Railroad
Routinely Derailed
It's warm and wet here, not cold and snowy. It was warm (and may or may not have been wet) in Bethlehem the night that Jesus was born. It's not unheard of for snow to fall in Israel, but let's just say it's not a frequent occurrence.
It's not known what the actual date of His birth was, but some believe it was in September, during the Feast of Tabernacles (remember a lot of the significant things about our Messiah were of significance to the JEWS, not the Gentiles). December 25th was selected by an early Pope in order to turn a Pagan feast day into a Christian event.
Jesus was born into poverty. Three wise men did indeed come with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and left their gifts with Mary and Joseph, but it's not known what happened to those gifts. Anyway, by all accounts Jesus' family were relatively poor (carpenters still struggle to survive today).
I don't recall the origin of traditional Christmas gift-giving, but I know that the custom varies widely among different cultures.
The Christmas Tree is thought to also be a Pagan leftover.
So, having kicked so much to the curb, where's the truth in Christmas? Where's the cause of joy? Read on.
The Christmas Gift:
Most of us know that John 3:16 says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Since the Garden of Eden, the site of the first sin, people have had a human nature that makes us unable to consistently be faithful in pleasing God. Every one of us sins, no matter how hard we try not to. In the early days of Israel, there was an annual offering of a lamb without blemish; it was brought to the temple and slaughtered, the blood scattered around, and the flesh burned on the altar. That was the sin offering, intended to atone for the sins of the nation. But there was no attempt to follow through after the offering to abandon idol worship (one of the most painful acts of unfaithfulness, akin to sleeping around), the most common sin of the ancient Jews, and the other commandments. So there was alienation between the Creator and His beloved creations, the opposite of the relationship He had originally intended. And so, He gave the one most precious thing He could give - His Son, who was to be known as the Lamb of God, because He was sacrificed to atone for the sins of people of every race and nationality, once and for all. Those who accept Him and believe Him, are adopted into God's family - we are brothers and sisters of Jesus'.
So the spirit of giving and of unconditional love, giving even to those who don't deserve it, captures in a small way, the Christmas Spirit.
The Christmas Tree
(1) The Evergreen, bedecked with bling of all descriptions, is the focal point of rooms where gifts are given and received. The tree is evergreen to symbolize eternal life, and the bling symbolizes the treasures built up in heaven by the faithful, the riches we inherit as equal heirs with Jesus, as members of the ultimate Royal Family.
(2) The bride in a traditional wedding is adorned with her best finery, made up with great care, no expense or effort spared in making her as beautiful as possible in the groom's eyes. At the end of the Bible, in the description of the beginning of our Eternal future, a New Jerusalem is established, being lowered from heaven "adorned as a bride." Throughout the Bible, we are the bride and Jesus is the groom. When we are joined with Him it will add new meaning to the term "Holy Matrimony," and, as the evergreen symbolizes, we will have eternal life with Him.
Snow
"Christians are like snowflakes. By themselves they aren't much, but let a few of 'em stick together, and they can stop traffic." - source unknown.
Snow changes everything. Its white cover hides dirt and rust and corruption, even blood. It lays on the bare earth that evidences the wounds made on the world by men. It lays on top of dead, dry leaves shed by trees like the waste caused by sins. Snow makes those things as if they had never been.
(1) Grace changes everything. By the grace of God and the price paid by Jesus, we're made to appear pure and clean in God's eyes, and so we are forgiven for all of our mistakes.
(2) It is said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. That's what's said about people, too, no two of us are exactly alike (for that we can be truly thankful). But when together and united by our faith and our purpose, although we are still individuals, we all contribute to the greater good - spreading the grace of God to cover the world.
Feasting
Another Pagan leftover, there is nonetheless great symbology in the Christmas feast.
(1) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." - Matthew 26:26 This was a Passover meal, the greatest feast of all on the Jewish calendar. Bethlehem, in Hebrew, means, "House of Bread." Sharing this greatest of all blessings with each other is exactly what we are intended to do as the most important part of living the Christian life.
(2) In a traditional wedding, the Bride and Groom, now joined as husband and wife, have a feast and a celebration with music and wine and every delicacy, as they are received by those who love them in a "reception." The father of the bride provides the feast. And we will be presented with Christ to be received by Father God, who loves us so much, and there will be a wedding feast like no other, with music we can scarcely imagine.
The Wreath
Woven boughs of evergreen form a continuous circle, adorned with ornaments in celebration. It is an evergreen - eternal - symbol of unification and love, a symbol of the bond, the relationship, God seeks to have with each of us.
The Music
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 150:6 It is almost instinctive for us to make music in an expression of joy, of love, or sorrow. And the anthems of Christmas are love songs (I'm not talking about the ones dealing with shopping and Santa, etc.), songs of praise, songs about the glory of God "in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
Everything about Christmas, then, is about the fantastic gift that unites us with God, that allows Him to have the relationship He longs for with His beloved people. It's about the ultimate act of reconciliation. He's not any of the symbols of Christmas, and yet they all point to Him, arranged around the most wonderful gift ever given, like wrappings on a present.
So the Christmas Spirit isn't to be found in any of the symbols; it originates not from the environment (although the decorations and music can be infectious), but from the soul within us. The Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit, whose touch warms the heart and releases joy. The Christmas Spirit is in the heart of a person who does something sweet for someone else; in the heart of the reverent person in the pew; in the heart of the soloist, the virtuoso, the composer, the author, and all the others who pour out from a limitless supply the love and joy given by the existence and ministrations of the Holy Spirit.
It's not known what the actual date of His birth was, but some believe it was in September, during the Feast of Tabernacles (remember a lot of the significant things about our Messiah were of significance to the JEWS, not the Gentiles). December 25th was selected by an early Pope in order to turn a Pagan feast day into a Christian event.
Jesus was born into poverty. Three wise men did indeed come with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and left their gifts with Mary and Joseph, but it's not known what happened to those gifts. Anyway, by all accounts Jesus' family were relatively poor (carpenters still struggle to survive today).
I don't recall the origin of traditional Christmas gift-giving, but I know that the custom varies widely among different cultures.
The Christmas Tree is thought to also be a Pagan leftover.
So, having kicked so much to the curb, where's the truth in Christmas? Where's the cause of joy? Read on.
The Christmas Gift:
Most of us know that John 3:16 says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." Since the Garden of Eden, the site of the first sin, people have had a human nature that makes us unable to consistently be faithful in pleasing God. Every one of us sins, no matter how hard we try not to. In the early days of Israel, there was an annual offering of a lamb without blemish; it was brought to the temple and slaughtered, the blood scattered around, and the flesh burned on the altar. That was the sin offering, intended to atone for the sins of the nation. But there was no attempt to follow through after the offering to abandon idol worship (one of the most painful acts of unfaithfulness, akin to sleeping around), the most common sin of the ancient Jews, and the other commandments. So there was alienation between the Creator and His beloved creations, the opposite of the relationship He had originally intended. And so, He gave the one most precious thing He could give - His Son, who was to be known as the Lamb of God, because He was sacrificed to atone for the sins of people of every race and nationality, once and for all. Those who accept Him and believe Him, are adopted into God's family - we are brothers and sisters of Jesus'.
So the spirit of giving and of unconditional love, giving even to those who don't deserve it, captures in a small way, the Christmas Spirit.
The Christmas Tree
(1) The Evergreen, bedecked with bling of all descriptions, is the focal point of rooms where gifts are given and received. The tree is evergreen to symbolize eternal life, and the bling symbolizes the treasures built up in heaven by the faithful, the riches we inherit as equal heirs with Jesus, as members of the ultimate Royal Family.
(2) The bride in a traditional wedding is adorned with her best finery, made up with great care, no expense or effort spared in making her as beautiful as possible in the groom's eyes. At the end of the Bible, in the description of the beginning of our Eternal future, a New Jerusalem is established, being lowered from heaven "adorned as a bride." Throughout the Bible, we are the bride and Jesus is the groom. When we are joined with Him it will add new meaning to the term "Holy Matrimony," and, as the evergreen symbolizes, we will have eternal life with Him.
Snow
"Christians are like snowflakes. By themselves they aren't much, but let a few of 'em stick together, and they can stop traffic." - source unknown.
Snow changes everything. Its white cover hides dirt and rust and corruption, even blood. It lays on the bare earth that evidences the wounds made on the world by men. It lays on top of dead, dry leaves shed by trees like the waste caused by sins. Snow makes those things as if they had never been.
(1) Grace changes everything. By the grace of God and the price paid by Jesus, we're made to appear pure and clean in God's eyes, and so we are forgiven for all of our mistakes.
(2) It is said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. That's what's said about people, too, no two of us are exactly alike (for that we can be truly thankful). But when together and united by our faith and our purpose, although we are still individuals, we all contribute to the greater good - spreading the grace of God to cover the world.
Feasting
Another Pagan leftover, there is nonetheless great symbology in the Christmas feast.
(1) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." - Matthew 26:26 This was a Passover meal, the greatest feast of all on the Jewish calendar. Bethlehem, in Hebrew, means, "House of Bread." Sharing this greatest of all blessings with each other is exactly what we are intended to do as the most important part of living the Christian life.
(2) In a traditional wedding, the Bride and Groom, now joined as husband and wife, have a feast and a celebration with music and wine and every delicacy, as they are received by those who love them in a "reception." The father of the bride provides the feast. And we will be presented with Christ to be received by Father God, who loves us so much, and there will be a wedding feast like no other, with music we can scarcely imagine.
The Wreath
Woven boughs of evergreen form a continuous circle, adorned with ornaments in celebration. It is an evergreen - eternal - symbol of unification and love, a symbol of the bond, the relationship, God seeks to have with each of us.
The Music
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 150:6 It is almost instinctive for us to make music in an expression of joy, of love, or sorrow. And the anthems of Christmas are love songs (I'm not talking about the ones dealing with shopping and Santa, etc.), songs of praise, songs about the glory of God "in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
Everything about Christmas, then, is about the fantastic gift that unites us with God, that allows Him to have the relationship He longs for with His beloved people. It's about the ultimate act of reconciliation. He's not any of the symbols of Christmas, and yet they all point to Him, arranged around the most wonderful gift ever given, like wrappings on a present.
So the Christmas Spirit isn't to be found in any of the symbols; it originates not from the environment (although the decorations and music can be infectious), but from the soul within us. The Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit, whose touch warms the heart and releases joy. The Christmas Spirit is in the heart of a person who does something sweet for someone else; in the heart of the reverent person in the pew; in the heart of the soloist, the virtuoso, the composer, the author, and all the others who pour out from a limitless supply the love and joy given by the existence and ministrations of the Holy Spirit.
