GIVE CHRISTMAS BACK TO THE PAGANS...

It wasn't the Church's festival to begin with, and since we took it over, we've done an abysmal job at using it for anything other than saying, "Hey, Culture, we're cool too. We have cool plays to tell old stories, and we'll use live donkeys at that too!"

A long time ago, the church and Christianity lived on the sidelines of life. We were a minority following of scraggly folks who lived in radical dependence upon the God revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. We believed in this faith so much that most would give everything they had to the gathered community. They gave everything. Trend reports tell us today that we give, on average, 2.9%. Guess we're too busy buying presents to satiate our consumer needs these days to rely too much upon total dependence of God.

For several hundred years, the church did not celebrate Christmas, and it got along fine. In fact, it saw a flourishing of theology, the arts, and true evangelism. Today, preachers will fine tune sermons for a largely pagan audience, because going to Christmas eve worship services is like putting the angel on the tree, the bourbon in the eggnog, and eating the last bit of Christmas ham for all of our Christmas festivities.

A friend of mine commented the other day he had heard the song, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," on his commute to and from work. Something was wrong with it, he said. "It's totally wrong," he said. "Isn't the most wonderful time of the year -- Easter?" he stated out loud. This is the Christian story!

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the story of Jesus' birth. I love the theme of incarnation. I love how liturgical renewal movements in the past years have turned Advent into a season of eschatological anticipation...that we not only journey through the season of Advent as shepherds to the little baby's manger, but also we journey as people who await the second coming of Jesus, his parousia. But all that anticipation is lost for many people who simply anticipate the gifts under the tree, and the credit card bills in January.

The story of Jesus' birth is a late development in our Scriptures. Two out of four Gospels composed a perfectly good telling of the good news WITHOUT the story of Jesus' birth. And the two that do include the story tell it totally different. Matthew has wise men, stars, angels talking to Joseph, and the flight to Egypt. Luke has shepherds, Zechariah, angels talking to Mary, and a simple return home after the census. Yet, all four gospels think Jesus' death and resurrection vitally important and include this story in their accounts of the good news.

Too much of the church's time is coopted in December to satisfy the sentimental longings of most people who want kids in little shepherd's outfits. The church is also coopted in that we'll get in trouble if we tell the truth about Santa Claus. I've seen the fear and shock in people's eyes when I've hinted that I don't want to tell that lie to my future kids. "What?! How do you celebrate Christmas then?" Hmm...let me think about that....

I say, "Give Christmas back to the pagans. It's their holiday in the first place, and we'd make more of a statement as a community if we were to be a-cultural, like our Jewish brothers and sisters who celebrate Chanukah. They have kept their story and their witness. It says something. Christmas, nowadays, teaches us that we are valued by how many gifts we get, and how cool they are. Pssshhaaahh!"

Anyway, just a little Christmas ranting and raving, and Have a Happy Jesus Birth Day!