A Christmas Out of Context
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And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Who has a Christmas tree up in their homes today?
Why? I’m not condemning it, I have one. But why?
Did you ever wonder why we put up Christmas trees in our homes?
What does the tree even represent? How did it become a tradition associated with a Christian holiday?
If you search it out (not Wikipedia, reliable sources), you will find host of stories about the origins of the Christmas tree. Let’s talk about a few of those.
And to be clear, I am not agreeing or disagreeing with any of these, even the use of Scripture to defend some of these views. I am just telling you the claims that are out there.
Like, many people will tell you that is has its origin in Pagan customs:
Like the Christmas tree custom has its roots in the pagan tradition of hanging evergreen boughs over doors and windows because they were believed to keep witches, ghosts, and evil spirits away.
The shortest day of the year falls on the first day of winter. People used to believe that the sun was a god, and that winter came every year because he got sick and lost his strength.
People would put out evergreens in the winter because they believed it would remind the sun god of all the green plants that would grow again if he would get strong. And they were always rewarded because the days would always get longer, and that meant that the sun god was getting better.
Some say it came from:
The Roman celebration of Saturnalia
Some Celtic druid ceremonies of winter
The Viking celebration of their God Balder
But how did any of this make its way into a Christian holiday? Well, there are theories that bridge that gap for us:
The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life during the winter is a custom that dates back to ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians worshiped a god named Ra, their sun god. In winter, the days would get shorter because Ra was sick.
When Ra was recovering from his illness, when immediately after the solstice the days would begin to get longer, the Egyptians decorated with palm and other green trees in their homes to celebrate Ra’s recovery, symbolizing life's triumph over death. This worship using evergreens was adopted by Israel when they spent all those centuries in Egypt, hence God’s admonition of the Israelites over and over again for worshiping trees:
“For long ago I broke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ‘I will not serve.’
Yes, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down like a whore.
The Jews picked up this tradition from the Egyptians, and this carried over into Christianity, because the early church was primarily Jewish.
Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans - as it has been for almost every pagan society. Evergreen trees would be worshipped in the winter because - well, they were special because they were still alive - they had the power, and so only they would help keep evil spirits away. And as the story goes, this tradition survived the conversion of those superstitious Europeans to Christianity in the decorating of their houses with evergreens in winter, not to scare away ghosts and goblins, but to scare away Satan...
Totally Christian!
And because of these supposed pagan roots (pun intended), throughout the ages, using trees and wreaths and boughs of holly was condemned by many Christians.
They would claim that Christians shouldn’t have Christmas trees, because of its pagan roots, and because, they say, the Bible expressly forbids adopting this pagan custom of winter trees. Like in Jeremiah 10, where we read:
Jeremiah 10:1–4 (ESV)
Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens [that is, the changing of the seasons]
because the nations are dismayed at them,
for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
They decorate it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
So do Christians have any alternative claims to the origin of the Christmas tree?
Of course we do. Many, in fact. I’ll offer you just a couple.
The modern Christmas tree originated in western Europe. The main prop of a popular medieval play about Adam and Eve was a “paradise tree,” a fir tree hung with apples, that represented the Garden of Eden. The Germans set up a paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve.
In the same room was the “Christmas pyramid,” a triangular construction of wood that had shelves to hold Christmas figurines and was decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star on top. By the 16th century the Christmas pyramid and the paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.
I love this story and wish it were definitively true:
St. Boniface was a Benedictine monk who lived in the 8th century.
From his missionary travels throughout Germany, Boniface knew that in winter the inhabitants of the village of Geismar gathered around a huge old oak tree (known as the “Thunder Oak”) dedicated to the god Thor. This annual event of worship centered on sacrificing a human, usually a small child, to the pagan god on - you guessed it - December 24th.
Boniface wanted to convert the village by destroying the Thunder Oak, which the pagans believes could not be destroyed by the God of the Bible. So, St. Boniface gathered a crew on December 24th, and went to Geismar.
As they approached the pagan gathering he raised his axe and said,
“Here is the Thunder Oak; and here is the cross of Christ that shall break the hammer of the false god Thor.”
Boniface and his friends arrived just as the sacrifice was about to be made. Boniface interrupted the ceremony, took his axe and chopped down the Thunder Oak of mighty Thor.
And the people are just floored! They cant believe their god lost!
Behind the big oak tree was a little fir tree. And Boniface pointed to the tree and said to the Germans:
“This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.”
Awed by the destruction of the oak tree and Boniface’s preaching, the Germans were converted, and always put fir trees in their homes on December 24th. And that’s why we have Christmas trees in our homes.
So where do Christmas trees come from?
Mine came from Franklin Farms in Belleville.
The point is, it doesn’t matter what the origin of Christmas trees is. Does anyone here put them up thinking of
ancient Egypt
vikings
evil spirits
St. Boniface
OK, then. Why do you put up a Christmas tree every year?
Well, if you do it for the same reason I do, you do it… well… because that’s just what you do on Christmas. That’s what many of us do. I mean, it’s what every Christian, every false Christian, and almost every atheist do every year.
Your family did it when you were a kid, so you do it. And your kids will do it because you do it, which you do because your family did it - and do you know why they did it? Yes, because their families did it.
And don’t get me wrong, family traditions are great, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping them on Christmas. I am still going to put up a tree every year.
But for us - for believers in Christ - for those who know what today is really about - shouldn’t we be more intentional about today than the atheists who put up trees just like we do?
And of course, the tree is just part of it, but it is an easy object lesson to get us thinking about why we - as Christians - do what we do to celebrate Christmas?
Shouldn’t we celebrate Christmas in its proper context?
As you all know, I am a big Bible guy. It’s kinda an important part of being a pastor, right? Well, I am a staunch believer that to understand any verse, any passage, any chapter, any book - even either Testament - that you have to understand it in its proper context.
We can’t cherry pick our favorite verses out of the Bible and make them mean what we want - like taking a verse about the plan God has to preserve a people for Himself through exile and using it to mean we should be encouraged when we lose our job or don’t make the team - Jeremiah 29:11.
We can’t take a verse that means we can and should endure suffering for the sake of Christ and make it mean we can finish a marathon if we really try - Philippians 4:13
In the same way, like the atheist, and like the nominal Christian, we, brothers and sisters, tend to take Christmas out of context. When we look at our traditions on Christmas, and our expectations of Christmas, and for many - all the tireless work we put in to make Christmas just right for everyone else - why do we do it?
Is this season about celebrating our Savior coming into the world? I know it is in here. But what about out there? What about in our own homes and our own families?
Does what Upton Sinclair said apply to us?
“Consider Christmas—could Satan in his most malignant mood have devised a worse combination of [greed plus nonsense] than the system whereby several hundred million people get billion[s] [of] gifts for which they have no use, and some thousands of shop clerks die of exhaustion while selling them, and every [person] in the Western world is made ill from overeating—all in the name of…Jesus?” - Upton Sinclair
Why do we do what we do?
Because this goes beyond Christmas. I mean, if we could all stop before we act in any and every situation and ask ourselves “as a Christian, why should I act in this situation? What does Christ have to do with this?” well, regrets would all but disappear and the light of Jesus would shine brighter than ever.
But here’s the problem: there are distractions out there. Who has time to think before we act in every situation?
There are other people out there. Need I say more? There are people who are rude, people who are clueless as to what’s going on around them, people who lie, people who are selfish, people who don’t do what they are supposed to do, people who can’t drive and always wind up in front of me.
There are situations out there that make us angry, that make us defensive, that make us want to crawl into a hole and just be left alone, or worse, punch someone in the face.
I mean, come on! In light of what goes on out there, Who expects me to act like a Christian all the time?
And so on Christmas, there are distractions aplenty. There are gifts to buy, cards to send (don’t get me started on that one again), there are meals to plan, there are friends and family to see, there are decorations to put up - the list goes on and on. Who has time to really make Christmas about Christ?
Well, since Christmas is on a Sunday this year, we do.
Let’s take a step back for a moment. I want everybody to take a deep breath.
Let’s put out of our minds for just a moment all those things we have to do after service today, because you know we’re all thinking about them. Don’t worry about them, they’ll happen just fine.
Don’t be anxious about Christmas dinner, for Christmas dinner will be anxious for itself.
And now let’s focus on what Christmas is really about. Christmas is about God fulfilling His promises in Christ.
Christmas is about promises made and promises kept.
As Paul said during his trial before Agrippa:
And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers,
And that promise is Jesus.
Think back to Christmas as a kid. Was there a better time of year?
Think about the wonderful promise that Christmas represented then. No, it probably wasn’t about Christ, but Christmas was a magical season of promise and anticipation.
And as the time drew nearer, the anticipation grew. And then Christmas morning, all the anticipation ends, and hopes of children all over the world are realized. It’s the one day a year that you don’t have to struggle to get your kids out of bed. They’re up at 5:00 AM - “is it time yet?”
Now think of the world as it was leading up to that first Christmas. Now, it probably wasn’t in December, but that’s beside the point.
Think of the world in those last few days leading up to Christ’s birth. I mean, nobody but Joseph and Mary knew Christmas was coming. It wasn’t a thing yet. But what was the world like in those days leading up to Christ’s birth?
Well, it was a time that was dominated by politics. Augustus Caesar had turned Rome - which ruled the known world - from a republic to an empire. He was taking a census in all the lands he ruled. Most people were pretty put out by this.
But that’s how it was: most people were subject to the whims of a government that didn’t have the people’s best interests in mind at all.
It was also a time of great sexual sin.
Marriage was for the purposes of legally procreating. Divorce was common and affairs were the norm. In fact, men were allowed to have sex with pretty much anyone they wanted. As long as the woman wasn’t married to another Roman citizen, it wasn’t adultery.
That’s why Julius Caesar’s affair with Cleopatra was done so publicly. She wasn’t married to a Roman, so she was fair game.
Or, if it was a male with a male, just make sure the boy was at least 14.
So marriage meant very little, and sexual gratification - no matter how depraved - was not just tolerated but even championed by society as a whole.
It was a time of great racial tension. And not just between the Romans and their subjects. As the world got smaller, it was more difficult to maintain one’s culture. As wars had been won, and territories overtaken, and now Rome was taking over the whole world, it became difficult for nations to protect their own borders.
Even within nations, there was great racial discord. Think of the Jews and the Samaritans. They had a shared ancestry, but they absolutely hated each other. They occupied the same land - the same nation as far as Rome was concerned - and yet there was an inherent distrust and animosity between the races.
It was a time dominated by false religion, including atheism. The true God wasn’t known to many, and those that did know Him were pretty much universally hated. For many - including those that claimed to worship the true God - religion was mostly cultural. Some people worshiped demons without knowing it, and scoffed at true religion. The world was deceived into believing lies, instead of believing in YHWH.
But, God didn’t just leave it at that. In an over-sexualized world of political turmoil, racial distrust, and wholesale buy-in to Satan’s deceit, there was a people preserved by God. A people who knew the One true God. And they were waiting in great anticipation for His promises to be fulfilled.
They were waiting for God to come to them, to save them. They were given many promises by God that a Savior would come.
Over 600 years before the first Christmas, they were given this promise:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
And we read this about Christ’s birth:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
Christmas is about God fulfilling promises.
Like this promise:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
And we read of that first Christmas:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Christmas was about God keeping His promises.
On Christmas, all the anticipation came to an end. On Christmas, the promise was kept. On Christmas, all of the hopes of the children of Abraham were realized.
And the children of Abraham are all who believe - the spiritual seed of Abraham - anyone who would place their faith in Christ.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The Jews spent hundreds of years - more than a thousand years - waiting for the day the promise would be fulfilled. From the first promise in the Garden of Eden of the seed of the woman, to the promise of the Prophet like Moses God would raise up, to the promise of the Greater Son of David,
The promise was fulfilled on Christmas.
But, because of everything going on - and we are seeing that in our series on 1 Samuel. The Old Testament is the history of a people that had a lot going on. And because they did, most of them - the only people in the whole world who knew God and were waiting for His promise - when it came, it passed most of them right by. They missed it.
I mean, think about how few in the world really understood what that day meant. Mary and Joseph, their relatives, a handful of shepherds, a bunch of Gentile wisemen that hadn’t even made it there yet...
What about the rest of God’s people? They missed the significance of that baby being born, and they missed the promise being fulfilled through Christ.
And there were plenty of reasons. We read about it in the Gospel accounts. Some missed it for political reasons. Like Herod who was more concerned with politics than the truth.
Some missed it because of false religion. Think of the religious leaders who honored their traditions over the fulfilled promise of God.
Some ignored it for racial reasons. Some couldn’t get their heads around the idea of other races - Samaritans and Gentiles - being included in God’s promises.
Some of them were too caught up in their sin and the momentary pleasures of this world to take part in the promise.
So you know…God’s people weren’t all that different from the world around them on that first Christmas, after all.
And here we are. We have spent the last few weeks or even a month or more preparing for one day. We have spent our resources - our time and our money and our energy - preparing for one day.
Be honest: how much of what we have done preparing for today has had anything to do with the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise. The Jews were preparing for that day for over a millennium. And when it came, they were so caught up in the things of the world that they missed the real reason they spent all that time preparing.
I wonder, how many of us today - and other years - have let the significance of this day go right on by us because of all the things we have going on.
If even for the next few minutes, let’s look at Christmas in its proper context.
Let’s remember that this is a day about God’s promises.
Let’s go back to our Christmas trees for a minute. St. Boniface was right, if he actually said it:
“It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green… it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it… it will shelter… loving gifts and rites of kindness.”
For us today, our Christmas trees point us to heaven, where our risen and ascended Savior sits on His throne.
Let it be a reminder to us of what He has done - of the promises that have been fulfilled. Let’s remember that He came down from heaven to fulfill God’s promise of salvation for His people.
To fulfill God’s promise of salvation for us.
And today, as we pull out gifts from under the tree - loving gifts that are tokens of love and kindness one to another - let us not forget that the most loving gift ever given, and the greatest kindness ever done, was the coming of Immanuel - God with us.
It was that a child was born to overcome the world. The sin. The death. The distractions. The hate. The deception. The oppression.
It was that God came in the flesh to take the government of His world on His shoulders and to make peace where there was none. To overcome for His people the political division, the racial division, the sexual sin, and the deceit of the devil.
Because He is greater than it all!
He is greater than all the distraction. And if we are looking to Him, we will not succumb to those distractions of the world, things like anger or defensiveness - and if you’re all going to be with your families today, your gonna need help in both those departments.
But, what a light we can shine today if we, like our Christmas trees, point our families and friends up to Jesus by remembering what today is about.
And all we have to do, is remember that God’s promise was fulfilled that first Christmas.
It’s like our Christmas trees - they point us not only up to Christ but back to Christ. We all decorate our trees with lights… let us remember that the light of the world that stepped down into darkness on the day Christ was born:
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Let’s not forget that today. Let’s not miss the light of Christ that today is about.
We have a tradition in our family. Every year each of our girls has been alive, they have received from my wife an ornament for the tree. Each ornament represents something about that year for each of them in some way. And the idea is that when they go on to start their own lives, my wife will send the ornaments with them so that they don’t forget all the years they were our babies.
And so every year, our tradition is that those ornaments are the first to go on the tree. And we all reminisce about the year Olivia started piano or Isabella started gymnastics. We remember the year that Emma watched the movie Tangled 50 times a day or Olivia watched Winnie the Pooh a hundred. Or we remember the trip into the city to see a Broadway show that year.
They all bring to our memories such wonderful times. And as they are hung on the tree, do you know what is not remembered? We don’t remember the political situation, or the sins of those years, or anything that was wrong. As we hang each ornament on the tree and look back, everything is only right.
And today, as we each look at all the beautiful Christmas trees with their lights and their ornaments, may we remember God’s fulfilled promise.
May we remember that the Light of the World was hung on a tree for our sake, to bring us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.
May we remember that He was hung on the tree for all we did, year after year. That He hung on the cross to take away our sin - that our sins would be remembered no more and that for we who believe, everything would be only ever right.
This is what He came into the world to do. This is what God promises He would do.
Christ came to shine the light of truth and God’s glory and to make everything right - by being hung on a tree for us. To fulfill God’s promise of salvation on the cross of Calvary.
God loves us so much that He gave as a gift to us, His One and only Son that we may believe and have everlasting life.
And let our Christmas trees be to us a symbol of that everlasting life. Because that is God’s promise to us:
And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
But there’s more. Because just like every year Christmas comes and the world is filled again with that anticipation and that hope, so should every day for us - because Christ came for us - be filled with anticipation and hope.
Because there are still promises to be fulfilled. There should still be a sense of anticipation and hope for us. And today should remind us that our hope is not to be found in this world. Our hope is still and always will be Jesus Christ.
You know, Christmas wasn’t even celebrated in the early church. There is no mention of it in any writings until the 4th century. It wasn’t really a regular celebration until the 9th century. And even as late as the 16th century, there was debate about whether or not Christmas should even be celebrated by Christians.
Easter was the big holiday because the resurrection was the culmination of the Christ's finished work. His birth was just the beginning - His resurrection finished it.
But that’s wrong - the culmination is yet to happen! The greatest gift is yet to come, when our Lord descends from heaven and we will be with Him face to face.
When Immanuel comes and gives Himself to us for eternity.
We have that promise! And the church has lived in hope and anticipation of that for almost 2,000 years.
But the difference between us and those awaiting that first Christmas, is that we have the fulfilled promise of Christ’s first coming that first Christmas day, so we can know that our final promise is assured.
We need to remember that today.
Because there are a lot of distractions out there. There are a lot of things vying for our attention and our time and our money and our energy., especially at Christmas.
And it is very easy to get caught up in it all. Let’s admit it: it is very easy to live at times like those whose hope is in worldly things.
Think about the world leading up to this Christmas.
Think about when you first realized Christmas was going to fall on a Sunday this year. Was our first reaction joy? For some, it was. For others, we had to evaluate the pros and cons of even coming to church because of everything else that has to be done today?
Some of us have to plan our day out to the minute and hope Lee doesn’t preach too long because I have to get the roast in the oven so we can eat at a decent time.
And I am not saying that there is anything wrong with planning - I’m a planner - or cooking good food - I’m a big fan of good food. There’s nothing wrong with these things at all. I am asking why we do what we do on Christmas - have we become distracted?
Have we through all the distractions that come with this holiday lost the context of why this day is so special?
The world has.
We live in an age of “holiday trees” - which, by the way, are now sold upside down if that’s your preference. Because somehow you put a tree in your house for December 25th, you decorate it with lights and ornaments, and put presents under it, but because it’s upside down you can convince yourself is has nothing to do with Christmas.
We see the deceit of Satan of Satan, here. He works overtime around this time of year to distract from the true meaning of this holiday. I would just ask those who buy upside down trees to consider where it points.
We live in an age where the show “A Drag Queen Christmas” has been touring the country for the last two months. It is billed as a show for all ages, including children. And it has caused quite an uproar.
And the amazing thing is not so much that such a show exists - that shouldn’t surprise us - it is the negative review that I read about it, where the writer called the show, and I quote: “the most inappropriate family-friendly drag show I have ever attended.”
So we live in an age where there are appropriate family-friendly drag shows.
Because sexual sin - no matter how depraved - is not just tolerated but even championed by society as a whole.
We live in an age dominated by politics. Who here is getting together with family today? Am I alone in dreading the fact that the conversation between family members might to turn to politics at some point and that it isn’t going to go well?
This is the world we live in.
We live in an age where there is a movement to remove the song “White Christmas” from the airwaves because, as one objector puts it: “It’s white supremacist music that needs an immediate removal from all holiday song listening lists.”
And I am not commenting on whether or not the song is or was intended to be racist, and I am not commenting on the reasons for ideas like this. I am simply pointing us to the fact of the racial divide that exists in our culture. We can disagree on why it exists and to what extent, but we can’t deny that it does exist.
But, God has not just left it at that. In an over-sexualized world of political turmoil, racial distrust, and wholesale buy-in to Satan’s deceit, there is a people preserved by God. A people who know the One true God.
And as we are waiting in great anticipation for His final promises to be fulfilled, we have a choice: will we be like the world around us whose hope is in the world, or will we live like those who have received the promise of God.
Why we do what we will do this Christmas will answer that question.
So as we separate now, and go enjoy our families, and we enjoy our gifts both given and received - I encourage you all, keep in context. Don’t forget that today is about promises made, promises kept, and one wonderful promise God is yet to keep, but sure to keep.
Today - and every Christmas - is an opportunity to shine the light of Christ into the world, into our homes, and into our families. It is an opportunity to point people to the true God and the One and only Savior of the world.
It is an opportunity to share the gift God has given us: Jesus Christ.
Because the world needed the gift then, and the world needs it now.
May our words today and our lives today declare to the world:
“I bring you good news of great joy that is for all people. For unto us was born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Brothers and sisters, Merry Christmas.
Immanuel has come.
God is with us.