He came unto his own and his own did not receive him. [John 1:11]
Happy Christmas Eve. By the end of today, our deadlines and preparations ought to be complete. Now we can prepare for the celebration of the Coming of Emmanuel. The Rescuer. The Worth-Affirmer. The Answer. The Restorer. The Life-Giver.
And yet, from that first Christmas night, Christ the Messiah was quite unrecognized and unwelcome. Still is, for many today. And Christ (as well as Christianity) is often seen not just as someone or something passé and to be ignored but rather a source of society’s problems.
And to us who “accept” Christ, we too often try to remake Him in our image to meet our needs and worldview. “And his own know him not…”
“But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to be called the children of God.” May the hearts of many be changed toward the Savior this year!
Frederick Buechner, in his book The Hungering Dark, wrote: “When that child was born the whole course of history was changed. That is a fact as hard and blunt as any fact. Art, music, literature, our culture itself, our political institutions, our whole understanding of ourselves and our world—it is impossible to conceive of how differently world history would have developed if that child had not been born.”
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
To accompany your Christmas Eve reading of this blog. My favorite Carol set to “antiphon” style (short chants from the eighth century traditionally used during Advent). This carol and these “tones” are like heart cries for ourselves and for the whole world. We invite the Messiah to come and set the world right.
Cultural Christian
I am hearing this phrase a lot lately. I suppose it’s a way of signaling a preference for “the good old days” and its perceived morality and cultural standards.
Elon Musk, for example, now announces that he is a cultural Christian. And Jordon Peterson is busily championing a culture that resembles outward Christian values. He has even created a ten-part mini-series called The Gospels.
I get it. But please, be wary of any presentation of the Christian faith espoused by those who use it at a means for social agendas but do not actually trust Christ as Lord nor see the need for repentance.
The Christ who came at Christmas, and indeed Christianity itself, is a spiritual and revolutionary, inside-out transformation of individuals who live out the ethics of God’s Kingdom amid a broken, unconverted world.
Peterson’s new series is described thusly: “A part of his lifelong effort to rescue society from the meaning crisis that seeks to devour our culture, Peterson gathers nine of the world’s most brilliant minds to unravel the mysteries of the Gospel story and to resurrect the anchoring principles of the text that formed the West.”
Cultural Christianity which bypasses personal repentance and true spiritual conversion secured by the atoning death of Christ can only produce a façade of shallow moralism. Those who applaud this emphasis as the “revival” the U.S. needs will ultimately be left disappointed. Cultural Christianity is insufficient in producing real and lasting change in a society. One need only look at modern Europe for ample evidence of that.
But there’s still hope…Read on.
Christmas and Christianity can never die
We may bemoan the Christ-omitting “Happy Holidays” mantra of our day or the hijacking of Evangelicalism for narrow political ends, but G.K. Chesterton gives us good perspective. He reminds us that the unchristian and Christ-redefining sentiments of a society always come and go like rootless brush in the wind. And just as the One who was born on Christmas Day will live forever, so also our beloved Christmas will as well.
In his book, The Everlasting Man, Chesterton writes that “Christianity has died many times and risen again, for it has a God who knew the way out of the grave. But the first extraordinary fact which marks this history is this: that Europe has been turned upside down over and over again; and that at the end of each of these revolutions the same religion has again been found on top.”
Christmas Eve truce
In 1914, during World War I, German, Scottish, and French combatants heard each other singing and playing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve across their shared farmland battlefield. The enemy soldiers met peacefully in this “No Man’s Land” to exchange presents, play soccer, and bury their dead. Here is an extended clip from the wonderful movie Joyeux Noel that depicts that event.
Christmas Eve services
Perhaps what remains the most sacred “space” in our holiday rush are the Christmas Eve church services. May those who attend these December 24 services throughout the world encounter the God who loves them and took on flesh on their behalf.
No Tuesday Afternoon next week
Taking a break between the holidays. Lord willing, we will be back up and running (and blogging) for January 7, 2025. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Christmas Eve prayer
“Let the just rejoice, for their Justifier is born. Let the sick and infirm rejoice, for their Savior is born. Let the captives rejoice, for their Redeemer is born. Let slaves rejoice, for their Master is born. Let free people rejoice, for their Liberator is born. Let all Christians rejoice, for Jesus Christ is born. Amen.”
[Augustine of Hippo, 345–430]
