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lordship
rediscover Christmas (part 3 of 4)
summary
What is Christmas? It is not the holiday rush, or the songs we sing and the throngs we navigate. It is
a humble baby in a manger. Worship not the wrappings and trappings of the season, but the Christ of
Christmas.
introduction
I have a little quiz for you. Put up your hand if you think the following statements are true:
1. There are no records of Joseph speaking in the Christmas story.
True: He may have spoken at some point in his life, but there is absolutely no biblical
record of him speaking at all.
2. The wise men were three kings from the orient.
False: The number of wise men is not mentioned, nor is it stated that they were kings,
but astrologers, in actual fact.
3. The little drummer boy came to the manger after the other shepherds.
False: What little drummer boy? There is no mention of a drummer boy in the Bible.
4. The star did not appear above the manger.
True: It appeared above the house where Jesus, the “child”, and his family were then
living (Matthew 2:9-11).
5. Jesus' ancestors include a prostitute, an adulterer, a woman who committed
incest, and a non-Israelite.
True: Rahab was a prostitute, David & Uriah's wife were adulterers, Tamar & Judah
committed incest, and Ruth was from Moab (Matthew 1:3,5,6).
6. Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
False: A donkey does not appear any where in the Biblical account. She probably
walked.
7. Joseph married Mary immediately after the angel appeared to him.
True: His obedience was quick, cheerful and complete, despite the controversy of
Mary’s pregnancy (Matthew 1:18, 24; Luke 2:5).
8. When Herod heard about Jesus he was the only one concerned about this new
king.
False: All Jerusalem was disturbed by this news of a new king (Matthew 2:3).
9. God sent a choir of chubby angels to announce Jesus' birth to the shepherds.
False: Actually God sent an army of warrior angels (Luke 2:13).
10. After the angels announcement the shepherds went straight to Bethlehem to see
Jesus.
True: They were excited! They did not hesitate (Luke 2:15-16).
We may have failed to answer some of these questions correctly because our understanding of the
Christmas story has been shaped by the dominant culture, rather than it being the case that the
biblical record should shape our culture.
lordship
It is a natural process of culture that our beliefs and values our influenced and guided by the culture in
which we live. We learn from our parents, our teachers, and our coaches how to interpret the events
around us and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. That is their role in our life. They
instruct us in how to behave and to live (cf. Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:1-3). Hopefully, we learn from
them how to live well and right.
When we reach adolescence, we acquire the skills to think and choose for ourselves, as well as the
skills to compare and judge the beliefs and values of others. With these skills we form for ourselves a
worldview and a lifestyle, for better or for worse.
While we hope for pure and righteous role models, the fact is that culture represents the overarching
beliefs and values found in any given society and culture is shaped by the most persuasive voices.
Those voices may belong to politicians, lobby groups, media, artists, or even belong to anyone who
dares to speak up and out. In an open democracy, such as ours, everyone has a right to let their
voice and opinion heard, even if with some limitations.
What constitutes “persuasive”? Loudness? Persistence? Presentation? Power? In the end,
persuasiveness may be determined by any and all of these and other attributes.
How should Christians operate within the processes of culture? One might be forgiven for thinking
that we are to be passive and uninterested in the dominant culture. However, I believe that a stronger
biblical case can be made for actively engaging the culture in which we live and influencing it towards
holiness and righteousness before God (cf. Matthew 10:16; Luke 18:1-8; John 2:15-16; Romans 2:6-7).
If we believe that Jesus is Lord over his creation (Romans 10:9), should we not also believe that he
would want his followers to turn the tide of popular opinion towards recognising this fact (Matthew
28:18-20)?
Let us consider the example of Christmas. What is Christmas truly about in comparison to what
Christmas has become?
1In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the
first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be
registered. 4Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her
to deliver her child . 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in
a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)
Christmas is about a baby cast aside to be born in a manger, in a town of poor reputation. Yet, this
birth was noteworthy because he was born to a virgin, through the working and blessing of the Holy
Spirit, and for the purposes of God. God did not allow the census of the emperor nor the unavailability
of inns and rooms to interfere with his plan of peace, hope, joy, love, and salvation revealed in the birth
and life and death and life of this baby. No matter what the agents of culture try to heap onto this
foundational story, we need not be distracted from its truth and relevance. We need not be afraid to
reiterate the truth of this story so that it may take precedence.
The baby Jesus grew to be a king and a priest unlike any other. Appreciating these qualities of Jesus
opens our worldview to a perspective that transcends the ordinary and even the extraordinary into the
supernatural. This is what it means to say that with the birth of Jesus hope, peace, love, joy, and
salvation have come into the world. Without the birth of this baby at that time and in that place, we
have every reason to believe that hope, peace, love, joy, and salvation would not be possible, despite
all attempts to distract and pretend otherwise.
conclusion
The images that one occasionally finds, that depict Santa bowing before Jesus, put the season into its
proper perspective: Christmas is about Christ; Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, candy canes, trees, lights, and
turkey with all the trimmings are just optional, but pleasant, add-ons. When those add-ons distract
from the true meaning and spirit of the season, they become dangerous. When, in the midst of the
events and gift-exchanging pandemonium, we are able to reconnect with the hope, peace, joy, and
love of Christmas, then our salvation becomes that much more real to us.
Chris Seay wrote the following commentary on the video I used to open our worship this morning:
While studying at Baylor [university], I was serving as a part-time Pastor in Central Texas [...] my roommate,
Kevin Childress, and I [...] had invited a new friend, Jose, into our home on a regular basis to pray, read the
scriptures, and learn about faith in Christ. Under our tutelage Jose was growing in his new faith and we had
found a sincere friend. As Christmas approached we went out and splurged on dozens of gifts for Jose to give
to his children whom he had not seen in over a year. I was thinking what a hero Jose must have been when he
marched in with all these gifts for his estranged children. We helped facilitate a place of reconciliation in his
family, and isn’t that what Christmas is all about.
As these visions of spiritual sugarplums danced through my head I pulled into my driveway to find a Christmas
surprise —broken glass and blood. My front window was shattered and blood was everywhere, on the porch,
stairs, floor, bathroom, everywhere. And my worldly possessions were no longer there. I had been robbed. As
I sat in the rubble of my home, my friend Jose came up the stairs. He was drunk and was still bleeding from a
deep cut on his wrist. I hadn’t been burglarized; my friend Jose repaid my Christmas spirit with grand theft
larceny, and I was fuming.
I sent Jose away and started to clean the blood. I became angrier and speculated how someone I knew and
trusted could do this to us on Christmas day. I wondered what could have happened on Christmas morning
that led Jose to get drunk, break my window with his bare wrist and rob me blind. Apparently things didn’t go
so well with his kids. Jose like so many others spent the holidays alone, scared and depressed. Seven days
later I knocked on Jose’s door prepared to forgive him. Jose was dead.
These events didn’t feel very Christmas-y to me. I want the Macy’s parade, chocolate candy, mistletoe, and
carolling. But this new path of loving and being betrayed is really what Christmas is all about. That year
Christmas lost a lot of magic, but regained a lot of mystery, the mystery of the virgin birth, the incarnation,
God’s forgiveness and unfailing love.
How can we rediscover Christ as the centre of our Christmas in the midst of all possible distractions?
Remember that he is Lord and that his birth brought hope, peace, joy, love, and salvation into the
world. They are worth celebrating, more so than all the trappings.
sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 16 December 2007 at 10am
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