Let’s Take Christ Out of Xmas”
Luke 2:1-20
December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
I am going to go out of my way to be provocative tonight. You see, I believe that we should take Christ out of Christmas. I believe that there is no place for Christ in Christmas. We ought to put aside all the foolishness and take him out of our celebrations. I hope that you won’t walk out on me, but give me a few minutes to explain myself. Maybe I’m not as provocative as I think I am.
There is a war going on in the United States. I’m not talking about Afghanistan. I’m not talking about Iraq. I’m not talking about the war on terror. I am talking about the war over Christmas.
It started really big last year when one of the big department stores (was it Target orWalMart? I don’t remember which) told their employees to wish shoppers “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Suddenly, it seemed that we realized that there was a huge left-wing conspiracy afoot to rob us of Christmas and replace it with something bland and non-committal called “the holidays.”
I remember even President and Mrs. Bush got caught up in the controversy when the White House Christmas cards wished everybody “Happy Holidays.” Now, getting a Christmas card from the White House is a big deal, but there were some people who threw them in the trash because they were offended.
In defense of the president and his staff (I know that he doesn’t need my defense, but I also know that fewer and fewer people will defend him on anything anymore) they realized, correctly in my opinion, that there are people who receive those cards who are not Christian. Jews and Muslims also receive them. So as not to offend or be rude, the greeting was just for happy holidays.
Now I know that you may disagree with me on this point, but here’s how I see it. For example, it would be rude for someone to send me a card celebrating Kwanza. That is a celebration which is uniquely African-American focusing on values such as family, community responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement. Since I am not African-American, wishing me a happy Kwanza would make no sense.
In the same way, Jews would not send me a “Happy Hanukkah” card. Muslims would not wish me a “Happy Ramadan.”
But the war over Christmas continues. Tim Wildmon, who is head of the American Family Association, tried to organize a consumer boycott of Target stores because they didn’t use the word “Christmas” in their advertising. There are thousands of lawyers who have volunteered to sue any city or town that keeps nativity scenes out of their public displays.
There are thousands of school teachers who are ready and willing to report any principal who refuses to let the children sing “Silent Night” or other Christmas carols.
A woman named Jennifer Geroux founded an organization called “Operation: Just say Merry Christmas” which has started selling green wristbands with their rallying cry printed on it.
A few weeks ago, Toni and I went out to the St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm to bring home our tree for this year. Some sellers of evergreen trees have taken to calling them “holiday trees.” I read of one grower in California who said that he doesn’t care what they call them, as long as people buy them.
Once again this year, the battle has been pitched. Even our own District Superintendent has joined in. When he spoke to us at the District Christmas party, he mentioned that when a clerk at a store wishes him a “Happy Holidays” he answers back, “And I hope you have a Merry Christmas!”
One commentator on Fox News has written a book titled, “The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Holiday is Worse than You Thought.”
Merry Christmas indeed! It seems to me that Christmas has become just another battle in the culture wars that rage within the United States. In the midst of all the battles, I look for a little peace on earth, and have trouble spotting it.
I am indebted to a preaching journal to which I subscribe (Homiletics) for some of these insights that helped me put all of this into perspective. This journal suggests, as it reflects on how to preach today, that the war on Christmas probably is based on faulty intelligence. For example, how many times have we heard this battle cry? “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”
I guess that I would ask you to reflect on that statement in light of what the Christmas season has become. During the month of December, Americans engage in a genuine orgy of spending. When the credit card bills start to arrive in January, many of us will realize the extent to which we have overspent. Think about that for a minute. Is Jesus the reason for us to enter into this crushing debt?
Is Jesus the reason that we brave winter temperatures in mall parking lots trying to find that one parking spot closest to “The Gap?” Is Jesus the reason that we push and shove in stores to get the latest “Tickle Me Elmo Extreme” or the newest Play Station? Is Jesus the reason that we get short tempered at sales clerks at J.C. Penney’s when they are a little slow ringing up our purchases? Is Jesus the reason that on the day after Christmas, we rush out to the mall once again to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales; more opportunity to feed our insatiable hunger for more material goods?
Is Jesus the reason that we fight tooth and nail over the placement of religious symbols right next to Santa and the Reindeer? The Supreme Court, by the way, has so misconstrued this celebration that I am embarrassed. The Court has ruled that nativity scenes and other depictions of the birth of Jesus are Constitutional as long as they are in context with other secular decorations. I am appalled by that decision because I see it as a trivialization of Christ and the Christ event. We can put Jesus on the town square now, as long as he is standing next to a jolly fat man in a red suit. I am amazed that Christians fall for that sort of stuff.
Is Jesus the reason that this season is one in which we find the highest rates of depression for the whole year? Is Jesus the reason that extended families find themselves in conflict over when we visit grandma’s house, or which grandma’s house we visit first?
Is Jesus the reason for the new classic Christmas carols like, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” or “Walking ‘Round in Women’s Underwear (sung to the tune of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland) ” or “The Restroom Door Said ‘Gentlemen’” (sung to the tune of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” or the barking dog version of “Jingle Bells?”
I really have a feeling that if Jesus were still in his grave – which he isn’t – he would be rolling over in it. Look what Christmas has become. The holiday that claims the name of our Lord has evolved into a month-long experience of over-spending, over-eating, over-drinking, over-indulging,
So here is my suggestion. Instead of putting Christ back into Christmas, let’s take him out of what Christmas has become. Let us once again welcome Jesus as Savior of the World, the Word made flesh, God with us, and Prince of Peace. Let’s welcome the baby in the manger who came to challenge the world’s popular notions of power. Let’s greet the infant who was to grow, die, and ascend to heaven in order to secure salvation for those who will receive it. Let’s say hello to the one of whom the prophets spoke and for whom the nations waited. Let’s come face-to-face with God in human form.
This isn’t a Savior who enters the world each December only to be put back in the box with the rest of the Christmas decorations in January. This isn’t a Savior who can be wrapped up in pretty bows, ribbons, and paper. He rather is one who comes to challenge our accepted notions of how to live our lives. He challenges us to put away our time-worn attitudes and practices that relegate him to the back shelf. He comes on the world stage offering his reality as opposed to the reality of modern culture.
We are here tonight to celebrate the Lord of all life who came to earth, not to cause culture wars – or wars of any kind – but to stop all the fussing and fighting of which humanity has become so fond. Jesus did not enter the stable in Bethlehem in order to give gifts to good little girls and boys, and coal to those who are not-so-good. He came to live, witness to the love of God, die, and live again, so that everyone, especially the not-so-good ones among us, can have eternal life.
The secular Christmas season, with all of its bells and whistles, is just about over. Tomorrow afternoon, we will pick our way through the empty boxes and torn wrapping paper in order to put our Christmas loot in piles. The stuff to keep will go in one pile and the stuff to return will go in another. In a week or two, we’ll take down our trees and pack away the decorations. The holiday parties will become a distant memory by the middle of January. The culture wars over what to call this time of year – Christmas or The Holidays – will recede into the background for eleven months or so. And we will be left with Jesus.
I have not meant to suggest in any of this that I am trying to be a Scrooge. I enjoy all of the activities of this time of year – the parties, the lights, the family gatherings, the food, the special holiday celebrations, and all the rest. There really is nothing wrong with all that stuff, as long as we keep it in perspective. Christmas is about the greatest event in the history of the world. God decided to come to earth in human form. No longer do we have to wonder at the character of God because we have seen him up close and personal.
As I think about it, perhaps we shouldn’t be talking about putting Jesus here or taking him out of there. Perhaps we should be thinking and working to put ourselves where he already is. If we do that, I am sure that we will look at Christmas with new eyes and new hearts.
