For many people Christmas is perceived as a bother and a
chore. To be sure we once lived in a
country that was overtly Christian but now we are all heavily secularized. I suspect that many who will read this column
do not see the lustre in the Christmas story even if they once did. Perhaps for
a majority, the Nativity and all its trappings is merely a faint and distant
light.
Now for sure merchants love Christmas. Usually a third or
more of retail profits come because of Jesus and the manger. Or did I get that
wrong? Perhaps I should say because of
Santa and his sleigh full of gifts bought from these same retailers. But
some merchants and administrators are beginning to wonder if they can finally jettison
the heavy cargo of the Nativity. Witness what the managing team of the Stone Road
Mall tried to do only a few weeks ago—they attempted to off-load Jesus, Mary and
the whole scene. Some others as well
would like to get away from the word Christmas
completely, and just focus on the “happy holiday” aspect. With each passing
Christmas season we are increasingly waging the Christmas “wars”—some want this
season to be wholly secular, while others like me want to retain its spiritual
meaning.
But beyond the merchants, what about you who are presently
reading this article? Do you see the historical
story of Jesus’ birth in a manger as a wonderful truth? Do you pause, as shepherds
once did, to worship King Jesus with awe?
Or is the whole scene simply ho hum to the point of boredom?
Why have so many lost the wonder and the awe surrounding the
Nativity? Why are so many disillusioned with
Christmas? I would like to suggest six
possibilities:
1)
You may have been spiritually wounded and
confused by a pagan god in a red suit, big belly and long white beard who comes
bearing gifts.
2)
You may be one of those unlucky people who have
been conned into thinking the historic birth is nothing but myth. Isn’t it
ironic that an atheist group in New York City has a billboard urging people to “Keep
the Merry, Dump the Myth?” Yes, they want you to dump the historical Jesus and
embrace Santa. Please don’t believe the
lie. The truth is out there. Refind the
lustre. Dump Santa instead.
3)
You may be a name only Christian who shows up at
church on Christmas and Easter. Trust me, I’m not blaming you. There’s a really
good chance your mom and dad reared you to think that Jesus and his teaching didn’t
matter. Since the apple usually falls
close to the tree, you may loosely call yourselves a Christian, but in your
heart of hearts you don’t have the foggiest notion of what it means to follow
Christ. Sadly, you have been inoculated against experiencing the real
thing. How can you perceive the lustre
for the first time? Embrace Jesus.
4)
You may
have had a sincere belief in the past because you saw the light and the glory
around the baby called Jesus. But somewhere, sometime, someone in the church
profoundly hurt you and you turned away. You concluded falsely that it was all
humbug. And not really knowing what you
were doing you threw out the bathwater. Tragically you chucked out the true
God-who-came-in-flesh at the same time. No wonder the lustre is gone.
5)
You may see no lustre around the Baby in the
manger for you have willed to follow light that is no light at all. Jesus
warned that this would happen to some, “...Light has come into the world, but
men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” See and
embrace the ancient lustre—love not the darkness, love light.
6)
You may be one of those persons who truly
believes in the historical baby Jesus who was indeed born of a virgin. You know
in your heart it is true. You know that it happened as described in the ancient
trustworthy texts but somehow the intellectual knowledge of the truth has never
made it to your heart and your spirit.
You are not one who rejects the glorious shining of this true Baby who
came in the flesh— you simply do not perceive it. There is not likely any lustre in Christmas
for you for head knowledge without experience of personal faith remains but
head knowledge. Discover the lustre—trust
and confide in Jesus.
Guelph Mercury: December 22, 2012
Royal
Hamel is ordained with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and is a freelance
writer. He can be contacted at watchman2003@sympatico.ca
