Celebrating Christmas
Sincere, well-meaning Christians often complain about the worldly preparations for Christmas. They protest, “It begins too soon. It is too commercial. It is much too secular. It needs to be more religious.” No doubt, some of the objections are deserved, but perhaps not all. If you are among those who question present day Christmas celebrations, then perhaps the following accounts will be helpful.
My earliest recollections of Christmas are of Christmas trees and presents and Santa Claus. No doubt, my parents told me Christmas was Jesus’ birthday; but that didn’t register much until I was older. What captured my attention was that Christmas was something good, festive, joyous, a time to celebrate. Those good memories continued long after I learned the true meaning of Christmas.
For me now as an adult, Handel’s Messiah is the all-time best celebration of Christmas. The Hallelujah chorus is the most worshipful music I know. However, I seriously doubt I would have appreciated it as a young child. Can you imagine forcing preschool children to sit through a presentation of The Messiah and then telling them this is how we celebrate Jesus’ birthday.
Admittedly, much of our country’s Christmas celebration is not very Christian. But imagine this parable with me. Once there was a Christian whose family did not believe. When he tried to tell them about Jesus, they refused to listen or worse they laughed at him. All his attempts to involve them in worshipping Jesus were rejected. However, these unbelieving family members really got involved in Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, gift-giving, Jingle Bells, and the entire secular celebration. So, the Christian simply smiled within and thought, “They may not realize it, but they are celebrating the birthday of my Savior. Thank you, God!”
It seems to me the story in Mark 9:38ff is applicable here. Jesus’ disciples met a man who was doing good in Jesus’ name but was not one of their followers. The disciples reported they tried to stop him. “Don’t stop him,” Jesus said. “For whoever is not against us is for us.”
