Recently, news reporters have been talking about the backlog of ships and shipping containers in American ports. Freighters have been moored offshore from Long Beach, California, up to Seattle, Washington, waiting for an opening at the docks so they can unload their cargoes. This crisis in the supply chain has resulted in the scarcity and unavailability of many products which would normally line our stores’ shelves, or fill online retailers’ warehouses.
Lamenting these supply problems, various reporters and politicians have complained that because of the lack of toys and other gifts, there might not be a Christmas this year. What?! No Christmas?! What a disaster! Please say it isn’t true!
Well, of course it isn’t true. The arrival, and even celebration, of Christmas will not depend on whether we can buy and give a new game console, a new doll, a bike, a PajamaGram® outfit, or even a recycled fruitcake. Christmas is not dependent on any of our gift-giving, because what we celebrate on this special day is the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
You can find many written histories of the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The first Christians celebrated Easter rather than Christmas, because Christ’s resurrection, and its meaning for our own eternal lives, was what was so important and made the faith so powerful. It wasn’t until the 400s when Pope Julius I declared it and set the date of December 25 for the celebration, that it became a Christian holiday and a “Christ Mass” was observed. Much has been made of the fact that he chose the date to co-opt the pagan winter celebration called Saturnalia (especially by present-day atheists), but I think that celebrating Christ’s birth is better than worshiping a so-called “god” called Saturn.
Soon, the celebration of The Feast of the Nativity spread throughout Christendom, from Egypt to England, from Germany to Spain, and eventually to the Americas, once we were discovered and settled by European Christians. The English in Jamestown, Virginia, for example, celebrated Christmas in the 1600s, and in the 1700s the Dutch settlers did so in New Amsterdam (now known as New York), introducing Sinter Klaas in the process (guess who?). Then came Washington Irving’s stories about English Christmas traditions, Clement Moore’s An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas (aka ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas), and Thomas Nast’s cartoon rendering of the portly gift-giver. The Germans (thanks to Martin Luther) introduced Christmas trees (Tannenbaums), and here we are, celebrating Christmas in America. (Note: the NSA and FBI are still working to uncover who first introduced fruitcakes. . .)
Of course, not everyone has celebrated the religious aspects of Christmas, though many non-believers enjoy the winter holiday aspects of the season, the lights, the gift-giving, and the family gatherings. But certain Christian groups and sects also have forbidden such celebrations. For example, the English Puritans under Oliver Cromwell cancelled Christmas, due to its raucous nature at that time (1645). Likewise, the Pilgrims who came to America refused to celebrate Christmas; from 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston, at a penalty of five shillings for any violation. For the next two hundred years, very little was made of Christmas in the U.S., until June of 1870, when it became a federal holiday.
Today there are hundreds of Christmas carols, hymns, and popular songs that celebrate Christmas, even though many are more winter-holiday focused (Frosty the Snowman, anyone?). Truly, Christmas is a richly blessed celebration, much enjoyed by many, many people of all ages, full of fun, food, fellowship, and fruitcake. Then there are movies, television specials, music, decorations, and of course, worship services. Karen and I really love this holiday, even with all its excesses, and would hate to see it go away.
But the wonderful truth is that Christmas can never be cancelled, because it already happened. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, was born in a Bethlehem stable over two thousand years ago and laid in a manger. The eternal God and Creator of all things humbled himself and entered the world he created as one of us, to bear our sins on the cross and win salvation for us. Philippians 2:5-11 is one of my favorite passages in all Scripture:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This historical event really occurred in time and space, and cannot be erased, no matter what we have on hand to celebrate it. Do we need music, gaily-decorated evergreen trees, outside lights, blown-up Santa figures on our lawns, stockings on our mantle, eggnog, or a certain fruit-filled cake? Do we need big dinners, new clothes, and expensive gifts? Do we need foggy Christmas Eves or White Christmases? Do we need all those container ships to be unloaded in time for us to have Christmas?
The answer to all these questions is, of course, “No!” Not one of those things is essential to the Christmas event, nor to our celebration of it. What is essential is that the Son of God was born as one of us, lived, and died on the cross after teaching us the Gospel of forgiveness for our sins, and giving us the hope of eternal life. What matters is that we believe in that same Jesus Christ, and acknowledge that he is our God and Savior.
Romans 10:9 says, ” . . . because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Many billions of people have been born, but only one came into the world to save us, and it is his birthday we celebrate.
Luke 1:35, “And the angel answered [Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.'”
Luke 2:10-11, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”
Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
1 John 4:9-10, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Therefore, we can shrug our shoulders at the absence of gifts, cancel our parties, serve crackers and water, turn off the TV and our music, dress in sweatshirts and sweatpants, and stare at our bare walls and empty tree stands, . . . and still have a great Christmas celebrating the birth of the Savior of mankind. Supply chain worries? Bah, humbug!
May you and yours have a happy and blessed Christmas this year, and always!
And may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20.
P.S. PajamaGram® did not sponsor my blog. Nor have I recently recycled any fruitcakes.