some pagan origins.

Some of the symbolism comes from a pagan festival with a pagan god.  Some have taken this to mean that we are deceived and our Christian holiday is not so Christian. So some have distanced themselves from the holiday as if it is an affront to God.  Some are concerned over the exact dating of the event.  Still others may simply want to avoid the commercialism and materialism that veers it's ugly head in full force during this season.  The latter may be worth looking into.  

But the truth of the matter is that while these things may be true they are not what is celebrated. What is celebrated is what won out. What won out is the Christian tradition, our emphasis.

Try to have Christmas without the song Joy To the World.  What Joy to the World would there be without Jesus in the manger. The little town of Bethlehem is know throughout the world as the birthplace of Christ.  The power ballad O' Holy Night' continues to challenges and inspire pop stars to this day. These songs tie Christmas to the King.  

Christians decided to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th to replace the Roman Saturnalia for the winter solstice. A pagan holiday more similar to our current Halloween with a bit of the roman gods thrown in for good measure.  But Christians challenged the use of the holiday and made it another occasion to "do this in remembrance of me"  as Jesus taught at the last supper.

This is similar to prayers before we eat.  For some this tradition can be linked to prayer of protection in pagan rituals.  But again we do this as honoring to God our father our provider.  We acknowledge him as the one who gives us our sustenance as we were taught to pray in the Lord's Prayer.  We redeem meal time.  We reflect on God and bring him glory in something as mundane as stuffing our faces.

And the awesome thing is that it worked! We think of God now when we eat.  In the same way we now celebrate the 3 wise men instead of Odin or Saturn. We celebrate gift giving for a reason instead of a kidnapping troll. We celebrate the birth of our savior instead of a reversal of societal norms and gambling. We focus on the true God instead of some roman gods. We know the biblical Christmas story instead of the pagan history that I have mentioned here.

Obviously there are songs about Santa as well. But in looking at who he actually was, we learn that he was a great man worth celebrating and in even mimicking.

Sincter Klaas a Ducth man actually did live and he did show love and gratitude to his fellow man because of the great things God has done. He was generous he did give gifts, and he helped those in need.  His legend did grow into the Santa Claus we have today. Christmas both for us and for him have never been stripped of the reasoning behind the generosity. We give because he first gave to us.  

So celebrating the reason of the season is very important. It is also what we celebrate because of choices made.  So let's continue to celebrate Christmas specifically, not just the holidays.  Just as music of the season tie Christmas to the King, let us also realize that Christians decided to tie December 25th to Christmas and continue to tie Christmas to the true King.

Let's continue to join with God and be in the business of redeeming things not picketing them.


thanks