Celebrations

I hear lots of criticisms this time of year about Christians adopting pagan traditions associated with the winter solstice. I'll hear those similar criticisms again around Easter and the spring solstice.

Yes, it is true that Christians in the anceint world adapted festivals associated with solstice celebrations in pagan cultures. And some pagan traditions have continued within the Christian community -- an evergreen tree brought inside and decoated, the giving and receiving of presents, images of rabbits and eggs (at Easter), and so forth. It's a common and natural thing for Christian faith to adapt already existing cultural celebrations, re-interprete them for the Christian message, and to continue to celebrate a long-standing cultural expression but with a Christian understanding and meaning. I think anytime anyone wants to critic Christian tradition for the adaption of pagan culture to it's own purpose has seriously misunderstood Christian tradition and faith.

Marcus Bosch in his book Theology of Mission says very clearly that "the Gospel is at home in every culture and every culture is at home in the Gospel." Of course Christians adapt already existing cultural expressions; it's a smart way to share the good news of Jesus Christ and God's redeeming love shown and expressed in Jesus. Why re-invent the wheel? Rather let's take what people are going already and re-think how what they are doing could be a vehicle for the Gospel!
There is no attempt to "hide" or eliminate older pagan traditions this way. It is a way to tell the good news in a way people can hear the message. Alas, we are all too often surrounded by folks who want to simply snipe. This points to something which is very concerning to me.

Christian faith is not something to be consumed; it is something to be lived. While I do care which community of faith with which someone associates (and that's a different conversation), Christian faith is not a commodity like corn, soybeans, bread, milk, or canned green beans. Christiand faith is first and foremost a way of life. All too often the "way of life" conversation has been about dancing or not dancing, drinking or not drinking, smoking or not smoking, loving the opposite gender and not loving the same gender sexually, and so forth and so on. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians says it this way:

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set you minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on thsoe who are disobedient. Thse are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things -- anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices, and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek or Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythina, slave and free; but Christ is all in all! (Colossians 3:1-11)

Being a Christian isn't a commodity to be bought and sold, appropriated when convenient, or "used" as a "best option" at a particular moment. Being a Christian is responding to God's eternal "yes" to each of us and all of us together. Being a Christian is more than being a good person. Being a Christian is about having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ! As Christians, we no longer distinguish between male and female, citizen or immigrant, straight or gay, rural or urban, blue collar and white collar, and so forth. For the Christian, Christ is all in all.

My hope is that while we continue to live in the present cultural adaption of Christmas with presents, Santa Claus, and all that type stuff, we never loose sight that as Christians Christmas is a celebration of both the historical reality of God's coming among us in the person, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus who is the Christ AND a celebration of his coming again for which we wait. It is part of the biblical promise that he [Jesus the Christ] is coming to us, again, in a little while.

The sentiment is nice -- keep Christ in Christmas. I would rather someone said what is more true: Keep Christ in our hearts and in our living every day.