Calvin Synod Herald, 2014 (115. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2014-11-01 / 11-12. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 “birth of Spring” among pagan peoples, therefore appropriated that date to mark the “Day of Announcement,” the day that the Virgin Mary conceived the Lord Jesus; adding nine months to March 25th made December 25th the birthday of Christ. Either way, in one move, the Church assigned a specific date to the birth of Our Lord that introduced a Christian holiday into the pagan celebrations occurring in December. After the Council ofNicea in AD 325, Emperor Constantine formally established Christianity as the recognized religion of the Empire. In AD 336, he declared Christmas an official holiday of the Roman Empire, and Roman Catholicism’s “Feast of the Nativity” became the only approved Christmas activity. The city of Rome was celebrating Christmas by AD 354, Constantinople by 380, and Alexandria by 430. By AD 391, Christianity formally became the state religion; however, in the eastern sections of the Roman Empire, Christmas observances weren’t adopted until the middle of the 5th century AD. In AD 529, Emperor Justinian declared Christmas a civic holiday, suspending private and public business activities for that day. By AD 1100, Christmas was the greatest holiday observed in Europe. During the 16th century the Reformation banned much of the excesses of pagan customs which had been incorporated into “Christian” Christmases. In America, the Puritans banned Christmas celebrations because of their pagan origins, even going so far as to fine anyone caught not working on that day unless it was Sunday. This is just a taste of what we know about the beginnings and growth of the holiday that we know as Christmas today. Many people wonder today if Christmas has any real meaning at all and if Christians should even be involved with it. Some say that it is far too commercialized and distorted and that it just fosters greed and stress and fear and anger and jealousy and all kinds of other personal and social ills. Some say that because its origins are so obviously pagan that Christians don’t have any business participating in most if not all of the “traditions” of the holiday. The things that had pagan meanings so long ago no longer hold those meanings, just like the names for the days of the week no longer hold the same meanings as they did originally. Each of those ‘celebrates” a different pagan deity - what should we do with that? What do you think? Let me share a couple of things and then you, being reasonable people, can sort it out for yourselves between you and the Almighty. The first thing I would like to share is that our entire lives are filled with symbols. When we look at the symbols that surround Christmas, it helps to understand what they represent today. For Christians, what we communicate and how we communicate it represents us, other believers, the Christian faith in general, and - most importantly - represents the One whose Name we bear. For Christians, Christmas represents the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - Jesus, who is the only Natural Bom Son of God, who came to live and die and rise again so that man could have eternal life with God. He came to sacrifice Himself for us. So, for Christians especially, Christmas is about celebrating love and giving and peace and goodwill to all because that is what God extended to us when Jesus was bom. For all of mankind, and especially for Christians, Christmas and Easter represent the most significant events in all of human history. Whether people believe in Jesus Christ or not doesn’t change that fact. You can take any year in human history and look at it from the perspective of the perceived importance and the real importance and understand what I mean. Should we be involved in celebrating a holiday that is not commanded in the Bible and that has so many pagan contributions to it? In the Gospel of John 10:22-23 we read “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.” What is the “Feast of the Dedication”? This was the Feast of Dedication, appointed by Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers, commemorating the purging of the temple and the renewing of the altar after Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled them with an “Abomination of Desolation”. The feast lasted eight days, and began on the twenty fifth of the month Chisleu, which answers to part of our December. In the book of Esther we read about the miracle of the one vial of sanctified oil - enough for a single day of keeping the lamp lit - replenishing for seven more days until more could be procured through the means prescribed in the Law of Moses is a miracle the Jews still celebrate today. Today we know this holiday as “Hanukkah”. It is not one of the feasts that God had commanded the Israelites to observe, yet we find Jesus participating in the celebration anyway. Why do you think that is? Jesus recognized that the Children of Israel had instituted their own feast to commemorate the miraculous intervention of God in their lives - an intervention that was so significant that every generation to follow would be able to use it as a rallying point and point of identification as a people, second only to the Passover. So, again we ask the question: “Should Christians be involved in celebrating Christmas?” Christmas, like Easter, may have its origins in pagan festivals and rituals, but the body of believers throughout the ages have transformed much of what these holidays were into beautiful celebrations about Jesus Christ. Think about the other things people associate with Christmas, like family and charity and love and giving and a kindness toward others that is mostly unknown the rest of the year. That, to me, testifies to the moving and involvement of the Holy Spirit. There is a tenderness and a gentleness to many people at Christmastime to whom those things are foreign much of their lives. But something happens at Christmastime that seems to have no other explanation than that the same spirit of grace and love that God above extended to all of mankind by the giving of His Son invades the planet once again in a way that cannot be ignored and that becomes infectious. So, you will have to decide for yourselves. But as for me, I will say with Joshua: As for me and my house, we will serve God and celebrate the coming of the Christ to save us from our sins as often as He allows. SMT
