At the risk of sounding like Scrooge, I just have to say, "What's up with Christmas????!!!" I personally LOVE giving gifts, so if I am being Scrooge, it is the redeemed Scrooge. However, I am sick of the Jesus hype at Christmas. I grew up believing that we should not celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday 1) because it probably isn't 2) we should celebrate His birth all the time not just one day a year. Since being out on my own, I have been through it all. There was a time when I started truly making a big deal out of Christmas being Jesus' birthday. There was a time when I avoided any discussion of Santa and did not want to play the Santa game with my children fearing they would think if I lied about Santa, I might be lying about Jesus. Anyway, all that to say, I am closer than I have ever been, in my thoughts, to what I grew up being taught. One thing that has really furstrated me this year on the most popular Christian radio stations around, is the slogan that one Christian station has embraced. It is "we are keeping Christ in Christmas'. I just hit me today after listening to this phrase for the last month! Exactly!!! That is exactly what the mainstream Christianity is doing! Keeping Christ in his box. Let's keep him where we can control Him. Otherwise He starts meddling with our stuff. And it isn't always polite or pleasant or nice. In fact chances are He will call us to do something crazy. Seems to be the way He usually works. I say let's let Christ out of Christmas. Let's let Him reign! I know, easier said than done. Merry Christmas.
posted by Jill at 11:11 PM
3 Comments:
And it isn't always polite or pleasant or nice. In fact chances are He will call us to do something crazy.
You are awesome!
You couldn't get a bigger amen!! I so feel you. Boy do I ever follow you on the keeping Christ in Christmas schlock....That's right, put him in a neat little package that you can understand, don't let him call you into mirky water. This holiday, for me, has been swimming in the mirky water of faith and stepping out into the unknown. Had a friend nearly kill himself, was sick the entire time, drove really far away to be with our family of people who don't really understand us or follow Christ at all and now I am coming home to spend the day with someone I have hated for most of my life. Wohoo...keeping Christ in Christmas....I don't need to keep Christ in Christmas. He keeps me.
Well now, I think you drank one of the fiesty pops, Jill. You're not having all the fun without me!
That's a great thought. Christmas = Christ-in-a-box. (Oh no. Now I've got this image of cranking a box to the tune of pop-goes-the-weasel, except it's not a clown but a plastic Jesus that pops out.)
I'm wearied by all the Christianese as well. The thing that bugs me most about it is it seems like Christians want to pick a fight over Christmas. And I think this is getting gradually worse. Used to, it seemed more like an invitation to get in on the good news, the "peace on earth, good will towards men" that some of us were finding. People would tip better, thow in free goods, cancel debts, cook meals for others, smile, give spontaneously, and greet each other with various holiday greetings (like Merry Christmas). I remember as a kid doing food drives, and had the priviledge of taking sacks of groceries to some poor houses in town. Some of them didn't have heat or sewage. I remember how cold and stinky they were. I suppose that is still happening, and I suppose some things greater than that are. But from all the official Christian sources, like radio stations and pulpits, the bad taste I'm left with is kind of like the old Robert Conrad ray-o-vac commercial - the one where he says, "Knock this battery off my shoulder. I dare you." "Take Christ out of Christmas. I dare you."
Somehow I don't think that's the same message the shepherds understood on the first Christmas. Actually, it reminds me more of a Herod or Pilate or even Caesar.
Yeah, I wonder what would happen if Christ really got out of Christmas, got out of Easter, got out of the pew...
That's a great thought. Christmas = Christ-in-a-box. (Oh no. Now I've got this image of cranking a box to the tune of pop-goes-the-weasel, except it's not a clown but a plastic Jesus that pops out.)
Ok, I have officially found people that think thoughts as strange as I do. Great mental picture. I think they actually have a Jesus Jack-in-the-box...wouldn't suprise me. Isn't that sad?
I'd become a Jehovah except that they don't believe in the divinity of Christ and I hate wearing skirts all the time...Although I suppose there are non skirt wearing factions. Is there anything particularly more holy about a skirt over pants? The Menonite women around here can't wear them either. Is there some sort of rule somewhere in the Bible?...Woman, thou shalt not wear pants. I love how people just make this crap up. See people that really shouldn't think, try to and they come up with things like "Keep Christ in Christmas" That's deep, y'all. You know whoever thought of that little phrase gave himself several pats on the back. Oy! When is this going to stop being a circus?
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