One question that I get almost every year at this time is about the
origins of Christmas. The question may
take different forms; some ask if it has pagan origins, others might ask if
Jesus was really born on or around the 25th of December, some just
ask if we have lost the meaning in this over commercialized and stuff focused
culture that we have found ourselves in.
My answer to all these questions and any other that may be along these
lines is, “What is the reason why you are asking this question?” If we are asking this question because
someone else is questioning our faith or prodding us to draw us into an
argument that will not end well, than we are asking this question for the wrong
reasons. If we are asking because we
truly want to know in order to deepen our faith and make sure we are living the
life that Christ wants us to, well that is a whole other reason and I think the
right one.
There will always be
people that push this question out there to further an agenda of their own. They will say things like; Jesus was not born
on the 25th of December and that the holiday was begun by a pagan
emperor (Constantine) and that it is a compromise with the pagan elements of
the empire to keep some of the population happy with the new state
religion. These folks will often claim
that the “True Church” in the first thru third centuries was the pure faith and
that all the rest was corrupted. That
sounds good and on the surface it sound like it is true. But it is based on four false arguments.
1. That Constantine was a pagan
emperor. The truth is he like all men
needed a savior and he made the claim that Jesus saved him and after 324 A.D.
and he had control over the entire empire he banned pagan celebrations and
embraced Christ. Whether or not he was a
true believer is between him and God, I can only speak for me, no one else.
2. That Constantine made it a state
religion. He did not do that. It was Theodosius I that did this. He was the last man to rule both the east and
west parts of the Roman Empire.
3. That the “true and pure” church
was the first thru third centuries before Constantine allowed it. The idea that the first church was somehow
pure and true is false and smacks of a failure to understand even the most
basic of readings of the letters in the New Testaments. The truth was that the first century church
was drifting from its true center almost from its inception. The apostles were constantly writing about
heresies that were creeping in. Any
church that is not focused on Jesus and Jesus alone (as revealed to us by His
word) then that church has drifted from the truth and is not healthy. As long as man is involved with church here
on earth we will always be in danger of drifting because man is sinful.
4. That is was based on a pagan
holiday and adopted into the church by the Catholics. While it is true that the Catholics did pick
the date and that there was a pagan holiday on that day as well it true. I have found that the same people that push
this question also talk about worship on Sunday and other parts of the church
as we have it today. If we use that
standard though we would not worship on Saturday either, as it was dedicated to
the pagan god Saturn and on and on it would go.
The month of December is and was special to many religions from the dawn
of sin. When man drifted from God due to
sin there has been a desire to have special days to celebrate in their own
sinful manner what they want to celebrate.
Jesus did celebrate Hanukkah according to John 10. It was a winter feast day. I don’t know of any document or writing from
the 3rd century or after that specifically says that the Catholic
Church was adopting the date of a pagan god.
So now on to the answer (sort of). First of all there is evidence in the
writings of the some of the early church fathers from 200 A.D. and on that
there was a desire to know the date of the birth of Christ. None of them put the date in December but
most believe that Jesus’ baptism by John was in January and so some linked the
two dates to celebrate as one. The truth
is we do not know when Jesus was born. There
are enough scholars that have tried to pin the date down over the years and
they all have good reasons for their dates.
Personally I think that Jesus was born sometime in the spring when all
the other lambs were born. Not because of
the account of the shepherds in the fields but because He was the ultimate
sacrificial lamb. Now I know that this
is not necessary and my not be really theological but it is what I think. Either way the first church was interested in
the birthday of Jesus.
As I don’t think that Jesus was born on the 25th
of December then why do I celebrate Christmas?
That is a good question and I am glad that you asked. Jesus did have a day that He was born into
real history. We do not know when that
was but we know that He did have a day that He was born. For that reason alone it is good to celebrate
the birth of Jesus and the 25th of December is a good enough day as
any to do it. When we celebrate the day
of the birth of the Messiah what are we really celebrating and what is the purpose
of “Advent”? These are the real
questions that we should be asking.
We celebrate the entrance of God into real history
and into flesh, blood and bone. That is
an amazing and mysterious thing. To have the creator of the universe that is
larger than the universe itself somehow fit Himself into the body of a tiny
child that grew in the womb of a young girl is truly amazing and a mystery that
we will never know more about until we see Him face to face. That alone should be celebrated. But why the 25th of December? This is the crux of the issue. We can all agree that Jesus coming the way He
did and the why He did is something that could and should be celebrated even if
He Himself did not command us to. The best
reason I have as to why we celebrate on the day that we do is because of the
reason of the advent in the first place.
He came to seek and to save the lost.
In the entire world you would be hard pressed to find a place that does
not at least acknowledge that Jesus’ birth is celebrated on that day. If the majority of the world is celebrating on
that day and they are at least acknowledging that Jesus the Messiah was born
then we are doing what Jesus wants. We are
lifting the name of Jesus up so that all the world will see and that is
powerful.
In conclusion, the truth is that the reason for the
season is to remember the entrance of God in the flesh into real history. The majority of the world celebrates this day
and so at this time we as the specially selected agents of change that are the
image bearers of Christ should use this day to do just that. If we don’t than we will miss a great opportunity
to share the love of God with a lost, sin filled and dying world. We are to be ready to give a defense for the
hope that lies within us at any moment. What
better moment then when the whole world is thinking about Jesus and His birth.
