LESSON 9

MORE CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS

In my last post I wrote of the secular/sacred contrast as especially seen at Christmas. I realize that one must be careful to not draw too clear a distinction between the secular and holy when speaking of God's creation and work. All of creation is the realm of God and is in a very real sense sacred. And God manifests his glory throughout the creation and may even speak to us in a multiplicity of ways. Romans 1 indicates the revelation of God through creation.

But Christians affirm that God has spoken to us uniquely through his Son. And although all creation has a sacred quality to it not everything that mankind does is sacred. In fact, the only completely holy thing ever done in history was the life and death of Jesus. For that reason, the church is to reflect, give witness to and proclaim that holy life, death and resurrection. It is our unique mission.

The Christmas and Easter seasons provide special opportunities for the church to declare its unique message. The message must be one which can be preached to all nations and all cultures. For that reason the church must always be about examining itself to insure that its message is not captured by any particular cultural or national ethos. The message we proclaim must be the same message we might proclaim in any corner of the world. Although churches must involve themselves in the particular cultures which they serve, the message of the churches must always rise above those particular cultures.

In attempting to make the Christmas season joyous to everyone the church must not forget that the joy Jesus sought was that which "lay before him" following his faithful "endurance" of the cross. In our joy at Christmas let us not neglect nor forget the wound which lies deep within the message. For the Apostle Paul, the birth of Jesus revealed the self-emptying of Jesus, culminating in his "obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross."