BLOG 12/19/13. THE INCONGRUITY OF OUR CHRISTMAS OBSERVANCE

BLOG 12/19/13. THE INCONGRUITY OF OUR CHRISTMAS OBSERVANCE

I think incongruous is the proper term for it.

Just stop and consider that, ostensibly, we in Christ’s church have (in times of integrity) observed the advent of God becoming flesh and blood in the person of Jesus … as a time to stop and stand in awe before the very idea of incarnation. It becomes the more awesome when we see exactly how that took place, and under what circumstances. God’s Son did not arrive with all of the accouterments of splendor and power, or with identification with the rich and powerful … but with peasants and shepherds, with the impoverished and powerless.

Or, as it stated: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, …”

And yet here we are lost in this orgy of extravagant—even obscene—consumerism and revelry and pretended merriment, all of which begins weeks beforehand (right after All Saints Day, would you believe?) so that the commercial interests can make the maximum of economic profits in the weeks leading up to this thing called ‘Christmas.’

It just doesn’t fit. And the church gets sucked right into the maelstrom of materialism, but adds its own touch of fine music, poinsettias, candlelight, and a mindless reading of the gospel accounts.

I say: mindless because if one reads Mary’s Magnificat, in context, it is so economically and socially radical that it could pass for communist propaganda: “My soul magnifies the Lord, … He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. … in remembrance of his mercy…”

What does that have to do with the thing we now call ‘the Christmas celebration’? Somehow along the way in our history we took what was a much needed annual reminder of Christ’s advent, and then little-by-little combined it with the pagan festivals of the winter solstice—Yuletide and all of that—then we pulled in the myth of Saint Nicholas, and gift giving, etc., etc. until we come up with something that is now worshipping of mammon, and shopping malls become the new temples.

“ … though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor.” Right? Or wrong? But, my critics will affirm: “It is how the merchants and corporations keep their profits up.” That reminds me of the dialogue between Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghost of Jacob Marley in which Scrooge is defending their business partnership in life in which he defended all of their greedy actions by the principle of making a profit. He says: “But that was our business, Jacob,” to which the ghost says, in essence, “No, Ebenezer, humankind was our business, and their welfare was our business.” (Never forget that Charles Dickens was a social reformer.)

At this moment in history, when merchants here want to make the largest profit ever, there are more homeless and hungry refugees in this world than there have ever been in the history of the world—ever!

So, Henderson, how do you propose we celebrate Christmas? I propose, first, reflecting on the ministry of Jesus, how he was born and how he inaugurated his public ministry with an announcement of good news to the poor. Then celebrate with simplicity, and with generosity to those wonderful people and agencies who are seeking to minister to the homeless poor around the globe—for starts. Merry Christmas!

About rthenderson

Sixty years a pastor-teacher within the Presbyterian Church. Author of several books, the latest of which are a trilogy on missional ecclesiology: ENCHANTED COMMUNITY: JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH, then, REFOUNDING THE CHURCH FROM THE UNDERSIDE, then THE CHURCH AND THE RELENTLESS DARKNESS. Previous to this trilogy was A DOOR OF HOPE: SPIRITUAL CONFLICT IN PASTORAL MINISTRY, and SUBVERSIVE JESUS, RADICAL FAITH. I am a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, a graduate of Davidson College, then of Columbia and Westminster Theological Seminaries.
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