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From the Pastor...
December 1998
IS CHRISTMAS MORE THAN A TRADITION?
Christmas is no longer only or even mainly a Christian celebration. It
is celebrated by people of different religious persuasions, or of no
religious conviction at all, and it is easy to make it simply a secular
event. That is why it is so important for the Christian Church and for
each Christian to affirm the basic meaning and significance of
Christmas, and to put these beliefs into practice.
We must make clear what it is that we believe in. For us to declare to
the world the significance of Christmas, we must know ourselves why we
celebrate it. What would you say if some asked you why you celebrate
Christmas? You might say that you celebrate Christmas because it is a
time of giving and receiving, or that it is a family tradition. These
are or may be true.
But I hope you would also be able to say, "I celebrate Christmas
because of Jesus," and you might go on to say, "I celebrate Christmas
because on the very first Christmas God expressed Himself in a unique
and decisive way for the salvation of His people, in the babe born in a
stable in Bethlehem to die on a tree in Calvary. God was acting to save
us." Would this be your answer?
I celebrate Christmas, because I have always celebrated it. It has
been part of my life since I was born. Most of us would say that. But
I celebrate Christmas for some other reasons also. So do you. We
celebrate Christmas because something has happened to us spiritually, and
therefore as we are receptive and give ourselves to it something now can
happen in us again. As Luther once put it: "There is a sun that smiles
at me, and I can run out of the dark house of my life into the
sunshine."
A theologian has said: "I live by virtue of the miracle that God is not
merely the mute and voiceless ground of the universe, but that He comes
to me down in the depths. We see this in Him who lay in the manger, a
human child, yet different from all of us. We see that He, whom all
the universe would not contain comes down into the world of little
things, the little things of our lives, of men and women who are afraid,
into a world in which people cheat and are cheated; in which men and
women die, where people are murdered, where there are droughts, floods,
volcanoes erupting, wars, earthquakes, airplane disasters, disease and
unemployment. And we wonder if there is any meaning or purpose or hope
in the world. Yet we see God's special person, His son, reaching out
with one hand and gripping the hand of God the Father, and with the
other hand, gripping the hands of men and women. By His birth in a
lowly manger and His death on the cross a great reconciliation was
made."
The word 'reconcile' means to bring together two parties that should
have been together all along. This is what Christ has done for us by
His death on the Cross. He has brought us to God. When we come to
understand this, something happens in our lives and to our lives.
Therefore Christmas will always be more than just a tradition. It is a
living experience. Christ has become the focal point in our lives.
Therefore Christmas can never be simply a tradition. The same is true
for everyone who has met the Saviour. We must celebrate and shout:
"thanks be to God for this indescribable, unspeakable gift.'
Paul the apostle had met Christ face to face, and afterwards he wrote:
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed
away, behold all things are become new." As the angel said: "I bring
you tidings of great joy, for unto us is born this day a Saviour which
is Christ the Lord."
It is that Saviour, the living Saviour, who brings hope, meaning,
purpose, and joy to life, and to Christmas.
Sincerely in Christ our Lord,
Floyd McPhee 
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