Holiday Holdups

Family Debates

One of the most beneficial parts of the holiday season is the fact that family has become such a huge part of the festivities.

We travel all of the United States in order to connect with our families

Many families follow suit.

As much as we love the food…the gifts…the music…when you boil it down Christmas and Thanksgiving are primarily a time for families to gather.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD YOUR FAMILY GATHERING TURN AWKWARD?

A former marriage of an uncle or aunt comes up

Someone speaks to the child raising technique of a sibling

A kid goes to college and comes back with woke ideas amongst a dark red republican family.

The debates that ensue…are everyone’s favorite.

My family all lines up theologically, politically, familially…and we still have debates every now and again.

My bro and my dad

Me and my dad

Inevitably someone will be the voice of reason…(Can we talk about something else.)

The awkward moment where you try and figure out how to talk about literally anything else.....

THIS IS A HOLIDAY HOLDUP.

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Holiday Holdups in the Church

This time of year is one that holds so much kingdom potential.

There is an inherent bend towards the sacred.

People are open to the truth of the gospel because they are atleast considering the reality of God being made flesh.

But even in moments like this there is potential as the church for us to have some holiday holdups.

There are things that can hinder our effectiveness at reaching a lost world with the hope of the gospel.

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1. Held up by Division

The churches capacity to be divided is probably greater than any other people group in history.

There is such a vast diversity of belief systems within our one belief system.

Several hundred varying denominations and belief systems.

We must be intentional in finding things upon which we build our dogma

Essential doctrines

The Blood of Jesus

The Virgin Birth

The Bible is the Inspired Word of God.

Someone who does not hold these beliefs cannot be someone we walk in unified fellowship with because we are not worshipping the same God.

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Non-Essential Doctrines

But there are other aspects of belief wherein we can disagree and still worship together.

These are called non essential doctrines.

Women wearing pants.

Women preaching.

Whether there are lights on the stage or not.

A lot of detrimental division in the church is based on non essential doctrines.

Some of the most concentrated moments regarding these types of debate happen around this time and around easter.

Do you not find that ironic?

The enemy cannot stop the power of the story…so he does his best to cause us to be divided in our telling of it.

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Paul dealt with this issue in his letter to the Romans.

He was dealing with people from all different backgrounds.

Jews who were used to observing every aspect of the law and it’s days of significance.

Feast days

Fast days

Festivals etc

Romans who had observed pagan traditions for years...

They were still observing aspects of pagan traditions and putting a Christ-centered spin on it.

Romans 14:5–6 ESV

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

There are two significant holidays that happen at this time of year for those of us who are a part of the Judeo Christian faith.

Hannukah

Christmas

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Hannukah History

Hannukah is the remembrance of the reclamation of the temple after idol worship of Zeus had been set up by Antiochus IV in the temple in Jerusalem

Judah Maccabee led a revolt in which they kept the lamp burning in the temple.

One jar supernaturally burned for eight days…that is why there are eight days to Hannukah...

THIS IS A HISTORICALLY PROVEN EVENT…

Many believers celebrate Hannukah as a celebration of God’s supernatural provision of the jews

Jesus Himself observed Hannukah.

There is a prophetic aspect of the fact that the light has come into the world…(Festival of lights.)

Orthodox Jews do not believe that you can celebrate Hannukah and Christmas...

But as believers we see the value in Hannukah and the eternal implications of Christmas.

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CHRISTMAS IS A CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST...

Also a historically proven fact but many take exception to the celebration of Christmas in December because of some claims that have been made that it has pagan roots.

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Varying degrees of belief

You will find people who won’t celebrate Christmas at all

You will find people who will celebrate but won’t put up a tree

You will find people who will celebrate but have varying degrees of celebration

Coach and Tab’s Grandson’s “Gospel Christmas Music”

You won’t find anyone who will turn down a present.

THE LARGEST COMPLAINT ABOUT CHRISTMAS IS THE FACT THAT IT HAS PAGAN ROOTS...

There have been a lot of pagan traditions around the time that Christmas takes place.

Let’s look at the mythically based history of winter holidays.

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A History of Winter Holidays

Scandonavia - Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice through January. (8th Century)

This was a celebration of “the return of the sun.”

Fathers and sons would bring home large logs and set them on fire.

There would be a feast until the log burned out.

This could take as many as twelve days {Twelth day of Christmas.}

This was the time that celebration was most feasible because they had to slaughter their livestock anyway.

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Germany- Around the same time... People honored the pagan God; Oden during the mid winter holiday.

They would stay inside to protect themselves and their family from the wrath of this God that they feared.

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Roman Paganism and Christmas

The celebration that garners the most notoriety of Christmas critics is Saturnalia and Sol Invictus.

This is believed by some to have most heavily played a role in the birth of Christmas as we would know it today..

Rome - The Romans would celebrate Saturnalia, a holiday in honor of Saturn, whom they believed to be the god of agriculture

This celebration would last for a month at a time.

It was very hedonistic in nature. (Pleasure at the forefront)

They would feast on food and drink during this month of continual celebration in honor of this false god that they believed would provide a bumper year for the crops in the years to come.

Parallel - This holiday was also marked by an essence of benevolence.

During this season the highest classes of roman society would enable the poor and the enslaved to live beyond their means.

Slaves were granted temporary freedom

They were treated as equals with those around them.

Businesses and schools were closed in observance of the holiday season.

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The Birth of god…Mithria (Sol Invictus)

Around the same time in Rome they would celebrate Juvenalia, (also referred to as Sol Invictus) a feast honoring the children of Rome.

Parallel - During this celebration the upper classes would celebrate the birth of Mithra believed to be the “god of unconquerable sun.

They believed Mithra to be born on December 25 and so for many Romans this was the most sacred day of the year.

The parallels - Benevolence, Kids, Feasting, The birth of god, and focus on family…as well as the fact that December 25 was the date they chose...

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Why would we want any part of these days?

All of these celebrations were happening for hundreds of years before the Christian world began to celebrate Christmas on December 25.

So was this shift made as a response to the pagan traditions?

Why would we participate in a celebration that

in Scandanavia was aimed to the Sun,

in Germany was appeasing a war god, and

in Rome was celebrating the god of the sun and the infant god Mithra?

This is a question that many Puritans raised in the earlier centuries.

They would use verses such as

2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

There have been many throughout history who have thought it sinful to celebrate such a holiday...

So let’s consider why it became a Christian celebration to begin with.

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Why Decemeber 25?

As mentioned above there is a contingency of the Christian world who questions the legitimacy of the Christmas holiday based on the historical roots I’ve mentioned...

In particular the celebration of Saturnalia and Sol Invictus or (the birth of Mithra)

This is a parallel that is made because of the fact that the days fall on the same date.

The earliest writings of the church do not mention the celebration of Christmas.

Scripture does not give us much detail about the date and time of Jesus birth.

We can assume it wasn’t December 25 because it doesn’t make much sense for shepherds to be keeping watch of their sheep in the field at night during that time period.

There are many early church fathers that mention nothing about Christmas in their writings up until around 400 AD.

Augustine mentions a faction of Christians that observe Christmas festivals.

This faction called “Donatist” were a North African group that despises Paganism and Roman Catholic leanings.

They are not placing Christmas where it is as a recreation of Pagan festivals but as the result of a traditional view sparked within the church called integral age.

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Integral Age Explained

Integral age teaches that prophets died on the same day they were conceived.

This is not clearly mentioned in scripture but is the culmination of various prophetic interpretations.

For years the eastern church believed the death of Christ would take place on April 6...

So this would mean Jesus was conceived on April 6…count forward nine months January 6

However, western scholars have used the same calculations with different results.

They believe the death of Christ was on March 25…which would mean conceived on March 25…THIS PUTS HIS BIRTH ON DECEMBER 25

No one actually knows...

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Redemption of the day

Even knowing that there is a strong chance Christmas wasn’t born out of Pagan traditions...

There is a chance that it was.

The concept of redemption can be inserted into the idea of holidays.

One of the most powerful concepts in the world to me is taking a building that used to be used for the kingdom of darkness and using it for the kingdom of light.

BARS INTO CHURCHES

PLANNED PARENTHOOD INTO PREGNANCY HELP CENTERS

DRUG HOUSES INTO HALFWAY HOUSES

The simplest defense of the Christmas holiday and it’s traditional celebration even if tied to pagan roots would be that of redemption.

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It’s always about our heart

Now that we have done some history…let’s read our text again.

Romans 14:5–6 ESV

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

What makes Christmas appropriate or inappropriate is not the cultural significance of the day.

It’s the posture of our hearts.

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Whether you celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 or not....WE CAN KNOW HE WAS BORN!

We can celebrate the fact that you and I have access to God because His Son was made flesh.

Some will choose to celebrate that fact on December 25...

Some will not...

Paul says rather than trying to figure out who is right or wrong…keep the main thing the main thing.

Many of us hit the holiday holdup of being divided.

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Transition to Distracted

What we must be careful to do is not allow our culture to cause us to miss the significance of the celebration.

Christmas is a time when we can praise him with our lips but give our hearts elsewhere.

WHAT GARNERS MORE TIME IN YOUR HOME?

Gifts or the recounting of the birth of Christ in Matthew and Luke?

Is Christmas a time wherein you truly meditate on the reality of the implications of the advent?

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2. We become distracted

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The magnitude of what Christmas means

The world was hopelessly separated from God...

Generations of failed attempts to appease him via the law...

God had gone seemingly silent...

When suddenly a virgin girl is visited by an angel with a promise from God

A group of shepherds are met with a heavenly host comparable to that seen by Isaiah and Ezekiel

The momentary appearances of God in visible form seen by Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and Lot were nothing compared to this variation...

THE GOD OF HEAVEN WHO HAD SPOKEN CREATION INTO EXISTENCE...

Had lowered himself to the lowest of lows in order to live the life that we could not.

He was born to be tempted…be victorious…and be crucified.

Whether we celebrate Christmas or Hannukah, may we celebrate them as a time of worship for the one who came...

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Christmas as a testament of the gospel

Hang the lights…knowing that the light of the world has come

Eat the food…knowing we have a true reason for celebration

Be with family…knowing we have been brought near by the blood of the Lamb

Give the gifts…knowing that Jesus has given himself on our behalf.