There is an unusual story about a church in California. (Where else could this happen but California?) The church had a drive-through Christmas celebration. You drove to the starting gate and were handed a cassette tape or compact disk. You were told that when you heard a bell tone you drive ahead to next scene. The originator of this endeavor said, “We want instant food. We want instant religion. This takes 8 minutes and you don’t have to get out of your car.” She then added this comment, “Sure, every once in a while we get someone who is looking for more.” 

Are you looking for more? Are you looking for more from your Christmas observance? Not more presents or parties or people. Just more. Each year we hear a cacophony of voices crying out about Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings vs. Merry Christmas. We hear about Christmas trees that have become “Holiday Trees.” We see nativity scenes that picture a green froggy for Joseph, Miss Piggy for Mary and Muppet Gonzo as the Shepherd. 

We hear stories which are funny but border on the absurd. Like the story about Joseph and Mary coming up to the Inn that night looking for a room. Joseph says to the Inn Keeper, “My wife is pregnant. She is about ready to deliver, we desperately need a room.” The Inn Keeper said, “I am sorry, I have no rooms.” Joseph said, “Please, I really need this.” Replied the Inn Keeper, “I am sorry it is not my fault.” And Joseph said, “Well, It is not my fault either.” 

Or we hear comments like these:

        “Along with a smoked ham and smoked turkey, I now have a smoked credit card.”

        “Christ is best described as some assembly required.” 

Each year the battle lines are drawn. The implication is there’s a conspiracy afoot to eliminate Christmas. Last year a Fox News commentator came out with a book entitled, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Holiday is Worse Than You Thought. The implication is that the secularists are pushing Christianity and Christmas underground! 

Some of the issues have gone to the Supreme Court. In 1985 the Supreme Court released what they call the “reindeer ruling.” It said that the town square Nativity scenes were constitutional if balanced with secular symbols like Santa Claus. 

Sometimes we don’t know whether to get mad or get discouraged or both. 

Victor Frank talked about our human search for meaning. Christmas is a time to find meaning. Yet, sometimes the holidays and holy days turn out to be “hollow days” instead. 

Well, I have a somewhat radical suggestion today. Instead of slogans like “Put Christ in Christmas” or “Put Christ back into Christmas.” What about this? Take Christ OUT of the Holiday season. No longer condemning the commercialism in the secular fare. No longer fighting losing battles with the economic motivators and retailers. No longer trying to match Hallmark Card and Norman Rockwell scenes. No longer lamenting school concerts where Frosty the Snowman is sung back to back with Silent Night. Instead, pull Christ out and celebrate him at a whole different level! 

That is sort of what happened in the early church. The Romans and other ancients had a holiday at the Winter Solstice in late December. They had a great party to mark the event.  

Elaine and I and our two oldest grandsons were in Fairbanks, Alaska for the Summer Solstice two and a half years ago on June 21. The sun never set that day. The city had an all out party that went 24 hours.  

A similar setting took place on December 21 or 22 with the ancients. It was a real party blow out. They celebrated the fact (according to their understanding) that the sun was not going out after all. They had reason to rejoice. 

The early Christians said, “We are being persecuted for our faith. It is dangerous to be a believer, but we can still mark the birth of Jesus in late December and the enemy will hardly notice.” So the birth of Jesus as the Light of the World, is the one whose “light shines in the darkness and the darkness is not able to overcome” is marked for late December. Christians had their celebration and the rest of the world had theirs.

I am suggesting something very similar. Enjoy the parties, enjoy the food, enjoy the card and gift exchanges, but make the Christmas celebration a separate entity. 

Take Christ out of what Christmas has become. Don’t worry about putting him back in Christmas. Is Jesus really the reason for any of the stuff that Christmas has become anyway? Allow Him once again to become the Savior of the world. 

I can think of at least two ways to this. 

PUT HIM INTO YOUR MIND 

First pull Christ out of the season and put him into your mind or better, engage Him with your mind. 

We spend way too much time around the fluff and not enough around the substance. These are days to contemplate and rejoice. We don’t rejoice in gifts exchanged with one another, although there is nothing particularly wrong with that. We don’t rejoice in fancy foods and long strings of colored lights. We rejoice in incarnation. We rejoice in God coming among us in the flesh. 

We sing about it a lot. Perhaps we sing about it without thinking about it. Next year 2007 will mark the 300^th birthday of Charles Wesley. We hope to observe that here sometime in May. One of the great hymns that Charles Wesley wrote is one you love to sing at Christmas time, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Verse 2 of that hymn has one of the most powerful theological statements ever written. Listen to the words:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the Incarnate Deity, Please with us in Flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.

It doesn’t get any deeper or richer than that. 

Do you talk about the deeper things of Christmas at any point? Do you stop to reflect upon the meaning of the Christ event” Do you get so swallowed by the trivial that you forget the profound? 

Someone has suggested that an hour in church and table grace at home is not sufficient to keep us mentally engaged. It takes more thought, more contemplation and more conversation. All these things are needed and important. 

For 25 years we have had a strong Child Care Center in this ministry at Christ Church. For many of those years – especially recently – the staff has provided a journey to Bethlehem for the children in early December. We dress up in period costumes as angels, shepherds, magi and Mary. We attempt to share with the children and with many parents who come, the deeper story. I am at the end of the line at that Journey to Bethlehem. I am back in the Sacristy with a nativity set. When the children come in we go over the various figures in the story one more time. Then I say to the children something like this, “Do you know why we celebrate Christmas? We celebrate because God loves you so much that God sent Jesus to be your very best friend forever.” 

We are trying to plant the central story in their young minds. It is a bit harder to do with two year olds I admit. It is a bit easier for four and five year olds. Put Jesus out of the Holiday Season and into your minds. 

What about the peace symbol? The Christmas message is one of Peace on Earth. The peace symbol that many of you have seen was first designed in 1958 by a Christian by the name of Gerald Holtom. Originally it was a cross inside a circle. Someone objected because it became a way of making a statement against the war. So he redesigned the symbol. It became a cross still inside a circle, but the cross had drooping arms. He suggested that the drooping arms were a sign of disappointment. That peace was not yet realized. It is that sign of disappointment that many Americans feel right now. It is a sign that all Christians should feel. Jesus comes, Isaiah tells us as a wonderful counselor, a mighty God, and the Prince of Peace. 

The symbol is sometimes call communist or secularist or satanic. But it is a deeply Christian symbol. We should not be ashamed to wear it or display it. Peace is a deep and abiding message behind the Christmas event. Peace is Christmas and Christmas is peace. Peace is the hope of the world promised in the birth of Jesus. 

The peace symbol is not about politics, but it is about who Jesus is. It is not about some private crusade, but it is about why Jesus came. 

Pull Jesus out of the fluff and the frivolous and the fanfare of the season. Put Him into your mind. Who Jesus is and why He came is worthy of serious thought. 

PUT HIM INTO OUR HEART 

Secondly, pull Christ out of the season and put Him into your heart. Or better stated, welcome Him into your heart. 

There is another Children’s moment that I have used in the past. I bring a small brightly wrapped box into a session with children. The box has ribbon around it, lots of tape and little tiny stars sprinkled across it. We talk about the box and how pretty it looks. But then I remind the children that the present is not the box, but what is on the inside. We are reminded that, “It’s what is on the inside that counts.” 

That is why God came at Christmas. God came to change us on the inside, to change our hearts. What we look like on the outside is not important. How we are on the inside is very important. In some ways that was the meaning behind the Velveteen Rabbit drama that was presented by the youth of this church this past Thursday and Friday night.  

God wants to change you and me on the inside. That is why we may need to take Jesus out of the Holiday Season and put Him in a separate space, a separate piece, a separate part of our being. 

A young woman approached Christmas with her life in turmoil. The holiday frenzy made it worse. She was exhausted from all the pressure and it was about to push her over the edge. She went to seek comfort from a friend. This friend had weathered many crises over the years. She said to the friend, “I’ve lost any sense of peace or serenity.” 

The friend responded, “The world cannot give you peace. You can only find that serenity and peace in your heart…the good news is by the same token, the world cannot take it away either.” 

Let Jesus bring peace to your heart this year. Nothing else is quite as important. 

The ancient philosopher Socrates was known as frugal man. Often seen in the market place he was examining some of the most luxurious items. He never bought anything. When asked about it he would often say, “I am always amazed to see just how many things there are that I don’t need.” 

We don’t need the things of Christmas. But we do need the Christ of Christmas. Every one of us needs that. 

So maybe…you and I start a campaign to take Christ out of this season. Remove Him from what it has become. Place Him in your hearts and in your heads. 

Or, maybe, just maybe, you don’t put Jesus any place. Rather, you simply consider where you put yourself in relation to Him. Do this, and the heart of God will be glad.