TWO CHRISTMASES

When I say the word “Christmas,” do you hear sleigh bells and the clack of reindeer hooves? Or do you hear angelic choruses and the faint cry of a newborn child? When I say the word “Christmas,” does your mind’s eye envision a Victorian lane where snow is glistening, or the dark streets of a little town where hope streams out from a stable? When you think of Christmas, do you picture evergreen trees with bright lights or a star shining in the night sky? Do you think of crackling fires, roasting chestnuts and warm drinks, or of shepherds watching their flocks by night? Do you think of ribbons and bows and brightly wrapped gifts, or an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger? Or do all of these images, and more, flood your senses when you hear the word “Christmas”?

I. THE TWO CHRISTMASES

A. There are two Christmases. One is secular. The other is sacred.

Of one Christmas Santa rules over the cultural Christmas. This is the commercial Christmas, which is so focused on the buying and giving of expensive gifts. This is the secular Christmas, celebrating the cheerful optimism of early winter, when the first snows can be so picturesque and delightful. This is the family Christmas, when everyone gathers at grandma’s house and tries to set aside grudges that they have carried since childhood.

For Christians, Christmas without Jesus is unthinkable. Santa has very little to do with that Christmas. Christians celebrate the incarnation of God in frail human flesh. You can celebrate this Christmas with gifts, winter fun and gatherings with family. But you can’t celebrate it without thinking of Jesus, whose life gives meaning to all the rest. But for many others, Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus.

B. LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

If you do not believe that there are two Christmases, listen to the music that you hear on the radio and at stores and shopping malls starting right after Thanksgiving. You will hear two kinds of music. At commercial outlets especially, you will hear mostly songs celebrating winter and the season called Christmas. At other outlets, you also may hear the sacred hymns, carols and songs celebrating the Nativity of Jesus the Messiah the Son of God. And occasionally you will hear a song that tries to bridge the gap.

It’s not that singing “Away in the Manger” is good but singing “Winter Wonderland” is bad. It’s just that “Winter Wonderland” has nothing to do with Jesus. It doesn’t mention Jesus. Not even once. If all you ever heard were songs like “Winter Wonderland,” you might never know that Christmas is about more than winter fun, gifts and that vague sense of good will.

II. HAPPY HOLIDAYS

A. Do you say, “Merry Christmas,” or do you say, “Happy Holidays”?

You might think this is a small matter, but many people get seriously bent out of shape when they hear the wrong greeting at the deli or the shopping mall. If you say “Happy Holidays” to someone who wants to hear “Merry Christmas,” you’re likely to get an earful about how Christ is being driven out of Christmas.

But if you say “Merry Christmas” to someone who wants to hear “Happy Holidays,” you’re likely to hear about how all mention of Christmas should be banned from the public square.

B. Some Christians go out of their way to wish a merry Christmas.

Some Christians see this as a way that they can be a witness to their beliefs. They are not trying to be disrespectful to other peoples beliefs or tradition they just see it as a friendly way to share their faith and spread some cheer.

I guess you could get a negative response by some for saying Merry Christmas. They might feel that you are trying to force your beliefs on them, or even that you are trying to stamp out their rights. Rights, in their view, go only one way. And they got ’em. Others don’t.

III. TWO CHRISTMASES, FOUR CHOICES.

A. You can have a “Holly Jolly Christmas,” or you can have a “Joy to the World” Christmas, or you can have both, or neither.

You can have a “Holly Jolly Christmas” with decorations and parties and gifts and Santa and lots of fun and good will to all. Jesus? Who’s he? This is the secular Christmas enjoyed by many millions of people around the world. (In Japan, where only a tiny percentage of the people are Christian, Christmas is hugely popular.) This is the cultural Christmas that so often leaves people exhausted by all the activity but yearning for something they missed. Basically, it’s just another holiday—like Halloween, only bigger. Who cares how it got started as long as it’s fun?

You can have a “Joy to the World” Christmas with songs and prayers, and it’s all focused on what God is doing for humanity in Jesus. But even if you stage a “Birthday Party for Jesus” This is the sacred Christmas that many Christians say they want. They experience it mainly in church.

B. You can have both a “Holly Jolly Christmas” and a “Joy to the World” Christmas by enjoying the best of both worlds.

This is the alternative that most Christians pursue today. If you’ve tried this, you know that living in two worlds can just about drive you crazy. The typical complaint is that the “Holly Jolly Christmas” so overshadows the “Joy to the World” Christmas that you lose sight of Jesus in all the holiday madness. Getting sidetracked certainly is easy enough to do.

In this balancing act you might be asking “Where’s Jesus in all this?” “Where’s Jesus?” a question that Christians need to ask on all occasions? Aren’t Christians called to live in two worlds? Aren’t we supposed to live with one foot in heaven and the other on earth, at least until God brings heaven down to earth, as is promised in the book of Revelation?

If we can’t get this balancing act right at Christmas, how can we hope to get it right with other, even more complex, issues?