I had an interesting encounter at my favorite coffee shop (Beans ‘n’ Cream, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin — greatest people in the world…) last week. One of the regulars made the following observation, which led to a spirited conversation — “Christmas would be so much more enjoyable if all the religious people would just leave it alone.” On the surface, this is a ridiculous statement, but he made the following points to his argument — some of which make a lot of sense:
- the cultural experience of Christmas has overshadowed any religious intent
- we celebrate more Pagan aspects of the season than Christian, but even the intent of Pagan religion has been displaced and destroyed
- more Christians shop, cook, bake, decorate, drink and travel than go to church
- more money is spent on materialistic gift giving than are donated through our churches to help those in need
- Santa is more important to more people than Jesus
- the church has bought into the pageantry of Christmas and doesn’t even know/tell its own story with any integrity anymore
- Culturally, Christmas has become a time of stress, discord, depression and division more than a time of peace on earth and goodwill to humankind
- Secular celebration has nothing to do with the story of the Nativity — many people don’t even know what Christianity has to do with Christmas.
On one level, this whole discussion feels misinformed, ignorant and inane. But the person making this argument is a faithful and engaged Christian. His real concern is that Christians themselves are to blame for the current state of Christianity and the lame observance of the Christian holiday. In our desire to make Christmas “special” we fill it with myth, legend, pageantry, lighted trees, happy songs (with questionable or completely erroneous content) — obscuring any possible real meaning. We clean it up — we make Mary and Joseph white, middle class teenagers/young adults with pristine costume and wholesome values, parking in an immaculate, unoccupied stable. All lovely, all gentle, all acceptable, all sweet. Sucking the reality of the horrible conditions and situations, we keep ourselves happy and comfortable. We kid ourselves into thinking that Mary and Joseph were a lot like us. “We Three Kings” is the ultimate example of the way we take the story and change it beyond any reality to make the story “better.” No kings, no orient, no specific number of travellers, no arriving on the night of birth, no acknowledgement of the symbolism of the poor, outcast, margins of society. Pure fiction — now part of our “truth.”
Back in the 90’s a study was done to see how charitable giving lined up with gift-spending at Christmas. The conclusion was that 73% of Christians spent more on ONE GIFT for a loved one than was given in a WHOLE YEAR to the church. Go figure. Obviously we are honoring the one whose birth it truly is by caring more for ourselves than for the needy children of God. In fact, what do we give to God and Jesus at Christmas? This question confused and irritated almost 80% of Christians when posed to them in a 1995 study. The majority wanted to know what Christmas had to do with giving something to God or making a commitment to Christ.
Here is the sticking point for me: incarnation is redemption (if you disagree with this, then everything else I am saying will make NO sense). WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!!! We are the present and real incarnation of Christ in the world. Christ lives in us, through us, and if Christ will be known in the world today, it is because we live the truth and reality of Christ in all we say and do. The challenge is: we are imperfect. We cannot BE Christ FOR Christ. We can only be Christ because Christ is born in us, grows in us, is nurtured in Christ, and matures as the Christ Spirit within us. Christmas is the renewal and regeneration of the Christ essence in the Christian community. If there is to be a recognition of God’s presence in the Spirit of Christ in our world, it will be through the witness of the Christian church. There should be a huge gathering of all true disciples to renew their covenant to be the body of Christ at Christmas. This should be a deep, meaningful, monumental symbolic remembrance and celebration.
I am afraid I agree that Christmas has ceased to be a religious observance. Oh, Christians gather in a spirit of reverence and devotion. We love the songs, we fill our church buildings on Christmas Eve (but rarely on Christmas morning — we are much too busy), and we may even shed a nostalgic and maudlin tear. But are we renewed? Are we transformed? Are we equipped to live differently in the new year to come? Are we bonded more closely to Christ, to each other, and in ministry to all the world? Do we experience sustained love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Are we more like Christ because Jesus is born anew in us again?
Christ will continue to come until we get it. But we make it harder and harder for the Spirit of the living God to find room in our busy lives. Our inns are full. All we leave for Jesus is the barn. And chances are, we will be too busy with gifts, and meals, and toasts, and family to even check in to see how he’s doing. This is the challenge of our post-modern age: what will it take to make Christmas not about us, but return us to a humble place where we focus our attention, our hearts, and our very lives to the infant child who desires nothing more than to make us different people?
Categories: Advent, Christian witness, Christmas, Identity & Purpose, U.S. Culture
United Methodeviations 
I was just having part of this conversation the other day and was working on a blog post for my blog about this. You said it so well. I agree that it is getting harder and harder to find the true meaning of the Birth of Christ. I’m not really thinking the day of December 25th, but the overall feeling of excitement and joy in knowing that Christ came to us to save us. We are missing the mark because of all the materialism and evil around us. This year seems to be worse because of all the other things.. I would love to repost this post on my blog”Senseless Ramblings of the Mindless”. I’m glad Sue Lewan shared the link with me…
Hey, we Christians stole December 25 from those pagans; how dare they steal it back?
Good one!
Perhaps a bit of scrupulosity, certainly way too much perfectionistic self judgement. We can take off the hair shirt for the holidays. If mission is a goal, not only is it ineffective with “the lost” it is repellent to them – who would want a faith like that?
Certainly the “world” has come into the church, but that’s how we’ve chosen to “go” to the world – “open doors, open hearts, open minds” flows both ways. Certainly the worldly worldview has come into the lives of Christians, but that’s how we’ve chosen to relate to those outside of the church, as neighbors with common beliefs and practices. These are poor choices, but to purify ourselves of all that is of this world and its culture is the opposite of incarnation – it is a withdrawl from the world into which we are sent to be the presence of Christ. Incarnation is being in the world and fully human; it is not being sent into the world to condemn the world. (Jn 3:17)
Incarnation, yes, is redemption, but it is only Chapter 1; there’s a lot more to the Christ story. Still it’s a great beginning, and a good blog post.
I’m with you…mostly. The issues you’re pointing to are, of course, issues we need to confront. I don’t think that thee are many in the church who would disagree. But I do think there’s a place for celebration in all of this (as the pagan theologian Jackson Browne says, “in a life of hardship and early toil, there’s a need for anything for that frees us”). Celebration can lead to transformation–but (and you’re helping me crystallize this thought) the church must make sure we don’t get so stuck on celebration that we never venture outside to see what’s happened in the barn.
Dan, I like what you say. I might take it one step further… Incarnation is atonement. I know we think of atonement as something that happens at Easter, or through the cross, but Kathryn Tanner has several great pieces on this. If we view it through that lens, then the events of Christmas take on greater importance.
Based on what you say about Christmas, which I believe is mostly true, people use Christmas and the sentimentality of church and carols to help them get through the difficulty of Christmas. And in light of last week’s tragedy, I have heard several people say something to the effect of… “I just want to get to Christmas as soon as possible and sing the songs and feel good about life again.” While I might agree with that statement, I suspect they mean get there for themselves (as to help them cope) rather than anything that has to do with Jesus. I often wonder if people take the words seriously when we sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
I read a study last year that Christians are even more likely to teach their children about Santa Claus than non-Christians. We’re some of the worst offenders of materialism this time of year and we’re teaching our children the same. That’s one of the many reasons I’m not teaching my children about Santa. Here’s an article I wrote on it: http://faithim.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/why-i-wont-be-teaching-my-children-about-santa-claus/