To be perfectly honest, I'm not exactly sure what to make of the idea that some larger churches have decided to cancel worship services on Christmas Day which happens to fall on Sunday this year. To cancel services on Sunday AT ALL is a little beyond anything reasonable. To cancel services on Sunday that falls on the same day as what used to be considered a "holy" day is somewhat over the top.
I have considered the notion of some scholars who claim that Jesus could not have possibly been born on December 25, given some of the biblical passages that suggest to them that the actual time of His birth would have had to have been sometime between mid-March and mid-April. So with this information (and I am in no position to question it), what harm is there in not having services on Christmas Day?
Many Protestant traditions have never had services on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve ever. So which takes precedence: the Sabbath or the "holy day"? Or is this even a reasonable question?
The Bible gives us no specific date for Christmas and, in fact, does not give us "Christmas" at all. I found a website that specifically refutes Christmas according to their understanding of the Bible, but I refuse to share that website because of some its highly questionable and downright hateful comments about the Catholic Church, in fact any church or person who does not agree with them. Notwithstanding their hatefulness, they make some compelling arguments AGAINST celebrating Christmas at all, at least not in the way we have come to celebrate it.
Baylor University offers some "quick facts" about Christmas origins, including the idea that the early Church infused some elements of pagan worship into Christian practices as a way of converting them to Christianity. Was this a step in the right direction, or has it been a 1700-year step backward?
During a time when we should be mindful of a wondrous Gift to mankind; a time that should be promoting peace, good will, and hope; we are doing nothing more than being extremely anti-Christmas. Does it matter what we call a particular tree at a particular time of year? Does it matter that the birth of Christ has come to be celebrated during what used to be a pagan feast of the Roman god Saturn?
We live in a pagan, if secular, world now. How do our contemporary celebrations of Christmas continue in the early, even questionable, traditions of seeking to convert non-believers to the Gospel? I seriously doubt that this is even our focus anymore. Consider the so-called "megachurches" that prefer their followers to spend time with their families this Sabbath Christmas instead of attending worship services. What does this mindset have to do with the "holy"? That we might make a choice between being with our families instead of attending worship seems to fly in the face of Jesus' own words, "If any love father or mother more than Me, they are not worth of Me."
It seems to me that there is much more to this holiday season than to simply worry about "Christmas" and the fond traditions we've come to love. With all our fighting and arguing, it is easy to see how eager we are to embrace man-made traditions and condemn any who disagree with us as heretical. Is it not a little ironic that many of the traditions we've come to embrace as "holy" were once pagan? Or could this adoption of the past and somewhat less-than-holy be likened to Peter's conflict with eating "unclean" food?
If we are to celebrate the SPIRIT of Christmas, we can surely do better than this.
2 comments:
I find it interesting not only that these megachurches cancelled their services, but that in spite of the outcry of criticism, they have not seen the error of their ways and re-instated Sunday worship. Apparently their members agree with the decision. A pity.
In other news, Christians in China are imprisoned for their faith, and sometimes even killed. What a difference in faith.
I've often pointed out to my congregation how easy it is to be a Christian in America. Not much risk here to be had.
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