The Incarnation and the Resurrection

This is a photo that I took one Christmas Eve at St. Matthew's Church, Bedford New York. I love the simplicity of the candles, crucifix and poinsettias. The power of the colorful flowers remind me not only of Christmas, but in this picture make the tie of the Incarnation to the Resurrection.

The Date of Christmas

Once you've been in church long enough you start to hear things. These things come from the doubters. These people seem nice enough; they come to church religously, but their heart is not into church. Now mind you, they are not melicious. Unbenounce to these people, however, they say things that undermine the budding faith of many people. I ran into one of these people once, many years ago, and this person said to me, "You know, the date of Christmas is wrong." He was right, but not totally.

Early Christians weren't hung up on when Jesus came to save us. What was most important was that Jesus came.

It took several hundred years for the date of Christmas to land on December 25th. Here is what the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church says: Clement of Alexandria (150 - 215 A.D.) suggested May 2oth. The first evidence showing December 25th as the date for Jesus' birth was the year 336. The date of the 25th gained more usage and prominence once Constantine became Emperor. So for almost 1700 years, Christmas has been celebrated on the 25th and the benefit of this date is simply this: During the darkest time of the year, for those in the Northern Hemisphere, the light of the world brings light and joy to our souls.

The Three Christmas Gifts

When we uncouple Christmas gift-giving from the love of our family and friends, we can tie it to God's profound, radical, unique, special divine love. In seeing that our gifts are simply tangible, material symbols of God's love for us, a natural rethinking of gift-giving occurs.

A significant question arises: How many gifts do I give my children? We can seek out the Bible for an answer. The Scriptures gives us a simple answer. The wise men bring three gifts to Jesus.

In our affluent society, especially in times of economic troubles, three gifts to our children gives gift-giving biblical proportion. It is generous, yet not so generous as to spoil.

Our family has found that once the myth of Santa has been debunked, on the school bus or the lunch room, the "wise guys" keep the fun alive, all the while remaining a means to teach.

The Christmas Story

What amazes me about the Christmas story is how perfectly normal people, who try to live their lives as best they can, are brought together by God. They are brought together because in the birth of Jesus, we learn several important things.

First is that humans, all humans, even the lowest people on the social and economic ladder, which in the Christmas story were the shepherds, are loved by God. This means that all of us our loved by the Creator of the universe. Second is that all of us, no matter what we have done in our lives, are beyond salvation by God. Moreover, God brings together not just the world’s powerful people to do his work, but more often than not, he brings together the young and the outcast to see his workings happen in the world.

Third is that God doesn’t simply love us, but God has offers to us eternal life. Meaning that in his love and salvation, God will give eternal life to all.

Christmas is important to Christians because when we look out upon the vast night sky filled with star and galaxies, we have hope. Understanding that our earth is one planet in a solar system that is on the outskirts of a galaxy that is on the fringe of the universe, we have hope. Our hope rests in the fact that in a far away country, in a little town, in a small manger a young woman gave birth to the hope of the world. The hope was and is this: God loves us so much that he sent to our world his son as a baby, so that all of us no matter who were are or what we’ve done can still be loved by God.

Mary

I love Christmas and frankly, I don't care much for Advent. Why wait? Why hold back from saying, "Merry Christmas." It's not like we're waiting for the birth to occur. It's not like we have to patiently wait with the expectant mother. A birth is a risky thing, even in our modern times, but we know the birth will happen successfully. So I have a hard time waiting.

Like any expectant mother, I have to think that Mary must have had a hard time waiting, too. She had to leave home. What a thing to ask. No matter how spiritually mature she was, to leave her mother, other female relatives and friends must have been extremely tough. Many tears must have been shed. Now after riding alongside Joseph, they arrive in Bethlehem. We all know the story - "no room at the inn". With her hands pressed against her aching back, she must have been a sympathetic sight - "we've got a manger". Did she cry when she finally settled off her feet? She must have simply wanted the birth to happen: "Just get this baby out of me, please God."

For as much as we want our waiting to end, it is in the waiting that the growth occurs. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, I'll explore Joseph and the specialness of Christmas.

Bundled Satisfaction

It's hard to watch television these days without being overrun by someone trying to sell something for Christmas. A simple tree lighting ceremony is filled with entertainers selling their latest CD. Now I certainly am not naive to the reality of retail. I understand that the consumer industry is a vital part of our economy, especially in these troubled times.

However, no matter how many gifts we buy or how many gifts we give or receive, we'll never turn off that little voice in our head that says, "Is that all?" Like it or not, Christmas is not found in the gifts that we give each other. In order to find the true joy in Christmas, we need to uncouple love and gift-giving and recouple love to the divine love of God.

The true Christmas is not about "shopping, eating, gift-giving and being with loved ones" as one television announcer said this night, rather its about the little gift bundled in a manger some 2000 years ago. The baby Jesus is the only way to satisfy that little voice, because Jesus says to us, "Yes, I am all in all."

Tomorrow, I will explore how to bring Jesus and gift giving to our children together in a meaningful way.