Holy is the time of year and we Americans haven't totally forgotten the birth of Christ that is being celebrated. The Christmas story of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus will be read in many homes and churches and even on television. "Hark the Herald Angel" and many other Christmas Carols will fill the airwaves and be played on CD players everywhere. Green trees will be decorated in every home, signifying to some the new life Jesus offers a fallen world and to others the crucifixion of Jesus on a tree that led to their salvation. Millions will exchange cards with Biblical quotes and religious pictures. Churches will be open on Christmas Eve or Christmas day to many worshippers. Live nativity scenes and living Christmas trees will play to overflow audiences. Christmas cantatas will fill the air with the message of Christ. We haven't yet lost the true message of Christmas.
Drawing the obvious contrast with the commercialism of Christmas or the role of Santa Claus or the white Christmas as a time of family gathering has been done many times from the pulpit, on television, on the radio and on many web sites. Many say that the true spirit of Christmas is that it is better to give than receive. Those who find fault with these aspects of the American Christmas are concerned that we are losing sight of the true message of Christmas.
Maybe we are losing ground each year. So many people, even in Huntington, don't know who Jesus is or why He came to Earth as a baby that many question whether we can still be called a Christian nation. We in the Christian community refer to the removal of prayer from the schools, to the legalization of abortion, to the lost sanctity of marriage and to many other such signs of Godlessness as proof that we are losing ground and need a national revival. These signs make me also think that we are losing ground in America
However, when I see how America celebrates Christmas, I still hold out hope for America. Even though some may not know who Jesus is, they are touched every year by the Christmas tradition. The spirit of Christmas is real in peoples' lives.
There is a Wal-Mart advertisement on television now which features firemen and policemen taking children Christmas shopping at Wal-Mart. These are lower income kids who wouldn't get much for Christmas otherwise. The woman policeman who helps narrate the advertisement shares that the kids just want spend all their money on their families and that most have to be forced to spend something on themselves. A little girl ends the ad by saying, "That's what Christmas is all about."
She is right. Christmas is about selfless giving. It is about God leaving Heaven's security to become a human being, eventually giving His own life to atone for our sins. He gave us forgiveness and an eternity in heaven. He spent all He had on us.
How sad that so many Americans either don't understand about God's Christmas gift or have refused it. Yet there is hope. If someone understands the Christmas spirit, then that person can understand the true story of Christmas. If they can feel selfless at Christmas, then they can grasp the love of Christ and believe that He would give us the actual gift of Christmas, His sacrifice in our place.
Lost somehow after the holiday ends, this spirit of Christmas returns every year. "That's what Christmas is all about."
Ian Wetherbee 12/06/2001