Foregoing my normal format of beginning with a quote, I thought I would share with you a couple of things about Christmas that really grind my gears and then I'll proceed to philosophically tear them to shreds because that's what I like doing. I'll present these positions as quotes of other people.
1. "There was only really one Christmas, and all the others are anniversaries."
My big problem with this one is that it misunderstands just what Christmas is, so let's get one thing clear: the birth of Jesus to Mary and the incarnation of the Word of God which was simultaneous with it was not the first Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of that event, it's a time to sit back and say, "Oh gee, wasn't it great when God did that whole becoming a person thing? That was really nice of him to do that."
This is a minor objection, but even more annoying to me is:
2. "Just remember, Christmas isn't really for us, it's for Jesus."
Before I tear this position to shreds, let me make it clear that I realize that these people have good intentions. They mean to refocus our Christmas joy on Jesus and on the event of the incarnation, and if there is one thing with which I don't have a problem, it's that.
Also, there's the semantic issue that what these people really mean is more like, "Christmas isn't about us, it's about Jesus," that is to say that the subject matter of Christmas is, as per its name, Christ. That's true.
Nonetheless, my God doesn't need your Christmas. He doesn't need your Sunday mass, your contemporary service, your youth group, your children's ministry, your invitational, your Bible study or you. If all of those things ceased to exist, God would still be on his throne.
Worship, at its core, is an experience in which we re-orient ourselves toward God. Yes, he gets pleasure from our worship and yes, he wants it, but experiences of worship, days of remembrance and other religious observances are distinctly for us so that we can learn to be better followers of God.
Thus, Christmas is fundamentally for us. Christmas is a time when we should sit back, celebrate the incarnation of the almighty foundation of all being into human flesh, and reflect on what that means for us, how it should change our life that our God did that for us. Yes, it's about him, but it's for you. Again, God is big enough that he doesn't need Christmas, but we are small enough that we do.
1. "There was only really one Christmas, and all the others are anniversaries."
My big problem with this one is that it misunderstands just what Christmas is, so let's get one thing clear: the birth of Jesus to Mary and the incarnation of the Word of God which was simultaneous with it was not the first Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of that event, it's a time to sit back and say, "Oh gee, wasn't it great when God did that whole becoming a person thing? That was really nice of him to do that."
This is a minor objection, but even more annoying to me is:
2. "Just remember, Christmas isn't really for us, it's for Jesus."
Before I tear this position to shreds, let me make it clear that I realize that these people have good intentions. They mean to refocus our Christmas joy on Jesus and on the event of the incarnation, and if there is one thing with which I don't have a problem, it's that.
Also, there's the semantic issue that what these people really mean is more like, "Christmas isn't about us, it's about Jesus," that is to say that the subject matter of Christmas is, as per its name, Christ. That's true.
Nonetheless, my God doesn't need your Christmas. He doesn't need your Sunday mass, your contemporary service, your youth group, your children's ministry, your invitational, your Bible study or you. If all of those things ceased to exist, God would still be on his throne.
Worship, at its core, is an experience in which we re-orient ourselves toward God. Yes, he gets pleasure from our worship and yes, he wants it, but experiences of worship, days of remembrance and other religious observances are distinctly for us so that we can learn to be better followers of God.
Thus, Christmas is fundamentally for us. Christmas is a time when we should sit back, celebrate the incarnation of the almighty foundation of all being into human flesh, and reflect on what that means for us, how it should change our life that our God did that for us. Yes, it's about him, but it's for you. Again, God is big enough that he doesn't need Christmas, but we are small enough that we do.
No comments:
Post a Comment