The Wonder of Christmas, Don't Just Ooh and Aah. Live it.

Merry Christmas!

There is a tendency we humans have. It is often called "compartmentalization."

We have an ability to take certain thoughts, memories, and experiences and put them in a mental room--a place in our mind that we keep separate from everything else. I see moms do this when they suffer from some physical pain, yet wall that off from their everyday life in which they cook, clean, and make life good for the rest of us. We might say that kind of compartmentalization is good. Sometimes I have to deal with people I don't like. I need to keep my feelings separate from my need to do my job. I need to remember however that these compartments are never completely leak-proof. Big problems come when we attempt to compartmentalize issues that should be addressed and solved. This is especially true when we attempt to compartmentalize that which is explosive or corrosive. It will eventually get out.

But my purpose, today, isn't to talk about counseling. 

I observed in my pastoral ministry a tendency to compartmentalize when it comes to Theological truth. Now that I'm involved in Christian education, I am even more prone to build rooms in my

mind. "This is my Theological Truth Room. In this room, I believe that God is Lord. He is to be obeyed. I believe that all humans are created in God's image and are to be treated with honor, respect, and kindness. In my Theological Truth Room, I can tell you about inspiration and how the Bible is truly God's word.

I have the ability, however, to step outside of my Theological Truth Room and live the rest of my life as if none of that is true. 

Two things, I've read recently remind me of my tendency to compartmentalize Theological truth. One of them is a well-written 3-part series about the wonderful Theological truth we celebrate at Christmas. The other is a practical reminder I received from a missionary colleague.

"Tried With Fire: Like Jesus," by Kevin Bauder (Scroll down at the site and start with Part 1) takes on the difficult subject of the nature of Christ, the hypostatic union, the kenosis, in plain terms--the wonder of Christmas. The nature of the God-Man, Jesus Christ is at the heart of our faith. It is also at the fringe, or just beyond the edge of what we can comprehend. There is good reason that this truth occupied the best minds of early Christian history. It is a key part of our view of the Triune God. This saying that is frequently quoted about the doctrine of the Trinity, applies to the nature of Christ, as well..

The Trinity:

Try to Understand It

and You’ll Lose Your Mind.

Try to Deny It

 and You’ll LOSE YOUR SOUL!

(As a side-note, Fred Sanders has an interesting article on this, in which he says we don't know who said it first .)
Getting back to my main point, however, Bauder reminds us, referring to Philippians 2, that the wonder of the incarnation is not a Theological pearl to store away in the Theological Truth Room of my mind. It is a reality that should inform every aspect of my life. The way of thinking that led to God the Son's humiliation, should be my way of thinking. If Christ was willing to lay aside His honor for the sake of others (John 17, Phil. 2), then who do I think I am, when I claim that, or act as if, serving others is somehow beneath me? 

The truth of Christmas should not be remembered just during a certain season. Rather like the frankincense the wise men presented to Christ, gave a smell that permeated every part of the house, all my life should be informed by this sublime reality. I should not only proclaim with wonder that "God became man." I should live a life that is an appropriate response to the incarnation. I should live in the "Therefore" of Romans 12:1.

A friend is a missionary with another agency and a part of my Guam Church. 
She and her husband are on furlough, a strange (to others) part of the missionary occupation that involves visiting supporters. She writes:

Last Saturday, we spent part of the day with [some folk they know from the past at our Church]. They asked about many of you and send their greetings. At lunch they were telling one of their sons and his wife about their first Sunday at [our Church]. Right after the service, [a couple from our church] invited them to lunch at a restaurant. The [couple] didn't know them. The [visitors] felt so welcomed at [our] Church that they decided not to look anywhere else for a home church. So once again everyone can see how important is for everyone in our church [or any church, or a small Christian university] to do their part to make visitors feel welcomed.  

What this couple did for some visitors to their church has a direct relationship to the wonder we celebrate at Christmas. Why should I spend my time and money on strangers? I might not even like them.

Why? because of what Jesus did for us. As the Apostle John puts it, so succinctly, "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Open the door, let the wonder of Christmas spread through all your life. It is a truth too wonderful to keep in just one room.

 Merry Christmas!

Instead of demanding that others keep Christ in Christmas, how about keeping Christ in Christmas?

I hope this post will be of interest to pastors and church leaders.  It contains an idea for doing something positive in regard to keeping Christ in Christmas.

I think I have a badge, maybe underneath my socks, that says something like, "I say Merry Christmas,"  or, "It's OK to say Merry Christmas."  I wore it for a few times when I first got it, but as the campaign to "Keep Christ in Christmas" became more militant and political, I put it away.  I am all for keeping Christ in Christmas, but I don't see any reason why I should pressure retailers into forcing their employees to use a particular greeting.  There are Jews, Muslims, and people of other faiths, or no faith, who have no reason to wish me a Merry Christmas.  We can debate the point on another occasion, but there are some who believe that followers of Christ are a negative influence in our communities.  They find the celebration of Christ's birthday to be a bad thing.  I am glad that I live in a country in which people are free to worship, or not worship, as they choose.  I will be glad to discuss why I think Jesus Christ is Lord, but I won't participate in any attempt to force others to act like they believe something they don't.

The above gives some background to why I am so proud of my church for its Live Nativity presentation.  We aren't twisting arms to get others to "Keep Christ in Christmas."  Rather in a warm, winsome way the folk in my church are offering our neighbors an opportunity to experience the story of Christmas.  Lo and behold, when you look into the story Christ is right there, and not just in a manger.

First let me remove some possible misconceptions.  Ours is a small church.  On a good Sunday we have 150 in attendance.  No one died and left us a large bequest to finance this ministry.  We use what we have--primarily a willingness to work hard and the good will of some neighbors to put on this presentation.  Basically what I'm saying is if we can do this any church can.

Here is how it works.  Hopefully you can find some ideas here that can be adapted to your situation.

Because of the goodwill of our local Parks Department we are able to use a very nice public park for our presentation.  We transform the picnic shelter into the Village of Bethlehem.  Guests are welcomed to Bethlehem by the Mayor.  They are informed that Caesar Augustus has decreed that all must sign the census.  A money changer provides the visitors with Shekels
so they can purchase "bread" (mostly cookies,
though in the past we have offered bread and fruit).  Bethlehem is the House of Bread.  A Roman soldier struts about and makes himself obnoxious.  The Mayor warns visitors to guard their Shekels and women from the Romans.  Kids can play simple games, and buy some trinkets in the shops.

Every 15 minutes or so, visitors in the Bethlehem are encouraged to take a ride on one of the

"strange chariots" that have been provided.  Reports of strange things out in the countryside have been heard--angels, the birth of a king, etc.  Guests ride, sort of hayride style, on a trailer.  (On occasion we have used walking tours.) They are accompanied by a guide.  This year our guides included: a team, the two thieves on the cross; Elizabeth; Simon the Zealot; and Mary in her later years.  In years past we have had the Apostles John, Peter, and Paul; the little girl Jesus raised from the dead; Nicodemus; Judas (yes that Judas); and one time, Satan, though he was not able to finish the tour.  He just couldn't get past the empty tomb.
These trailers take guests past scenes that portray:

•  the annunciation,
• the shepherds in the field and the announcement by the angels,
• The scene at the manger,
• The visit of the wisemen to the young king,
• A scene by the sea of Galilee,
• The Crucifixion,
• The Empty Tomb,
• And the Great White Throne.

Instead of a scold, demanding that our neighbors say, "Merry Christmas," rather than, "Happy Holidays," our community is greeted with a warm smile, some cookies, an opportunity to visit with friends, and a winsome, unique presentation of the greatest story ever told.  Granted we are a Bible-belt community, but the general response we get after our presentation is a warm thanks.  Many families return year after year.  The only negative responses I recall are complaints that we only do our presentation for one weekend, and that the presentation by Satan, "Lou C. Fir" was just too frightening.  (Our ushers warned people about this particular guide, but some did not heed the warning.  There were those who spoke highly of the devil being a guide.  I think they enjoyed the spectacle of his defeat, and seeing things from a different perspective opens one's mind.)  

We know that we can't accurately portray these events.  We try to not include elements that are false--

though we cross the line with little kid angels--and we point out where some of the popular conceptions of the Christmas story are false, or at least not known for sure.  What we are trying to do is give a feel of what it was like, and give folk something to think about.  We want to fuel some positive conversations.  We don't charge anything to participate in the Live Nativity.  We offer it as a gift to our community.  It is not a good evangelistic tool, in that we don't have a list of folk who have given their lives to the Lord as a result of our event.  It does very much keep Christ in Christmas.  It is a lot more trouble to host a Live Nativity than it is to put on a button, but I think it is much more effective.  Billy agrees.

You can find more pictures of our event here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10156292371485054&type=1

We would be glad to talk to you about how you could host a Live Nativity in your community.  Write us at covbchm@gmail.com.

Merry CHRISTmas.

Merry? Christmas:

Since this STTA has an editorial flavor, I'm posting it here as well as over at the STTA site. It has begun.  I speak of course of the annual--at least in recent memory--fight over whether store-clerks and such should say "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Holidays."  And, "Is that evergreen in the park, the one with all the lights on it, a Holiday Tree or a Christmas Tree?"  There are some inconvenient facts that line up on each side of the argument.   On the side of Merry Christmas: It is the name of the Holiday in question. There is our undeniable heritage as a nation--"Christian" or at the least strongly influenced by Christian thought. Most Christians don't seem to get bent out of shape when Jewish merchants recognize Hanukkah, or Muslims observe the fast of Ramadan.  "Why," we ask, "all the fuss over Christmas?" On the other side: Though not a majority, a significant element of our population belongs to a non-christian religious group.   A minority of Christians find the 21st Century Christmas celebration offensive and want no part of it.  (I'll leave aside the fact there is a significant group of Christ-followers who observe Christmas in January.) It is the task of the church, not Walmart or the US government to proclaim Christ.   Business people should be free to observe, or not observe, religious based holidays, and we should be free to steer our business to those businesses we choose to patronize. The middle ground is strewn with, "Yeah, but!"s and ugly accusations.   For the record: I have already started wishing folk "Merry Christmas."  I am seeking to use the holiday as an opportunity for spreading the name of Christ.  I appreciate it when businesses enter into that spirit.  You'll notice, I even donned a Santa hat for the season. I am, however, going to avoid any Yuletide arm-twisting, and I encourage my Christian brothers and sisters to do the same.  Rather than demanding that Merry Christmasbe on store clerks lips, let's put our energy into living and witnessing so that the Christ of Christmas is more likely to enter their heart and make them truly Merry.      It's STTA.   Find lot's of information about how God stepped into our world to meet needs we cannot meet on our own, here.

The Christmas story retold in a surprising way:

If you want to cut to the chase, just skip my musings and go the bottom of this post and click on the link.

Merry Christmas.

I always thought it was kind of strange that some Renaissance artists would paint pictures of Biblical scenes but dress the characters in the garb of their day. I figure Raphael and the other artists of the 16th Century knew that Mary didn't wear the clothing of the Italian women of their time. They had to have known that there was no reason for the infant Jesus and John (the Baptist) to be playing with a cross--think of what the cross meant at the time. They knowingly placed their Biblical scenes in surroundings that were a millennia-and-a-half out of synch.
I'm way far away from being an art expert, but my guess is that they were trying to communicate a timeless message in a way that would communicate with with their contemporaries. You can let me know if I'm wrong, and I'll leave it up to better heads than mine to comment on whether or not they succeeded at all. You can see some examples of this kind of art here.

All of this was really a fairly long-winded introduction to a video that someone sent me. I have in mind some friends of mine who decry against the use of technology in regard to worship to such an extent that they feel it necessary to defend themselves against the accusation that they are Luddites. I received the link to this imaginitive video from a friend. Someone took the story of Christ's birth and presented it in a totally anachronistic way. I'm not trying to say it is high-art or anything, but it worked on me.
What if the ubiquitous ability to post online messages were available to the characters who make up the Christmas story?
I encourage you to look.

One of the characters of Christmas shows us the way two millennia later:

I was thinking about Joseph, Jesus Christ's step-father (so to speak), this morning. I'm often impressed with how little press Joseph gets at Christmas time. The average Christmas celebrator knows more about the little drummer boy than Mary's husband, Joseph. Granted the Biblical material about the man is sparce, but, still, little is done to mine what is there.



I'll get back to Joseph in a moment.

Have you noticed that in our world it seems that Christian people congregate on the extremes? One example--matters related to moral purity: In the last week I heard about a local pastor who spoke about unmarried, cohabitating couples as bringing shame to the church; they just shouldn't attend. Granted the report was a step or two removed from first-hand information, but I have been around long enough to know that the sentiment is too common. I know of other pastors who imply by their actions that there is no difference between those who live together sans-matrimony and those who wait for the wedding.
It seems that we congregate on the extremes. Sorting out that difficult middle position is tough. I'm not saying that the middle is always right, but my experience and observations lead me to believe that more often than not the extremes miss the mark.

Joseph was a guy who sought to honor realties that were in tension. He is called a righteous man (Matthew 1:19). Yet his actions show that he was also a compassionate man. When Joseph first wrestled with the news that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant he had not heard anything of the divine miracle that had resulted in the virgin-conception. He was committed to do what was right, and he was likewise motivated to do that which was kind--or at least that which would be the least harsh.
He allowed the tension that resulted from the pull of these two competing interests to lead him to a righteous plan that was tempered by kindness and a kind plan that did not violate God's standard of purity.
When I look at the Joseph figure in the creche I am reminded of this balance, and the price that this righteous man paid to achieve it.
It is not the main story that is portrayed in the manger-scene, but it is a side-plot worth looking into.