I’ve been thinking about Christmas; I know you have too. My emotions are so mixed. Yesterday, we saw the Christmas extravaganza at Prestonwood Church in Dallas. Wow! What a joyous, Christ honoring celebration! It warmed my heart. Just singing or hearing songs like, “O’ Come Let Us Adore Him” stirs the soul of any Christ follower.
But all is not well in Narnia! There are enemies everywhere who are intent on stealing Christmas from us. They are Christ haters who are militant in their agenda to take Christ out of Christmas. You no doubt have seen the huge electronic billboard in Times Square which declares in bright colored lights, “Who needs Christ at Christmas? Nobody!” That is so reflective of the post-modern world we live in.
Well, I have a new take on that. Maybe the atheists are right- they and those of the secular media and the Wall Street merchandisers certainly do not need Christ to carry on the kind of winter solstice celebration they are marketing to the American public. It is all Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Jingle bells to those folks. There are no manger scenes needed or welcomed by those of the “Happy Holidays” spirit.
So, I have a suggestion. Let’s just give it to them. That’s right, why don’t we just give the secularist Christmas (or xmas as they want it.) We can do that you know! How about if the millions of Christ followers in this country start a movement to give the retailers, the atheists, the secularist, and such what they want- a Christ-less-xmas! We then find us a new day on the calendar in the springtime and create a Holy Week to celebrate both Christmas and Easter! Doing that, we can get rid of not just Santa Claus and Rudolph, but also the Easter bunny too! Some of you know the history of Christmas. December 25th was not, nor could be the birth date of baby Jesus. It is the birth date of the eastern god-Mithra; who was the god of the Roman armies and somehow was adopted by the Roman Church to appease the pagans. Jesus was assuredly born in the springtime during the lambing season. This explains why shepherds were watching over the lambs at night. So, Christmas had a faulty beginning and it seems it is simply returning to its pagan roots in a secular American society.
I’m serious! You probably think I’m nuts! However, the day is coming very soon when the December 25th day we call Christmas will have no Christ, no Manger, no Carols, and no mention whatsoever of the birth of Christ our savior and Lord. It will be Xmas without Christ, and we the church of the living God will have been squeezed out of our own holiday. The Jews will still have their Hanukkah, the Muslims will still have their Ramadan, and we’ll be left with nothing but an empty Xmas stocking!
So, let’s just walk away from it, and start our own CHRISTmas! There are many of us just as radical as I am! And I am radical about a true Christmas! So, till they outlaw it, greet all you see with a hearty, “Merry Christmas!”
