Celebration of Christmas at the Miller house has not yet officially begun this year. For me, the celebration really begins when the tree goes up. I have two strong convictions about the Christmas tree.
1) The Christmas tree must be real. For some reason, people get offended when I say this, but “artificial trees are for artificial people.” Why would that offend? I can’t imagine. But I want Fraser Fur needles dropping on the floor and the smell of pine throughout the house. So what if it triggers allergies? Sacrifices have to be made!
2) The Christmas tree must have so many lights on it that it throws a circuit! One year, on our 7 1/2 foot tree, we had 1400 lights. Add strings of lights until the thing becomes a fire hazard, add three or four more strings, change the fuse, add one more and you are ready to go.
Oh, and by the way, none of those blinking lights or that one-color nonsense. Multicolor lights that blaze bright all the time. I’m pretty strong on this folks – no arguing!
And there are three movies that are essential to any Christmas celebration. First, A Christmas Carol – the George C. Scott version. All others fall short and pale in comparison. Patton as Scrooge – predestined for greatness. Second, you have to watch George Bailey battle Mr. Potter (Henry, not Harry) and discover that he actually has a “Wonderful Life.” Then, on Christmas Eve, you need to tune in to TBS and watch little Ralphie scheme to get his Red Ryder rifle without shooting his eye out.
Life has changed in the last few years. All three of our sons are married now and our daughter is off as Cedarville. My two sons who have given me grandchildren (the two cutest EVER) live so far away we won’t be able to see them at Christmas. But I still love Christmas. I’m looking forward to foraging through the barren shelves on Christmas Eve looking for something to give as a gift. The toys get more expensive. Family gatherings are a logistical challenge. But I still love the Christmas season and all that goes into it.
Still, the celebration of Christmas in America has taken such a strange turn. I remember my grandmother speaking wistfully of the Christmas of her youth, when her only gifts were a peppermint stick and perhaps a hand-carved wooden toy her father made. She remembered the celebration of Christmas as a time of wonder and joy – without Black Friday, credit cards or online bargains.
Things have changed. Our culture has disregarded the birth of Christ and elevated the jolly old guy in the red suit to the status of a god. We have turned Christmas from the worship of the baby in the manger to the worship of Mammon, god of money. We spend thousands of dollars in homage to the power of materialism and greed. Christmas is a bacchanalia divorced from the meaning it once had.
Even our efforts to “keep Christ in Christmas” have become odd at best. Last year, a large Southern Baptist Church sponsored the “Grinch Alert” to badger people into saying the words “Merry Christmas” whether they mean them or not. At that site, one person expressed how offended he was that Delta Airlines wished him “Happy Holidays.” Has our celebration of Christmas really been reduced to being offended when someone wishes us well but does not use the proper words to do so? Fortunately, the church had the sense not to resurrect that site this year.
Even Christians often do not realize the theological roots of the celebration of Christmas. I am afraid that many, even in the church, have failed to understand the true meaning of Christmas and have not celebrated it in a way that honors God. We need to explore the theological underpinnings of Christmas – not just what was going on in Bethlehem, but what was going on in the mind and heart of God. When we understand that, we will see more clearly how to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Three Levels of Christmas
My beloved Christmas tree serves as a great illustration of the three levels of the celebration of Christmas. Millions never get beyond level 1. Many Christians get stuck at level 2. We need to move on to Level 3 and understand “the real meaning of Christmas.”
Level 1: The Ornament Level
The ornaments hang on the outside of the tree. They give it pizzazz. They are flashy and fun and beautiful. Sometimes they are garish and crass, as well (not mine, of course). Many Americans never get beyond the Ornament Level in their celebration of Christmas. The ornament level involves trees and presents and eggnog and mistletoe – the fun, light side of Christmas. The Jolly Old Guy in the red suit is an ornament, as are Rudolph and Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and…well, you get the picture.
Christians are divided over how much of the Ornament Level of Christmas that we should celebrate. I enjoy the celebration of Christmas, but some Christians are offended by the secular side of things. Follow your own conscience on this one. What we need to realize is that while ornaments are fun, they are not all there is to the celebration of Christmas. We need to go deeper than simply enjoying the ornaments and decorations of Christmas.
Ornaments and lights do nothing if they are kept in the box. You need to have something to decorate, something to hang the ornaments on. You need a Christmas tree to display the ornaments.
Level 2: The Tree Level
Christmas is not just about myths and legends. It is a real story about the real birth of a real baby. The Tree Level is the structure on which the celebration hangs; the story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, the historical foundation of the celebration of Christmas. Whatever kind of ornaments you like and however much of the Ornament Level you celebrate, it is crucial that we hang the ornaments on the tree.
We need to be careful to focus on Joseph and Mary and the Baby (the biblical story, not the multitudinous myths that surround that story), the shepherds and angels and wise men. They remind us that God sent His Son into this sin-kissed world to demonstrate His love. It is a powerful story.
I love the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, of George Bailey, or of little Ralphie Parker and his Red Ryder air rifle. But there is no story more powerful than the story of Jesus Christ invading this world of darkness to shine the light of God’s love and we need to keep this story front and center during our celebration. It is the tree which supports the entire celebration of Christmas.
The problem is that some people believe that taking a little time to look at a Nativity scene or remembering the details of the Christmas story is the “real Christmas.” It is not. For Christmas to be real, it must go deeper.
You see, there is a problem with my tree. When I bring it home from the store, it will be fragrant and fresh. But in a few weeks there will come a day I call “The Day of Great Evil.” My wife (I refuse to participate in such wickedness) takes the lights off the tree, puts the ornaments in the boxes and then tells me its time to carry the tree out to the Christmas tree graveyard in a stand of pines, joining the rotting remains of the Trees of Christmas Past
The problem is that my tree has been severed from its roots. It only lasts a season because it has been cut off from the source of life. That is what happens when all we focus on is a cute little baby in a romanticized manger two millennia ago.
There has to be more than that. Good news – there is!
Level 3: The Root Level
Why can’t the celebration of Christmas last into January and February? Because we have cut it from its roots. We need to explore the roots of Christmas and reattach the celebration of the season with the deep truths of God’s sovereign purposes.
The Root Level of Christmas is the theological truth and purposes behind what happened in Bethlehem. At this level, we are not so concerned with what Joseph or Mary is doing, but what God is doing. The roots of Christmas are in Heaven, not in Bethlehem or Nazareth. When we understand the activity of God, the meaning of Christmas comes alive and we come to understand how to celebrate it rightly.
As we celebrate Christmas, we need to reattach it to its roots – the gracious activity of God in this world. What are those roots? I don’t have time to explore them, but let me mention a few I think are significant.
- Christmas is WAR! It was D-day in the divine plan of redemption, as God came to confront sinful humanity, provide atonement for our sins and justification for sinners. What God planned from eternity was put into effect on Christmas. You must see the cradle in the shadow of the Cross.
- Christmas is about forgiveness. God decided not to leave us in the darkness of our sins, but to shine the light of glory on us in Jesus Christ. Not only are we forgiven, but we must forgive. Want to celebrate Christmas? Forgive someone who has hurt, offended, abused or betrayed you!
- Christmas is about God’s mission. I love that we promote the Lottie Moon offering at Christmas. Jesus came on a mission. We are called to participate in God’s mission of redemption in this world – through Jesus Christ and the blood shed on the Cross.
There is so much more. But the challenge is to make sure that our celebration is not limited to the shallow engagement in “The War on Christmas” or a simple focus on the Nativity story. These have a place and are needed. But we must make sure that our celebration of Christmas is rooted in the activity of God.
When we do, the celebration never ends.
I try to be tolerant of differences and all, but anyone who advocates artificial trees or blinking lights on this thread will be dealt with severely!
Oh, I said nothing about tinsel, but that stuff is just evil.
My mom hates spiders.
The last real tree they bought was before I was born. Story goes it had a spider egg sac in it, and one morning they woke up to hundreds of baby spiders crawling on / hanging from the ceiling.
My opening line that my mom hates spiders is a gross understatement.
Now you go and try to convince her that artifical trees are for artificial people…
😀
Sacrifices have to be made, Mike. A few harmless spiders for a REAL tree?
I would respond by pledging my love for artifical trees and blinking lights, but I’m afraid I would be moved into unyielding and eternal moderation…
There is a sin which cannot be forgiven…
Unlike people who live in Iowa, some of us see enough trees outside to not need to import one into our homes. 🙂
Last week I rode with a friend to Boone, NC to pick up a load of fraser firs. The farm had hundreds cut and waiting to be loaded. The smell was wonderful, snow on the ground.
Send one to Sioux City. Love the Fraser Fir.
This could create a serious theological divide within the SBC. Forget Calvinism, we need to settle this matter about the Christmas tree. People’s salvation could be at stake, I’m sure!
They may not come to our churches if we don’t get our Christmas trees right. So we need to get Lifeway to do a Christmas tree poll – or are they biased because they use fake Christmas tree poles?
How does the next SBC president stand on Christmas trees – or rather what kind of stand does he use on his Christmas trees?
What’s Al Mohler’s position? (I’m sure it’s not under the misletoe.)
😉
I’m a child of the 60s and my father stained me for life with his Silver Aluminum tree with big Red Ornament Balls and the light thing that changed the color of the aluminum in the dark from red to green to yellow as it spun.
I swore that I would never have anything but a real tree in my house and that has been the case for 30 years. There should be a pox on artificial trees! LOL
I remember those silver trees. Heinous! And good-on-ya for the real tree, sir!
Now more serious… it’s a good post.
In preaching just finished Acts last week, and decided to do a 3-week jaunt through Ruth that will culminate w/ the genealogy on Christmas day (of course tying it into the Matthew genealogy)–we’re going to get to the “root” of Christmas by using it to look how God played out his plan to bring about the messiah through sinful, fallen, and broken men and women from various cultures and backgrounds, and then what that means for our mission as a Christmas & Easter mission all year…
Sad note, though, I have some families in my church that are odd about the holidays. One of them so much that they fight their own war against Christmas and even Easter (“since they’re just pagan holidays we tried to take over”) by dropping out of church for the month and having nothing to do with gift giving and well wishing, etc. I agree it has been overly secularized and commercialized, but come on–think of the story we can tell each other, our children, and our friends if we do it right… regardless of what December 25th may have originally been…
I feel sad for people who are that intense on something like this. But you know, as long as they follow their convictions without harassing everyone else, I guess that’s all we can ask.
It is true that most of our holidays were once pagan. But isn’t that what Christ does? He makes that which is pagan into something holy and sacred.
That’s what he did with me.
A-Men on the mission of Christ Dave.
And a commendation on this excellent post. It smacks with the development of a family tradition all your own and that is priceless in this world.
Mike,
I don’t know if it would help, but last year I ran across an excellent set of CD’s that confront the pagan origins question of Christmas and Easter and even other potential issues in that vein. They are from First Fruits of Zion and are entitled “What about Paganism?” I found them to be good quality work and they helped me in confronting some of the nagging questions and issues in this regard. If you have folks that are really struggling with this, they might find it helpful as well.
Unscew a couple of bulbs overnight – say a few appropriate words and plug the lights in and the resulting smoke will be from the spiders that crawled into the socket(s).
That’s funny.
I have an artificial tree with blinking, chasing lights.
It makes me happy, like a good emoticon on a depressed day 🙂 8)
Why am I not surprised?
Because you have the gift of prophecy?
😉
We have a real tree in our house, but we give artificial presents. Works for us!
That makes sense.
real tree, ornaments from all over the world (some very old family ornaments, some engraved ornaments, some homemade ornaments), Advent wreath, a million candles (almost), baking everyday!!!! cookies, pumpkin bread, cranberry orange breads, rum cake, more cookies, shortbread, gingerbread (lemon sauce, too), fruitcake, more fruitcake, special table-cloths, special napkins (and rings), pine-bough berry arrangements on mantle, dog’s stocking with treats & dog toys, PRESENTS !!!!!, music, more fruitcake . . . cookies for Santa on plate, reindeer food too
FAMILY, FAMILY, FAMILY !!!!!!!
love, love, love,
Christmas Eve Mass
open-house on Christmas Day, MORE fruitcake
JOY, PEACE, LOVE
l o n g winter’s nap 🙂
“dog’s stocking with treats & dog toys,”
Finally, the truth is known. L’s is a bigot toward cats at Christmas time.
Hi C.B.
truth is my daughter has been allergic to cats since she was a toddler . . . no cats allowed
but I LOVE ‘EM . . . cute, furry, little kitties
so adorable
the dog is my son’s pup
my boy is spending Christmas at sea this year, God bless him,
and we enjoying taking care of his little dog for him (the dog is black with silky fur and looks a lot like a cute baby bear cub 🙂
I LOVE cats, I don’t cook and eat cats like some people around here . . . wicked !!!
Yeah, I love cats. Cooked just right – Cajun-style is best. Don’t overcook them or they can be a little gamey. Feline gumbo is really good
bad David,
bad to eat cats . . .
L’s,
Did your son take after his Daddy and join the Navy or is he in the Coast Guard?
My son’s a Coastie, C.B.
he did take after his father in one way . . . his dad was an ace in electronics and sonar in the Navy (he was one of the top ten men in his field, I’m told) . . .
and it looks like my boy has got those same genetics . . . he’s won awards for his service, he has been an instructor, and he has written curriculum . . . and now he is back on a cutter in the Pacific out of Hawaii . . .
he loves it! The sea is in his blood, I think.
L’s is a proud Mom these days. 🙂
C.B.
you have family in the service this holiday too, don’t you ?
Yes I do L’s.
We have one boy in the Marines. He is home now for Christmas. Another boy Karen and I reared was an Army Ranger. He fought in the first Gulf War.
Oh, and tinsel is evil. As are Christmas Parades held in the sleet when it makes the saxophone reed freeze to your lower lip.
The artificial tree is a necessary evil due to allergies. The chasing lights are one string that covers the whole tree which also has adequate coverage of solid lights, so the whole thing does not turn off and on at once. It just kind of ‘twinkles.’
Ornaments are an interesting mixture from growing up years and family acquired ornaments since Ann and I married 13 years ago.
And our general rule is this: We go to sleep at home Christmas Eve and are home Christmas Day. We stay as much off the road for that 48-hours as possible to let the celebrating have the time it needs. Why? because we are absolutely starting and ending with Christ. But there’s something to be said for plenty of time to play with the new Legos!
Anyone who puts blinking lights on their house is evil.
Not on the house. Just the one set on the tree.
House is pretty dark because the ground has been too wet to put a ladder on it—ladder plus me would sink fast. I think the moisture is so high, ladder plus one of the kids would still sink.
And yes, blinking on the house is bad. Especially if you live by a highway like I do!
“Christmas is WAR!”- Revelation 12 is a great (but often neglected) Christmas text. Probably the favorite Christmas lesson I taught as a youth pastor.
I was planning to preach from that text this year at some point.
do it. tie in the angelic army from Luke 2 as well. “heavenly host” does not equal “choir”, despite the popular carols.
The Holy Child, Who conquered the Roman Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb1AsyltkpA&feature=related
Setting out the Nativity scene, I thought about what might connect the Incarnation to the the whole ‘Christ event’. Here’s a favorite quote that helps do that:
“Mary’s Son first had to be the Child of the Father
in order then to become Man
and be capable of taking up on His shoulders
the burden of a guilty world.”
? Hans Urs von Balthasar,
” Unless You Become Like This Child “
“Christmas is about God’s mission. I love that we promote the Lottie Moon offering at Christmas. Jesus came on a mission. We are called to participate in God’s mission of redemption in this world – through Jesus Christ and the blood shed on the Cross.”
This is a great point. I know some Baptist churches that follow a higher church calendar and some who do not. Mine doesn’t. We don’t talk about Advent, for example. But I preached in a church a couple of weeks ago that was celebrating the first Sunday in Advent. I preached Isaiah 64 with this filter noting that Isaiah recognized that God had come in the past and was coming again. For Isaiah and his direct audience, this was probably during the time at Sinai.
But another reference was made to His promised coming. This we celebrate as the incarnation that has already happened. And we also recognize a time when He has promised to return for us.
So “Advent” doesn’t necessarily refer only to two occasions. In fact, Isaiah 64 is in the context of the return of the Jews from exile (to a place that generation had never been) – or at least those faithful to return when they were called to come and rebuild. This current event (future to Isaiah) was the Advent of God in His people.
We are the Body of Christ. Pentecost could be seen as an Advent when our spiritual forefathers became the Body of Christ for the first time. But the Advent continues in each generation as we continue the work of Christ to “build” the gospel in the wilderness of people’s lives as the Jews were to rebuild the city of God and the temple therein in the wilderness that they had become during their exile.
Jim Pemberton,
I could say I don’t mean to be picky, but that would be a lie. I do mean to be picky as to something you state in your comment related to the gospel.
You stated: “But the Advent continues in each generation as we continue the work of Christ to “build” the gospel in the wilderness of people’s lives…”
We do not continue to “build” the gospel. We are commissioned to tell the gospel of Christ to the world.
The gospel was decreed by the Triune God prior to the foundation of foundations of any and all existence. The gospel was brought to its absolute completion in the Person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ, in His perfect life, death, burial and resurrection. It was/is the work of Christ and Christ alone.
We “build” nothing. We are no more worthy to build or to continue to build the gospel after experiencing the grace of God than we were while still lost in our sins.
We are called and commissioned to share the Good Story of Jesus Christ. We are beggars who have been given Bread telling starving beggars about the One who has the Bread. We build nothing.
I think you misunderstand me. We don’t “build” anything new, but our telling of the gospel is like building, or re-building, into the lives of people. It’s metaphorical, and metaphors, even biblical ones, are only analogically accurate to a point. And this is a biblical metaphor that’s used repeatedly in the Bible in reference to “building” up our fellow believers (1 Thess 5:11) as well as “building” up non-believers for the purpose of evangelization (Rom 15:20 for example).
We don’t create new gospels, which is the only contention I can think that you are making here. But we are being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4ff) by virtue of what? The gospel of Jesus Christ. As such we are also agents of the building as the Body of Christ. Are we worthy of our own accord? No. But Peter encourages us to behave well so that we can be effective in this role (v12). And he equates this role of building up others to proclamation of the gospel (v9).
As I stated Jim Pemberton,
I am being picky. I am being intentionally picky. We do not “build” the gospel. We do not “continue to build the gospel” as you stated.
The gospel is complete in Christ and Christ alone. We are mandated to build “upon” the gospel, that is true. Just as the Texts you reference present.
Jim Pemberton, the gospel is complete. The work of the believer is to build upon it. We do not build it or continue to build it.
I did not misunderstand you in any way. I am being picky about an error. I realize you are not guilty of believing we are to build a new gospel or even to continue to build the present gospel. Nonetheless, there are people who comment here and read here who do not understand it is Christ and Christ alone. Therefore I am being picky and with due diligence for good reason.
There is one foundation. That foundation was laid and completed by Christ and Christ alone and “is” Christ alone. We build upon the one Foundation.
Christ is the Sacrifice and the Mercy Seat. He is the Propitiation in and of Himself. The gospel is complete. We build “upon” it. We do not “continue to build” it.
Then I apologize for being unclear. I’m glad you didn’t misunderstand my point. I’m often treated like an idiot and I suppose I assume that if I understand the limitations of a metaphor that everyone else does too.
Jim Pemberton,
In no way do I consider you an idiot. I have read comments you have made before and I could not conclude you are an idiot based upon past reading of your comments. Had I considered you an idiot, I would not have engaged you in the manner I have.
I do understand metaphor as do you, I am sure. Nonetheless, some metaphor is dangerous to theological truth. To use the word “build” as you did is the use of the word “build” in a potentially dangerous manner due to some who read and comment here not having the same understanding of the gospel that you have.
That is why I was being picky. It is Christ and Christ alone and we cannot let anything diminish that truth. I trust you understand that. it was no personal attack on you.
I only intended to use the word “build” the way it is used in the Bible and I’m sorry I didn’t use it in a way that was clearer.
That is the problem Jim Pemberton.
You did not use in as it is used relating to soteriology in the Bible. The way you used it was “clear.” It was clearly wrong. You stated we “continue to build the gospel.” The Scripture will not support that usage of the word “build.”
That was my point. It was no attack on you.
The quote didn’t end there. In context I said “…we continue the work of Christ to “build” the gospel in the wilderness of people’s lives…” We don’t “build the gospel.” Let me re-phrase: “We build [into] peoples lives ([which is a] wilderness), the gospel.” Or to re-word: “We build people up with the gospel.” But my sense is not that we build people up to something else, but that we build people up in their relationship with God by virtue of the gospel which is the only way.
So you did misunderstand what I meant if only because one phrase got in the way of another. You didn’t parse the whole sentence with all possible meanings. And I could have limited possible meanings by breaking the related concepts of the sentence up into smaller sentences.
Jim Pembeton,
You have now expressed the crux of the matter.
I misunderstood nothing. I read what you wrote. What you meant was not what you wrote. It really is that simple.
I stated earlier that I did not misunderstand you. I stated, “I realize you are not guilty of believing we are to build a new gospel or even to continue to build the present gospel.”
Then you stated you were often “treated as an idiot.” My response was:
“In no way do I consider you an idiot. I have read comments you have made before and I could not conclude you are an idiot based upon past reading of your comments. Had I considered you an idiot, I would not have engaged you in the manner I have.”
Jim Pemberton, I did not misunderstand you. I do not think you to be an idiot. I understand you did not write properly what you actually meant. That is what I was calling your attention to by being picky.
Had I really thought you wrote exactly what you meant, I would have approached the matter somewhat differently by by writing something like:
Jim Pemberton, to state, “… we continue the work of Christ to “build” the gospel in the wilderness of people’s lives as the Jews were to rebuild the city of God and the temple therein in the wilderness that they had become during their exile” is a heretical statement and diminishes the reality of the completed work of Christ to provide atonement for sinners.
Yeah, Jim Pemberton, that is probably close to what I would have written had I actually thought you really meant what you wrote.
Now, here is the real rub. If you actually said that to a group of people as you stated it here, maybe you need to rethink it and state it differently the next time.
Jim Pemberton, far too many people believe they are to help “build” their salvation and that is a total impossibility as you well know. That is the only reason I was being picky with you. It was no attack on you. Like I stated earlier, I have read your comments in the past and do not think you an idiot or a heretic.