... so the beloved Christmas carol begins. Unfortunately, the opening line has at least three historical errors. First, we don’t know the number of men. Second, they weren’t kings. And third, they didn’t travel from the Orient!
Who were these mysterious travelers? And what does their presence mean to the Christmas story? These travelers were “magi”. They were apparently from Mesopotamia or Persia (present day Iraq) and were “priest-sages, extremely well educated for their day, were specialists in medicine, religion, astronomy, astrology, divination, and magic.” Since these practices were strictly forbidden in the Old Testament (Deut.18:11), what are they doing in one of the most holy events in all of history?!
Their testimony (which created quite a stir in Jerusalem) was that they were looking for “the one who has been born king of the Jews” and had come to “worship him.” Wow! How did they get so right what most of God’s people got so wrong? Since these pagan worshipers were genuinely seeking the Truth, God used what they knew (the stars) to guide them to Him.
As I share the gospel with non-Christians, I frequently encourage them to ask God if my message is true or not. If there is a God who truly cares about people finding Him, then he will reveal truth to genuine seekers. Our job, then, isn’t so much to convince people that Jesus is their savior as it is get them to become seekers like the magi. If the Christmas story is true, then God will bring them to the Truth in his time and his way.
The presence of the Magi reminds us that the gospel is for the whole world. Christ came to preach peace to those who were “far away and peace to those who were near.” And sometimes the furthest, the most unlikely are the ones who find the true peace that Jesus offers.
Merry Christmas!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
2005/12/23
Cancel Christmas?!
There is a fascinating discussion taking place among Christians about the choice of several churches to cancel their Christmas Day services. There have been articles in the secular (The Chicago Tribune & The Lexington Herald Leader) and Christian press (Christianity Today's Weblog). The discussion deals directly with the issue of Christian freedom.
Why did these churches cancel the service? One spokeswoman for Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area said: "It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy." Another Willow Creek staff member explained that they "see it as not having church on Christmas. We see it as decentralizing the church on Christmas -- hundreds of thousands of experiences going on around Christmas trees. The best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for families to have a more personal experience on that day." But if it is good to have "a more personal experience" then "why not decentralize the church every week?" Similarly, Fuller Seminary professor, Robert Johnston, didn't like the emphasis on individual family worship: "What's going on here is a redefinition of Christmas as a time of family celebration rather than as a time of the community faithful celebrating the birth of the Savior. There is a risk that we will lose one more of our Christian rituals, one that's at the heart of our faith."
But is Christmas day worship “at the heart of our faith”? Willow Creek says that they haven’t had a Christmas Day service since the last time Christmas fell on a Sunday -- and that one service was poorly attended. Willow Creek estimated that they would have about 50,000 worshipers at various services the week preceding Christmas. And they produced and distributed a Christmas DVD that people could play in their homes.
What does Scripture say? In Romans 14 Paul wrote: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday alike." (v.5) Paul defined this issue as a “disputable matter,” thus giving a Christian the freedom to view certain days as sacred or not. (The Catholic Church does not give its worshipers this kind of freedom. A Catholic priest explained that Christmas day is "a holy day of obligation, which means for the faithful, Mass attendance is required.") All that is required is that each person “should be fully convinced in his own mind” about his viewpoint. God is more concerned that I live my life “to the Lord” -- that I am conscious of Him in all that I do -- than what day I worship.
It seems, then, that we have the freedom to view Christmas Day as a special day of worship or not. Different churches and different individuals within these churches, will come to different conclusions as they look to God for direction. The key is that whatever we do, we do it with our hearts and minds on the incredible condescension that God accomplished in Bethlehem’s stable: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: `Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”
Why did these churches cancel the service? One spokeswoman for Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area said: "It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy." Another Willow Creek staff member explained that they "see it as not having church on Christmas. We see it as decentralizing the church on Christmas -- hundreds of thousands of experiences going on around Christmas trees. The best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for families to have a more personal experience on that day." But if it is good to have "a more personal experience" then "why not decentralize the church every week?" Similarly, Fuller Seminary professor, Robert Johnston, didn't like the emphasis on individual family worship: "What's going on here is a redefinition of Christmas as a time of family celebration rather than as a time of the community faithful celebrating the birth of the Savior. There is a risk that we will lose one more of our Christian rituals, one that's at the heart of our faith."
But is Christmas day worship “at the heart of our faith”? Willow Creek says that they haven’t had a Christmas Day service since the last time Christmas fell on a Sunday -- and that one service was poorly attended. Willow Creek estimated that they would have about 50,000 worshipers at various services the week preceding Christmas. And they produced and distributed a Christmas DVD that people could play in their homes.
What does Scripture say? In Romans 14 Paul wrote: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday alike." (v.5) Paul defined this issue as a “disputable matter,” thus giving a Christian the freedom to view certain days as sacred or not. (The Catholic Church does not give its worshipers this kind of freedom. A Catholic priest explained that Christmas day is "a holy day of obligation, which means for the faithful, Mass attendance is required.") All that is required is that each person “should be fully convinced in his own mind” about his viewpoint. God is more concerned that I live my life “to the Lord” -- that I am conscious of Him in all that I do -- than what day I worship.
It seems, then, that we have the freedom to view Christmas Day as a special day of worship or not. Different churches and different individuals within these churches, will come to different conclusions as they look to God for direction. The key is that whatever we do, we do it with our hearts and minds on the incredible condescension that God accomplished in Bethlehem’s stable: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying: `Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”
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