Dear Trekker,
Another (an other) Christmas is around the corner, one could say. Well, not really. There is no “other” Christmas because there is only one Christ and one birth event “introducing” Emanuel (“They shall call him Emanuel, God with us.”) to the created world. The Creator became the Created, a God-man, in the flesh of humanity! It cannot and needs not be repeated. It is a unique fact of history.
The word Christmas, or the “mass” (celebration, liturgy) of, by and for Christ, did not come into being until the fourth century. After Roman Emperor Constantine was “struck down” and converted to Christ, he decreed that Christ would be worshipped in the Roman world… and Christmas was born… but not the Christ. Christmas is man-made; the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb and is God made. Christmas is a religious and cultural word used over the centuries to commemorate the birth of the Christ child. Nothing more, nothing less!
And Christ didn’t come to form another religion. Love, not religion, was on His mind throughout eternity. He came as a baby, taught the absolute Truth of life as a man, and died a cruel, horrible death for “all sinners of the world” of which some of us believe we are the chief. Birth, life, death and resurrection are beautifully molded together in the plain Johanian repeated phrase from the lips of Jesus to Nicodemus, “God so loved the world (every person ever born throughout the endless tides of history) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life (life with no end, forever, in His presence, with Him throughout eternity).
Now… all of this is historical fact… disputed by some, but thankfully accepted and believed by millions over the last 2000 years. A religion, Christianity, has been built around the historical facts. The religion of Christianity gave rise to a political reality, Christendom. Other world religions, notably Islam, have spun off Christianity and the original historical fact of “God becoming man.” But, God becoming a man, was and forever will be a one-time 33-year event, a mere speck on the timeline of history, but the linchpin of all following. Earth-shattering, never to be repeated! (I smile in remembrance of a favorite quote attributed to theologian and acclaimed French diplomat of the Napoleonic era, Talleyrand, when asked by a young revolutionary how to start successfully a new religion. Talleyrand: “Son, I suggest you go out, get yourself crucified and rise again the third day.”)
So in 2015, trekker, let’s celebrate the fact of Christ’s birth as the pivotal point of all time. Let’s not get lost in cultural celebrations of the day, or arguing about the true meaning of Christmas. We know the Truth and the Truth has set us free.
What Christmas is and is not is critical indeed in this year of turmoil and strife around the world. Should we waffle on the uniqueness of our faith, we will likely fail to understand the term “freedom of religion” as used repeatedly in the history of our nation.
“Freedom of religion,” sought and pronounced in the founding documents of U.S. history, refers to the opportunity for all Americans to believe (or not believe) in the God-man and Scriptural message of His life, death and resurrection. The State should not or cannot mandate belief. Equally, the Church in America, in its many disparate forms of Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, is not to dictate to the State. Church and State are two separate national entities, interdependent in cultural practice, but legally separate. The USA is a secular nation legally, clearly however, an overwhelmingly Christian nation, culturally. Jewish citizens originally were a minute element, Muslims non-existent when American concepts were born and atheists generally closeted… all with minor exceptions. Without question, “freedom of religion” applied predominately to Judeo-Christian citizens across the land practicing their faith freely.
Even as I write, we as a nation are struggling with how inclusive our concept of “freedom of religion” should be. Should we allow any religious adherent of any persuasion refuge in the United States? Is separation of Church and State, as commonly accepted and desired in the USA, unique in the world? (As a matter of fact, it is! The Muslim world, for example, has no understanding of our Church/State relationship.) So how does “freedom of religion” mesh with our national security? It may not. Trekker, these are hot button issues today.
One other issue regarding “freedom of religion” we must underscore… the term does not imply and should never suggest that all religions are equally valid. To believe this is the bane of multi-culturalism run rampant! Why are not all religions valid? Simple… all are not representative of the Truth! And so we swing full-circle back to the uniqueness of Christ and Christmas among religions. There is no tomb for worship of a dead Jesus! We serve a risen Savior, who ascended into the heavens, and likewise, will return again in the future. God reached down to accept us and provide a way back to Himself. All other religions are looking up, trying to gain favor with “the God(s).” Never will happen. Futile!
Trekker, I want to close this month with words I read this morning from the late Brennan Manning: “The crisis of Christmas in the Christian community is truly a crisis of faith. Many of us will continue to ignore the invitation, dodge the Truth, evade reality, and postpone the decision about Jesus… which is a decision itself. Yet, Christmas is the birthday of the Son of God. What will separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the mystics from the romanticists this Christmas will be the depth and quality of our passion for Jesus. The insensitive will eat, drink and be merry; the cynical will follow social customs in a religious setting; the defeated will be haunted by ghosts from the past. But the victorious minority who are not intimated by the cultural patterns of the lock stepping, anonymous, and unbelieving majority will celebrate as though He was near… near in time, near in place, the witness of our motives, our speech, our behavior. As indeed He is!”
Trekker, may His presence fill your life anew this Christmas! Every day is a gift. That is why it is called the present! I wish you God’s best. He has given Himself to us all. May God the Holy Spirit draw you into the dance of the Trinity as never before. By God’s grace, we are free to believe the greatest story ever lived and told. Not only free to believe it, but free to live it by His power. Let us worship His majesty this Christmas!
Your friend and trekker buddy,
Jim Meredith