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Honoring Christ and Celebrating Christmas, Part II
By Kendra | November 17, 2009
I’ve been pondering what more to offer you on this subject of honoring Christ as we celebrate His birth. We get so muddled, don’t we? We want to reject materialism but in our humanity we tend toward the pendulum swing that lands us on the rebound rather than balanced somewhere in the middle. How do we magnify Christ in our Christmas celebrations while the world marches around us blaring their cheap imitation of Christmas?
Several years ago I read a short article by Nancy Wilson on this subject, and it changed my outlook on the way we as Christians, collectively, ought to take hold of the beauty and celebration that is Christmas. I didn’t obtain permission to reprint the article here, so I’m going to point you in the right direction so you can read it for yourself. Begin by visiting the Credenda site, then scroll down to Volume 14, Issue 5 titled “Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry”. You’ll need to download the pdf version of the magazine (don’t worry, it’s free), then you’ll find Nancy’s article entitled “Christmas Worldliness” on page 16.
The part that has always come back to me is this:
“Christian people are the only people on earth who can truly celebrate Christmas, even though we do so inadequately. But we can’t help ourselves. We’ve heard the angels singing and the shepherds’ announcement. We’ve visited the manger and heard Mary’s song. So we celebrate by making a great feast. We buy the best wine and cheese that we can afford, and our ovens are bursting with Christmas delights. And the gifts! The stockings are loaded, the closets bulging with gifts stored up for the day they go under the huge, glorious tree. The silver is polished, the linens are pressed, the china is standing by. And the month of Christmas seems too short for all the singing and celebrating we want to do.
This is the way it should be for God’s people. Each year should be a better feast than the last, with more of Christmas each year, more food, more presents, more delight.We are growing in our sanctification and learning how to rejoice around our tables with more exuberance, more reverence and fear, more holy awe.”
And to that I say, “AMEN!”
Topics: Life with Preschoolers, Resources, Training Little Ones | 14 Comments »
November 17th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Well, we don’t hear much of that in Christian circles now, do we? Every year as I’m preparing the gifts and the feasts, I try to resist being dragged down by the loud and pious moaning of Christians who can’t seem to focus on anything but the commercialization…and while I think there are definitely ways to misuse it, my heart keeps saying, “but ‘where your treasure is, there your heart is also!’ ”
Thank you, Kendra
November 17th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Exactly, Cathi! Let’s make it the greatest celebration! Let’s take it back!
November 18th, 2009 at 8:34 am
This is a beautiful quote… thanks for sharing it!
November 18th, 2009 at 8:42 am
…I don’t mind celebrating Christ’s birth. But note, the only thing the Bible TELLS us to celebrate is his death. His birth was amazing, at the moment — announced by angels. He was the culmination of centuries of prophecies. But it is his death (and resurrection) that is special throughout time. And without that resurrection, his birth would mean nothing more than yours or mine.
I don’t mind if Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection more than his birth. That is how it ought to be. And I will teach my child, growing up, that December 25 is most likely NOT the day Jesus was born. but he didn’t tell us in the Bible (Note it DOES give us very good direction on determining the date of death/resurrection). and so it is the date folk have chosen to celebrate it.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:44 am
You’re right about the Bible and dates. If we follow that logic, though, we’d have to stop doing many things because the Bible doesn’t directly tell us to do them
And I don’t think His birth would “mean nothing more than yours or mine”. He is God incarnate, and I am so not.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Oh dear, that sounded snarky and I certainly didn’t mean for it to. Please forgive me if I offended you, My Boaz’s Ruth.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:45 am
No offense taken. I was worried about how my comment would sound as well. Like I said, I have no problems celebrating. i’ve got friends who don’t celebrate though because they feel celebration of Christmas is a-biblical (is that the word?)
November 18th, 2009 at 11:47 am
PS But the only reason we know for sure he is God incarnate is because he rose again. If he’d been born, done miracles, and died… and that was it. Well, how would anyone know he was God? Esp. after the prophecies that said he’d come back to life, he’d be nothing.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
We’d know because God says so in Matthew, Luke, and John. “You shall call His name Immanuel, God with us…” But, His atoning work on the cross is the crux, literally, of our salvation. We just can’t divorce His death from His birth unless we want to alter Scripture. God intended for Him to be born and to die.
I know there are those who believe we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas but I do wonder at the ability to remain consistent if we are only doing what is specifically stated in Scripture.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I have read the Nancy Wilson article before and it confused me as much here as it did the first time. I understand joyful celebrating and we do celebrate with a tree, presents, etc., but I don’t understand how her description of celebrating is any different than the “world’s” way. I would love to celebrate the way she describes, but at the same time it is confusing to me. Would love to hear more of your input.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Sharron-
The world doesn’t celebrate Christ. We do, and we should do so with vigor!
November 19th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Kendra — this has got to be one of the most refreshing and “releasing” and reminding things I have read on your site (and I have been around here for awhile, lurking of course!)
Thank you for posting it. I am certain I never would have stumbled upon such a thing. I was truly convicted. I thought of Jesus’ first miracle of the wedding at Cana and how it was revelry and delight for all and when he was asked to help provide more, he didn’t rail against all who were enjoying and indulging, he performed a miracle to make a party go better! Seriously? For his first miracle? More excellent libations for the celebration!? It really made me think.
My question comes when we don’t have much (any) extra money at any time of the year, much less Christmas, and it is hard to know how to make a “glorious tree” and all those presents and everything that she talks about when it seems out of possibility financially…
November 20th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Naomi-
I love your observation about the wedding at Cana; it’s one I hadn’t thought of before.
Your question is excellent and one I know many can relate to. Here’s what I’m thinking: What would make this year a bigger celebration for your family? Could it be planning a special breakfast, with some treat you rarely have? For us it’s homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade corned beef hash courtesy of Dad, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and gravy. This is the only day of the year we indulge in a breakfast this way, particularly because Easter always falls on Sunday and we can’t produce such a feast before church.
In fact, you can go back before Christmas morning. Lighting candles every Sunday of advent, reading from Luke, a special dessert each Sunday night leading up to Christmas (and by special I don’t mean extravagant- cookies one night, ice cream another, etc…), paper snowflakes on the windows, Christmas music every day and a time to dance with joy, caroling to the neighbors, A Charlie Brown Christmas, driving around to see the lights…
Make the opening of the presents, even if there’s one per person, a delight. Do it lottery-style, or have each person share something encouraging about the one opening the present at the moment. Open them sloooowly, and ooh and aah.
Real Christmas trees are expensive, and when we had no money I brought a big branch inside (we lived in San Francisco so I really had to search to find one!), “planted” it in a pot with dirt and moss on top, then hung ornaments on the branches. It was cool! If you have silver or gold spray paint, you could spray the branches first.
Invite friends and family over and potluck. We have a barn party every year the day after Thanksgiving and we serve big trays of cookies but ask everyone to bring a chair and a mug. Then we offer coffee and cider, both of which I use coupons to buy in the months before the party. I buy all paper goods the year before on clearance.
We take a day off from school in December and watch Little Women. It’s just a tradition I started and now as my older boys aren’t so interested, I tell them it’s optional (but they tend to hang around…) I make popcorn and hot cocoa, and it’s a memory made.
I’m not super creative, and I’m sure others can offer even better ideas. I hope this is helpful, though.
~Kendra
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I have loved Christmas sense I was a kid, and I love it more knowing Jesus, the ultimate gift. I tell my kids that we give gifts without strings attached because God gave us Jesus with no strings and when we were at our worst. I never say “I’m going to take that present back if your not being nice to your sister.” Christmas is a celebration of all things wonderful, so I say celebrate and always point to the one that gave us life….Jesus.