Merry Christmas! And indeed, I hope it is just that: merry. For what we celebrate this day is the hope of the gospel. And that hope should make us glad, and it is right that we praise God on this day. The gospel is a beautiful thing; in large part because it explains to us the condition of the world and of our own souls: broken. And were we to only know that part of the gospel, it would not be good news at all. But, no matter the pain we know because of the fallen world we live in, no matter the trials and burdens we face now, today we see the part of the story that follows the account of sin; today we celebrate a very hopeful event. Or as the angel said,
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11)."
GREAT JOY! Or, "Behold, in the midst of the sinfulness and depravity of this world, I bring you GOOD NEWS which should be the cause for you to REJOICE GREATLY!" And what I love about God and they way He does things, is that he doesn't do things the way we expect him to. He sends us the Savior, but he's found on a bed of animal food. Jesus steps down out of his place of glory and true wealth into poverty in the world he created. The one God promised would set his people free, for once and for all, came. And it was kind of a conspiracy. At least, I'm sure if you talked to Herod or the magi you would get that impression.
As I was leading our youth Sunday school at Eternal this past Sunday, I told them that Christmas should really bring to mind 3 specific points in history: Jesus' birth, his death and resurrection, and his second coming. And all three call for great rejoicing. For if Jesus had never come, the world would probably be at least a thousand times worse than it is today, if he had never died and resurrected, we'd either be sacrificing a lot more animals, or we would be eternally screwed, and if he is never coming back, then I'd ask why he even came in the first place. But he is coming back, and it will be quite the event:
"11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
And so we rejoice. REJOICE! Not because life is peachy and nice and you have no problems. We rejoice because despite the pain, despite our sin, despite the seeming hopelessness of the world, Jesus is greater, and He has authority, and as sure as He has come and died and risen again, He is coming again, and He will make everything right. And for now we REJOICE! because Jesus did come as a baby, and his life, death and resurrection brought about what Paul called the mystery of the gospel, or "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ. In us. How do we have any excuse not to rejoice? Our God is abundantly good. That is was Christmas is about.
So I pray that your Christmas day is one of great rejoicing and praise. And Christmas carols are often a great way of doing that, as many of them are full of the message of the gospel and it's hope. Merry Christmas my friends, merry Christmas indeed.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
If you move the "n" in "Santa" to the end of the word, what does that spell?
Satan. That's right folks, it gives you the name most commonly attributed to our enemy, the father of lies, the one who seeks to steal, kill and destroy. He prowls around like a lion (think Scar from the Lion King--who is actually not a half-bad analogous lion--and not Aslan, because that's Jesus), searching for souls to feed upon. And other times, he comes cleverly disguised like a cheery old fat man, dressed in a red suit and sporting copious amounts of white facial hair ("Angel of light" anyone?).
About now seems the appropriate time to say, "Don't worry, I'm not actually saying that Santa IS Satan." And while that isn't really what I'm saying, (after all, Santa, at least the one of the North Pole and flying reindeer, is merely a fictive character) I do think it is fair to say that Santa is a pretty effective puppet for Satan. John Piper puts it this way:
" 'Religion is the opiate of the people.' That statement is not simply classic Marxism. It is classic American materialism. The difference is that American materialism doesn't outlaw religion; it imitates it and then uses it. That is the real meaning of Santa Claus."
But Santa can't be all bad, right? I mean, he must have some redeeming qualities.... But consider the following story from my fiancee's CRTW (Critical Reading, Thinking and Writing) class:
"There was a lot of discussion and murmuring on both sides of the issue. Disturbingly, though, the only solid reasons people could give in favor of telling your children the myth of Santa was that they would be that one kid in the class who knew the truth, and they may tell other kids that they're believing a lie. Oh, what a travesty! There were no arguments for the benefits of telling them about Santa except that they may not be able to conform to the world at a young age."
Now, I realize that this example isn't the end all be all of the argument. For instance, one might argue that Santa helps to engender creativity and imagination in children. But really? Santa? Is that the best we have? And the thing is, we don't present him as imaginary but as a real, primary figure of Christmas. Which I guess you could argue isn't a big deal since we jacked the holiday from the pagans anyway. But if creativity is what you are going for, check out some Dr. Suess or other excellent literature like Where the Wild Things Are or The Chronicles of Narnia. Or just find some other creative outlet, be it music, acting, theater, what have you, but please, PLEASE don't settle for a culturally defined, socially acceptable (really crappy) imitation of the greatest gift-giver that has ever lived on the earth:
"The true meaning of Christmas—that God sent his Son into the world to save us from our evil hearts of sin (Matthew 1:21), and to destroy the works of the devil in our habits and homes and schools and workplaces (1 John 3:8), and to rescue us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10)—that meaning of Christmas is unacceptable to the spirit of this world. But the impact of the truth of the incarnation is so undeniable after 2,000 years of influence, that the god of this world behind American materialism cannot oppose it outright, but simply imitates it with Santa Claus and a hundred other trappings in order to direct the religious impulses of the masses into economically profitable channels."
And sometimes, the things that are close to the truth lead us the furthest away. (See: prosperity gospel, Mormonism, Emergent theology, etc.)
What about St. Nicholas? Well, he wasn't really as big as Santa was on instilling moral legalism, but rather focused on helping the poor. He loved Jesus, suffered for his faith, and gave gifts to poor children. So if you think children need to know about an old man around Christmas time, give them a story worth hearing. And use that to point them to an even better story: the gospel. Katie says it well:
"All kidding aside, what are we learning by promoting Santa? If you are good you get presents and if you're bad you get coal. This Santa knows what you're doing at all times, knows when you cry and when you laugh, everything. What are we teaching our kids, really? That in order to receive gifts you must present yourself worthy? I would much rather my kids believe they received gifts because they are loved, not because they were "good" enough. No wonder we have a complex over whether or not God loves us. We have been taught since birth that only the "good" kids get shown love and the others get crap thrown at them. May it never be said that God treats His children that way. He loves beyond our disobedience. He is faithful beyond our unfaithfulness. Praise God for He is a good father, very unlike our Santa Claus."
Addendum: To be fair, I realize that not everyone is going to want to "kill Santa," and how we present him to children makes a big impact on the type of influence he will have on them. So here is where I offer you a link to some other ideas about what to do with Santa, via the brilliant mind of Jon Acuff (You should subscribe to his blog. Really...go do it). My main point here is to get us to think twice about the patron saint of American pop culture, before we just embrace him wholeheartedly. The devil is a crafty (hence the serpent), and I think it is important that we remember that the Church is at war here on Earth.
Second Addendum: I saw this quote and I thought it was funny. It is from someone who commented on a John Piper status about the "prosperity gospel": "prosperity gospel. almost the same as believing in santa."
Third Addendum: And maybe the most important of them. Here is a website that I think helps to give a better perspective on Christmas. From what I've seen in it so far, it's pretty solid, so go visit the Advent Conspiracy.
About now seems the appropriate time to say, "Don't worry, I'm not actually saying that Santa IS Satan." And while that isn't really what I'm saying, (after all, Santa, at least the one of the North Pole and flying reindeer, is merely a fictive character) I do think it is fair to say that Santa is a pretty effective puppet for Satan. John Piper puts it this way:
" 'Religion is the opiate of the people.' That statement is not simply classic Marxism. It is classic American materialism. The difference is that American materialism doesn't outlaw religion; it imitates it and then uses it. That is the real meaning of Santa Claus."
But Santa can't be all bad, right? I mean, he must have some redeeming qualities.... But consider the following story from my fiancee's CRTW (Critical Reading, Thinking and Writing) class:
"There was a lot of discussion and murmuring on both sides of the issue. Disturbingly, though, the only solid reasons people could give in favor of telling your children the myth of Santa was that they would be that one kid in the class who knew the truth, and they may tell other kids that they're believing a lie. Oh, what a travesty! There were no arguments for the benefits of telling them about Santa except that they may not be able to conform to the world at a young age."
Now, I realize that this example isn't the end all be all of the argument. For instance, one might argue that Santa helps to engender creativity and imagination in children. But really? Santa? Is that the best we have? And the thing is, we don't present him as imaginary but as a real, primary figure of Christmas. Which I guess you could argue isn't a big deal since we jacked the holiday from the pagans anyway. But if creativity is what you are going for, check out some Dr. Suess or other excellent literature like Where the Wild Things Are or The Chronicles of Narnia. Or just find some other creative outlet, be it music, acting, theater, what have you, but please, PLEASE don't settle for a culturally defined, socially acceptable (really crappy) imitation of the greatest gift-giver that has ever lived on the earth:
"The true meaning of Christmas—that God sent his Son into the world to save us from our evil hearts of sin (Matthew 1:21), and to destroy the works of the devil in our habits and homes and schools and workplaces (1 John 3:8), and to rescue us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10)—that meaning of Christmas is unacceptable to the spirit of this world. But the impact of the truth of the incarnation is so undeniable after 2,000 years of influence, that the god of this world behind American materialism cannot oppose it outright, but simply imitates it with Santa Claus and a hundred other trappings in order to direct the religious impulses of the masses into economically profitable channels."
And sometimes, the things that are close to the truth lead us the furthest away. (See: prosperity gospel, Mormonism, Emergent theology, etc.)
What about St. Nicholas? Well, he wasn't really as big as Santa was on instilling moral legalism, but rather focused on helping the poor. He loved Jesus, suffered for his faith, and gave gifts to poor children. So if you think children need to know about an old man around Christmas time, give them a story worth hearing. And use that to point them to an even better story: the gospel. Katie says it well:
"All kidding aside, what are we learning by promoting Santa? If you are good you get presents and if you're bad you get coal. This Santa knows what you're doing at all times, knows when you cry and when you laugh, everything. What are we teaching our kids, really? That in order to receive gifts you must present yourself worthy? I would much rather my kids believe they received gifts because they are loved, not because they were "good" enough. No wonder we have a complex over whether or not God loves us. We have been taught since birth that only the "good" kids get shown love and the others get crap thrown at them. May it never be said that God treats His children that way. He loves beyond our disobedience. He is faithful beyond our unfaithfulness. Praise God for He is a good father, very unlike our Santa Claus."
Addendum: To be fair, I realize that not everyone is going to want to "kill Santa," and how we present him to children makes a big impact on the type of influence he will have on them. So here is where I offer you a link to some other ideas about what to do with Santa, via the brilliant mind of Jon Acuff (You should subscribe to his blog. Really...go do it). My main point here is to get us to think twice about the patron saint of American pop culture, before we just embrace him wholeheartedly. The devil is a crafty (hence the serpent), and I think it is important that we remember that the Church is at war here on Earth.
Second Addendum: I saw this quote and I thought it was funny. It is from someone who commented on a John Piper status about the "prosperity gospel": "prosperity gospel. almost the same as believing in santa."
Third Addendum: And maybe the most important of them. Here is a website that I think helps to give a better perspective on Christmas. From what I've seen in it so far, it's pretty solid, so go visit the Advent Conspiracy.
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