The Reason for the Season? |
| Written by J.R.Hall |
| 'Tis the season for remembering, but what is it that we are to remember? For many it is the remembering of Christmases past; times of good cheer and family and friends. But even in cheer is the overshadowing presence of all the societal pressures of the season which all but erase the true reason for the season. Having a 'Merry Christmas' has slowly, but effectively, been replaced with the neutral words of 'Happy Holidays'; and the world pays no heed to the change. Gone are the days of quiet reflection and awe, and instead are the days of hustle and bustle, silver bells and noise. The once silent night has in decades past been callously replaced by rockin' around the Christmas tree. Even for those who remember it has something to do with the birth of God's Son long ago in Bethlehem, the memory remains somewhat in the background of all else that is going on. Like other legends and tales of lore, the reason for the season has all but been forgotten or reduced to a mere bedtime story. We have decorations of trees and lights, school plays and musicals, music and song, parties and gatherings, and all kinds of snacks and goodies to make our belt lines jolly. All this we do for the sake of tradition, and we're not even sure why we do it - beyond the basic understanding that we always have. What makes this time of year a celebration anyway? What's so special about December 25th that causes us all to stop our normal lives to decorate, buy gifts and spread cheer? A Child is born For the Christian, this time of year is a wonderful celebration of hope, faith and encouragement. Amongst the hustle and bustle of the secular celebration of 'Happy Holidays', Christians call to remembrance that 2000 years ago, in fulfillment of perfect prophecies, a child was born to a virgin. This child was to be called Immanuel, "God with us", and is the real reason why we traditionally celebrate Christmas. And more importantly, even though (like others) our holidays may indeed be happy, our true joy resides in the promises of the Word of God and just who this Christ child was, is, and will always be. "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14 "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" - Luke 2:10-14 Two thousand years ago, the Christ child was born. The announcement was first given to His mother Mary, and confirmed to His earthly father Joseph in an angelic dream: "And she[Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which is translated," God with us." - Mat 1:21-23 This Immanuel - the one of whom John the Baptist would later cry out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" had a grand purpose in God's eternal plan. This Christ child whose purpose was declared to Joseph, "He will save His people from their sins." is the true reason for reflection, celebration, wonder, awe and worship at Christmas. But is the point really to celebrate His birthday? Is it simply akin to the gathering of friends around a cake and singing Happy Birthday? Or should it perhaps go deeper in meaning? Is it about the date? We celebrate His birth on December 25th, but yet, historical and biblical evidences would place His birth more likely in late September. History of December 25th It is very interesting to note that in the first two hundred years of Church history there is no mention given as to the celebration of, nor the date of Christ's birthday. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Sextus Julius Africanus gave the first mention of December 25th as being a celebration of Christ's birth. This idea seemed to gain popularity by 336 A.D. where we not only find mention of it, but also debates surrounding the issue of the date of Christ's birth. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church reports, "Though speculation as to the time of year of Christ's birth dates from the early 3rd century, Clement of Alexandria suggesting the 20th of May, the celebration of the anniversary does not appear to have been general till the later 4th century. The earliest mention of the observance on Dec. 25th is in the Philocalian Calendar, representing Roman practice of the year 336. This date was probably chosen to oppose the feast of the Natalis Solis Invicti [nativity of the unconquerable sun] by the celebration of the birth of the 'Sun of Righteousness' and its observance in the West, seems to have spread from Rome"1 Note the words, "probably chosen to oppose the feast of the Natalis Solis Invicti" . What was that exactly? In ancient Rome December 25th was the date of a celebration by the Romans to their primary god, the Sun, and of Mithras, a popular Persian sun god who supposedly was born on the same day. Pope Liberius in 354 made December 25th the celebration of Christ's birth, and it became the rule in the West in 435 when the first 'Christ Mass' was officiated by Pope Sixtus III. The Roman Catholic writer Mario Righetti candidly admits that, "to facilitate the acceptance of the faith by the pagan masses, the Church of Rome found it convenient to institute the 25th of December as the feast of the birth of Christ to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honor of the ''Invincible Sun'' Mithras, the conqueror of darkness"2 Protestant historian Henry Chadwick sums up the controversy: "Moreover, early in the fourth century there begins in the West (where first and by whom is not known) the celebration of December 25th, the birthday of the Sun-god at the winter solstice, as the date for the nativity of Christ. How easy it was for Christianity and solar religion to become entangled at the popular level is strikingly illustrated by a mid-fifth century sermon of Pope Leo the Great, rebuking his over-cautious flock for paying reverence to the Sun on the steps of St. Peter's before turning their back on it to worship inside the westward-facing basilica"3 Providing an alternative to the popular Roman holiday - that celebrated the winter solstice as a resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer - certainly seemed to be an easy parallel for the Church to make. It can truly be seen that after the popularization of December 25th, many Christian writers made the connection between the birth of the sun, and the birth of the Son. Now many of you reading along may be wondering, "Pagan Festival?! Should Christians even be a part of this?" So I think we need to provide some discussion on this issue. Special Days of Observance The Bible does not give us direction for the celebration of Christ's birthday. Christ himself made no mention of such an observance. He did however call us unto remembrance of His death and sacrifice through the ordinance of communion. I think it is important that we keep our heads about this and not overreact in regards to the concept of a pagan celebration being hijacked by a Christian observance. I can guarantee you that throughout human history it can be found on every calendar day of the year that something evil or some ungodly worship practice has been done. The meaning of a day therefore must be left to the heart of the observer. I believe the Bible speaks clearly on this. "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord…." - Romans 14:5-6 "Let no man therefore judge you…in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17 What matters most is what you do with each day the Lord has given you. Whether you or I had anything to do with December 25th being chosen is inconsequential. The fact remains that Western Civilization has adopted the date of December 25th for the remembrance of Christ's birthday. It is therefore most important what we as Christians actually celebrate on that day. The First Advent The Christian heart truly sings out in praise and wonder at the words of the angels on the night of Christ's birth - 'Glory to God in the highest'. We know the rest of the story of this once small child. Through His life, death and resurrection we became believers and inheritors unto the glory of our salvation. Through this sovereign act of God, fallen man can once again be justified to God through repentance and faith in the Christ who was born in Bethlehem; destined to die on a cross and be raised again. What more reason is there for celebrating? And yet I wonder if we actually have true understanding of the wonder of it all. What this birth, life, death and resurrection really means to you and me, and the world? That we, wretched sinners, are now made justified before a Holy, just and awesome God; that the creator died for the creation, so that we could regain what was lost in the Garden of Eden, on that fateful day with the fall of man. If truly this message is recalled unto remembrance within a Christian heart, it would seem more akin to the celebration of Resurrection Day (Easter) and not Christmas. But yet we must recall the reason Christ came into the world at His first advent and give glory to God for the sacrifice made. We give praise, thanks and worship to the God that satisfied 300 promises (prophecies) with Christ at His first coming. But are we truly celebrating Christ through spreading the hope of Christmas, or are we just celebrating selfishly amongst ourselves? Our Blessed Hope I often wonder if the modern church has not indeed lost site of the 'rest of the story' as Paul Harvey would say. How often we forget the 2nd part of the Messianic promises that the prophets and apostles of old declared so many years ago. It may surprise the reader to know that there are over seven times more prophecies referring to Christ's second coming than there were in regard to His first. As each of the first coming prophecies were fulfilled consistently in a literal fashion, we must therefore assume that those second coming prophecies will likewise be fulfilled - literally. The Bible gives us great promises of things yet to come. We who are Christian know the whole story. We know that Christ has conquered death and that we have the promise of resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 1 Thess. 4:16-18, Rev. 20:6). We know that we are inheritors of the Kingdom. (2 Peter 1:11), That Christ will one day rule for 1000 years from David's throne in Jerusalem (Isaiah 9:7, Rev. 20:6), and that Justice will ultimately be satisfied and the wicked will go to everlasting punishment along with Satan the old serpent, the accuser of the world. (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10-15) The Bible declares there will be doubters and scoffers in the last days; that there would be those that would try to take the hope of the Christ from the world. "Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." For this they willfully forget:" - 2 Peter 3:3-5a But yet we have the promises given to us through God's Word that Christ indeed is coming back. Isaac Watts, a musician and writer of one of the most favorite Christmas hymns, Joy to the Word, obviously had these promises in mind when he penned the song. What is very interesting is to actually read and pay attention to the lyrics that we sing. You will be surprised to see clearly that Isaac Watts was not referring to Christ's first advent when he wrote the hymn. He was in fact referring to the Second Advent of Christ in the words of Joy to the World. It would seem that throughout the years we have all been practicing for the eventful day of Christ's return! When Christ ascended to heaven after His first visit to earth the angels said unto those watching, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." My prayer is that in this season of celebration of an advent, we Christians would stand proud and shout from the rooftops about the true hope of Christmas. Christ did in fact come to earth once as a baby in a manger. He lived a humble life of servitude and sacrifice. He died on a cross, like a meek and lowly lamb led to the slaughter He left this world as a bruised and broken sacrifice. However, when he returns the picture will be quite different. "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God…And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." - Rev. 19:11-16 My friends Christ is coming! Our Lord! Our Savior is coming soon! "Joy to the World , the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy." If we truly do love our fellow man and if we truly do love Christ, Christmas this year will be far more than a casual 'Merry Christmas' followed by a 'Happy New Year'. Like the angels of old that announced Christ's first coming, we too are to spread the 'Goodwill to all Men' - the gospel of Jesus Christ which has the only power to save man from the sureness of God's justice. We must declare the saving grace of God. May we be all be emboldened with renewed vigor, and may we all, in these dark days on earth, place all our hope and trust in the One who saved us! "Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" - Tit 2:13 Maranatha & Merry Christmas, - J.R. Hall References: 1. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1983 edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1983, p. 280, "Christmas" 2. Manual of Liturgical History, 1955, Vol. 2, p. 67 3. The Early Church, Penguin Books, London, 1967, p. 126. |
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