Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays! A New Year's Resolution

Remember when folks used to gripe about those secular !$#@&*s literally Xing Christ out from Christmas? I wonder who was the first person to, perhaps sheepishly, point out that in fact, X works quite well as an abbreviation because it's the symbol for "chi" in Greek (the primary language of the New Testament) and is often used (by Christian theologians) as shorthand for Christ. So... even though most folks were likely just abbreviating, to the handful who were intentionally trying to secularize the spelling of Christmas on greeting cards... joke's on them.

Source: Patheos.com "Keep the X in Xmas"

Well, I haven't seen "Merry Xmas" in a long time. I suppose the usage has gone out of fashion. What is in fashion now, of course, is the more pluralistic (and festively alliterative) "Happy holidays!" The implementation of this phrase very well might have been a more widespread intentional attempt to secularize Christmas, or at least de-emphasize Christ and Christianity, as well as an attempt to recognize that Christmas is not the only holiday Americans celebrate this time of year. And while de-emphasizing Christ as an end in itself is something we should mourn and work against in our own traditions and habits, recognizing and honoring "the other" is extremely valuable.

Interestingly enough, the word holiday does the work of pluralism (which in its best form is an others-oriented understanding that Christians are for) better than secularism because the word means "holy day." It's inherently religious. We can certainly "set apart" days for activities we do not consider religious or spiritual, but as Christians we believe people are spiritual beings and our habits and traditions and holidays, whether candlelight services and family prayers or shopping and football, all shape and form us spiritually (for good or for ill... including hard-hearted church goers and feel-God's-pleasure football players).

In other words, as Christians, we believe everything is spiritual and secularization is a farce---a powerful deception perhaps, but a farce nonetheless. That being the case, it is our job to fight the farce not the fooled:

We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 The Voice)

How do we work to undo the unseen? Well... not by huffing and puffing so to blow happy holidays down. If we keep reading in Ephesians, Paul has some very anti-hot-air tips that include proclaiming peace and begin and end with "Pray always."

Jesus says when we proclaim that the Kingdom of Peace has come, we're not to blow the trumpet (that comes later) or let out a battle cry, we're to work behind the scenes where the real enemy is: "You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove" (Matthew 10:16 The Message).

So when it comes to the fight against the very real agenda of secularizing... well, everything, we might do better to be the hands and feet of Christ to neighbors and strangers, embodying the love-joy-peace (patience, kindness, goodness, self control) of Christ(mas) in the corners of the world we inhabit.

Every time I hear some well-meaning Christian bluster a vehement, pointed "Merry Christmas," usually to other Christians they assume agree that "Happy holidays" is inexcusable, I think, Mmmm, yes, that's the Christmas spirit. (I think this video from The Skit Guys pretty much sums it up: "Stuff Christians Say on Xmas.")

I realize Christmas was last week and this is mostly a moot point (until this time next year), but what if we prayerfully make it our New Year's resolution to take Ephesians 6 and Matthew 10 seriously? What if we reconsidered the so-called Culture Wars in general, from "Happy Holidays!" to Duck Dynasty, in the light of these passages? What would it look like to value wisdom and discernment over shouting matches and taking sides?

Let's keep Christ in Christmas, and in our hearts, by being everyday messengers of peace on earth, good will toward men (Luke 2:14 King James Version).

Christmas: Fear Not

On Christmas Eve, my mom and I went to the candlelight service at Christ Church Plano, where I regularly attend. It was beautiful, as always. Of the music that evening, my two favorites were Christina Rosetti's "Christmas Eve" (enjoy this performance by the choir and orchestra at First United Methodist in Denton) and the soprano soloist who sang the Wexford Carol. Divine. 

Can't beat this rendition by Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma.

The music, however, is not what I primarily wanted to share with you (though I couldn't help linking to videos of those ancient hymns). Classical choral music is a favorite of mine in general, and especially when it comes to Christmas music, so it's no surprise that I found the music from that evening impactful. 

Even more impactful for me that night was Father David's sermon; I found it fresh and refreshing, which is no small thing for a Christmas message. The text was familiar, Luke 2:8-14, where angels announce the birth of the Savior to lowly shepherds (imagine if when the 'Royal Baby' arrived the first birth announcements Kate and William sent went out to construction workers). "Fear not" are the first words proclaiming the birth of Jesus, and that's what Fr David focused on in his message. 

It was powerful. I'd never associated that particular instance of those words, "Fear not," with Jesus. Angles, far from being cute, must be terrifying because they always have to assure the recipients of their messages that they need not fear. So since angles are always saying something along the lines of "Fear not," I've never really thought anything of it; in this instance in Luke, I've always (accurately) associated those words with the messengers, but the (now obvious) connection to the Message, Jesus, never crossed my mind before.

"Fear not" was a beautiful message for me this Christmas Eve. I'm not an especially fearful person by nature, but Christmas is not my most favorite time of the year; this year in particular has asked a lot of this introvert. In addition to the socially and emotionally taxing elements of the holiday, Christmas has, in my view, never quite been able to stand up to the power of Easter. I have a difficult time really understanding the point of Christmas, which is terrible, I know... and probably has more to do with the family drama that can often surround my holiday season more than anything else.

Well, all that is to say, "Fear not" is a good Christmastide message for me, but it is also a good reminder of the anti-fear Life Christ came to bring to those who cry out to him for Peace any day of the year.

For these reasons I wanted to share this message with you all... on the off chance that I'm not alone in my reason-for-the-season struggle.

(Click here for HD.)

Merry Christmas season---Peace on Earth.

How I Found the Christmas Spirit, Again

Last week, while I sat at the piano practicing music for church, I was already getting tired of Christmas.
Actually, it's not Christmas, itself, but the people who make every holiday season such a battlefield.

I've been hearing news stories from angry people about the color of Santa's skin. Apparently, that's worth fighting about. And there are people who loudly complain about the holiday because they want to discredit Christianity, not realizing that their complaints are exactly what makes it hard to enjoy this time of year. Instead of wishing for peace on earth, it seems like everyone around me is trying to find a reason to gripe at someone.

Then, the band started the next song. I played the notes like I was supposed to and focused on the tempo and the music. Normally, I don't notice the lyrics while I'm just playing an instrument, but one line of the song stood out, as it always does:

"In His name, all oppression shall cease."

This is what Christmas is all about. In a dirty barn there was a child born, a child named Jesus who was the Son of God. And in His name, all oppression shall cease. All oppression.

Look at what's burdening our terrible world. Poverty. Criminal warlords. Child soldiers dying for corrupt leaders. In our hearts we all know that these things are wrong, and at Christmas time we remember that it will pass away while working to solve the problem as well as we can on our own.

What about our own lives - what oppresses you? Physical pain? Bills? Loneliness? Bullies? It's not going to go on forever.

What about me? I wonder if I'm living up to my potential after the mistakes I've made. I can't seem to fix all of the problems around me. Issues from my past still haunt me. Our culture is divided by people who look for excuses to say hateful things about each other, and it makes me feel useless that I can only stand by and watch. I am told that I am "what's wrong with the world" because I refuse to take sides and be spiteful to people I disagree with. I'm getting used to the idea of spending my life being hated by people on both sides of every debate. But in His name, all oppression shall cease.

This is why Christmas matters. I love giving presents to my family, drinking cider, and decorating with greenery, but that stuff is just for fun. (And there's nothing wrong with that.) The real miracle is remembering that our broken world will be redeemed.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God...

...who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry. 

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. -Psalm 146

Something to Think About Before Getting Angry at A&E

I don't enjoy much of what's on TV.  I watch the Cowboys about sixteen times a season (I'm not exactly sure how much I enjoy that), and that's nearly half of the TV time I put in for an entire year. I've never had cable in my home. (I'm not counting Netflix.)

But I do know that there's a show about bearded guys called Duck Dynasty and that they've managed to be the most popular cable show in the history of TV. I can't avoid reading that in the news. And I certainly can't avoid hearing about one of the actors from the show getting canned for saying homosexuality makes no sense to him because he likes vaginas more than anuses. His crass (but honest) words offended enough people that A&E decided to part ways with him.

I haven't watched A&E since the Colombo marathons of my childhood at my grandparent's house, but I'm not surprised that, like every other station, they've learned that "reality" TV (filming scripted shows with cheap equipment and little rehearsal) is more profitable than older forms of entertainment. People latch on to those characters and connect with them in a deep way, so firing a show's star can be taken very personally by the fans. It feels, to them, like it happened to a friend or a real person instead of an actor who is independently wealthy.

But all of us would do the same thing to an employee. Imagine if you paid someone to work for you and found them saying offensive things to customers. If you are a Christian, imagine running a faith-based television station; would you want someone to work for you if they publicly promoted atheism? Christians already do this sort of thing when they do business exclusively with other Believers. There are towns where your business will tank of the locals find out that you don't go to church - how is that different from A&E firing Phil Robertson over a philosophical disagreement? A lot of people in the business world can tell you stories about missing out on a sale only because they didn't go to the same church as the potential customer.

You might think it's tacky for A&E to do this, but it's no different than the decisions we make all the time to fraternize with people who are similar to us. If this sort of thing makes you upset, I recommend you start your own TV station and hire Robertson to be on a new reality show. It would probably be a hit, and if one of your actors promoted Baal worship you could fire them.