Devotional and Bible

I was wondering if I should write again about Christmas myths this year. Last year I wrote about the legend of the candy cane. In 2003 it was 7 Things you might not have known about Christmas…. So what’s left?

First, I want to backtrack slightly on the 2003 post. I wrote about how that night in Bethlehem was probably not all that silent. Ok, I know I’m probably right on that one. But perhaps now that I have a couple of young kids I get the point – these songs are supposed to be lullabies to Jesus. I mean, seriously – the most popular lullaby of all, Away in A Manger, wouldn’t be a lullaby at all if it said,“The cattle are lowing, The baby awakes, and screams his small head off, what a fuss the guy makes!”

So let’s cut the song writers a little slack. They really did know what they were doing. 🙂

No, this year I wanted to write very briefly on the origins of Christmas debate. Briefly because others have done a good job writing on this one.

There are really two questions. First, is Jesus the reason for the season? Second, does it matter?

I had always heard that Christmas had its roots in pagan customs. As people became Christians, they infused the holidays with new meaning, leaving behind their pagan beliefs. In other words, Jesus is not the reason for the season. We find ourselves in a similar situation, in a culture that has in many ways abandoned all religious celebration for Santa and shopping.

Obviously, there are dangers in “adapting” pagan customs – you’re liable to mix Christian and pagan beliefs together, and that doesn’t make good egg nog. Then again, it’s natural that new Christians would find ways of worshipping in their hearts as they got together with family that was celebrating for a different reason. And Christianity is not a reason to abandon everything you did before you met Christ. There are many things in life that can be redeemed in the light of the truth. Jesus Himself came in the form of sinful flesh (Rom 8:3), the Bible says – becoming a man He redeemed humanity.

Besides, these pagan beliefs are generally not associated with the holiday anymore. I never had a problem with Christmas, as long as for me and my family it’s a time to worship. Of course, Easter should also be important to us. But when you think of how much celebration and emphasis is put on Christ’s incarnation in Scripture, I think it’s perfectly appropriate to celebrate at this time of year.

All that is very well, but doubt is being cast on the whole theory that Christmas had its origins in a pagan holiday (these would be the holidays that are clustered around the winter solstice, probably since the beginning of time, but specifically Roman and Greek celebrations of Jesus’ day). So where did Christmas come from?

The other point of view is this. Christmas was not a “Christian alternative” to a pagan holiday. Instead, the pagan holiday was an alternative to the Christian celebration!

Though the exact day of Jesus’ birth isn’t known, some early Christians believed that many prophets died on the anniversary of their birth or conception. By fixing the date of Jesus’ death, and so guessing the date of His conception, they worked back 9 months and came to – you guessed it – December 25th. Later, a pagan Roman emperor instituted a pagan holiday to try to strengthen traditional Roman beliefs at a time when his government was in trouble.

John Chrysostom, the patriarch of Constantinople (300s AD), wrote that the early church considered December 25th Jesus’ birthday. Also, using the information we have about Elizabeth and Mary’s visit in Luke and traditions about the priesthood, John calculated that it was likely that Jesus was born around this time of year.

Though we don’t have evidence of Christmas celebrations much before the early 300s, there does seem to be reason to believe that Christians long before that observed Christmas in some sense.

So, in light of the fact that the birth of Jesus is considered an important reason for celebration in Scripture
In light of the fact that angels celebrated and magi gave gifts (likely quite a while after Jesus’ birth, but still related)
In light of the fact that Christians have celebrated Christmas throughout the last 2000 years
– – – Merry Christmas!

It’s up to us to have pure hearts and to celebrate Jesus’ birth for the right reasons, and to use this time to show the world the love that Jesus brings, and the transformation the Spirit makes in the lives of His disciples. May we be transformed this Christmas, and may we clearly communicate His Truth in the coming year!

Thanks to JollyBlogger for his thought-provoking post, The Ol’ Origins of Christmas Debate.

Today, not too many people know who Richard Wurmbrand is.  But 40 years ago, his name was much more well known.  Richard was a Jewish Romanian who came to Christ.  Persecuted for his faith, eventually kidnapped, a ransom was paid to get him out from under Communism.  Working in England, and then in the USA, Richard’s ministry was to reveal to the world what was happening in closed countries.  He became the founder of a ministry you probably have heard of – The Voice of the Martyrs.

I was looking at this little booklet from so many years ago.  It was Richard’s attempt to prepare Canadians for something they weren’t ready for – life without freedom to obey and worship God.  In his day, he wasn’t aware of any college or seminary that offered practical teaching on how to live under persecution.

Of course today the world has changed a lot.  Richard was picturing a Communist Canada – something few born after me consider.  Another thing has changed – today there are practical courses on persecution being taught in various parts of the world.  Techniques for jumping out of windows, for dealing with kidnapped friends, for showing love in a hostile situation.

I would like to believe that the church in Canada is becoming a little more aware that freedom is being lost around the world.  Yes, there are good things happening.  Technology has allowed us to reach places more easily.  Countries that were closed for years have opened.  At least, for now.  But as the Word of God has rushed into the vacuum, I believe we’re going to find that the places that still need to be reached are the hardest.  They’re the places that will require the most sacrifice.  The places that will cost the most money.  And the most lives.  And perhaps freedom even in Canada isn’t as secure as many believe.  Yes, things have changed.

We need to remember what the apostle Paul taught again and again.  “We didn’t want any of you to be discouraged by all these troubles.  You knew we would have to suffer, because when we were with you, we told you this would happen.  And we did suffer, as you well know.” (1Th 3:3-4)

Suffering may be different for all of us.  I don’t want to compare my “suffering” with the violence many have experienced.  But in Scripture, suffering for the sake of Christ wasn’t presented as something we might run into, depending on the political situation.  It was something that would happen.  Maybe our attitude that it might happen is keeping us from plunging into what God has called us to.  Maybe we’ve blocked off roads in our lives, just because there are easier roads to take.  We never even consider that God might be leading us to do that.  So we miss out on power and blessing and transformation that God had in store for us.

God, give us the strength to make our lives a sacrifice, to follow where You lead, to trust Your love, to believe in Your power.  The world has changed, but it’s still following the wrong path.  Jesus, build your Church.  Father, let us all be a part.

My parents have been going through some of their old papers, and they passed along this picture of me.  I have some vague recollection of this, but I couldn’t tell you any more than that!

I actually thought I’d stop by to give you a quick update.  There’s good news and bad news.  Bad news?  We’re all still sick and it looks like our computer monitor is dying.

There’s lots of good news, though.  I finished my paper on the relation of science and theology, and mailed it.  I’ve ordered the exam, then the course will be done.  I think Hannah and Nathanael are starting to feel better.  And Hannah’s tooth is ok for now (we paid the dentist $45 to tell us to “keep an eye on it”).  I had a chance to talk to my friend Victor from Mexico the other day.

So, as always we have a lot to be thankful for.  Tomorrow we get to worship with friends.  And we head into another week, by the grace of God…