Tradition 11.30.2023

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we get our tradition on, don’t we? Families have holiday traditions. Schools have holiday traditions. Neighborhoods, clubs, and civic groups will have traditional gatherings and parties.  Some of the traditions we will share in a variety of contexts and complexities serve to make memories that will last a lifetime. Other traditions come and go, and we will have a good chuckle when someone says, “You remember when we tried _______?” 

    The best Advent and Christmas traditions focus as much as possible on the incarnation of Jesus and the Church's embrace of His motive and message. We are not our own. Having been brought with a price, even our traditions and celebrations should reinforce our purpose. Even the tree, tinsel, and trim and serve as an opportunity to draw attention to Jesus, if we gather to beautify the facility for visitors and neighbors who choose to worship during the Christmas season. Not that I am advocating the idea that anything and everything we do can be “baptized” and repurposed for the cause of Christ, but we are not talking about novel notions or ideas here. We are not the first celebrants of Christmas. We are not the first to be asked by our Children why we do all these things. 

There are some keys to making our Advent and Christmas traditions usable teaching moments rather than tired attempts to make the secular spiritual. I want to focus on these keys as we move from Thanksgiving to Advent, November to December.

Worship

    Christmas is a season of worship. Yes, I realize that we worship year-round, but Christmas gives an opportunity to reinforce some of the lessons we teach throughout the year. We will have visitors who know the songs. That is a little different. As post-modern worship has become more diverse and contemporary it has also become so innovative that, for many, the songs and practices are novelties. The hymns and tunes we sing during Christmas tend to the traditional. The arrangements and instruments may take their cue from Christian radio airplay, but at least the basic tunes and lyrics are recognizable. This is not always the case during the rest of the year. 

    In an attempt to be culturally relevant, Christian worship has largely gotten so far ahead of the culture, with new traditions and practices that it is no longer able to communicate in terms understandable to those who are seeking spiritual guidance. The Christmas season is an opportunity to dispense with the novel tribal traditions that have insulated us from our fallen culture. 

    During Christmas both the seeker and the redeemed can approach God, sharing well-loved hymns, carols, and choruses that exalt the incarnate God who stepped into human history to redeem the lost. For those who lead and serve in the Church, it is a good time to reflect on whether our Worship practices, in a misguided attempt to attract unbelievers, have instead become a barrier to the unchurched. 

Fellowship

Another focus during Advent/Christmas is fellowship. Life is built upon relationships and the Christmas season allows us to approach relationships with less rigidity than we might have during the year. The growth and prominence of social media deludes us into thinking that we have more and deeper relationships than we really have. A “like” on Facebook is not the same thing as a hug or a pat on the back. In fact, the pursuit of affirmation on social media is so juvenile that rather than deepening relationships it simply functions as a dopamine rush. We don’t need “liked” we need to be loved and affirmed. 

Christmas is a time for parties and hearty greetings. Many Churches, just like ours have already had the first such party of the season when we gathered for hanging of the greens. Christmas trees are not mentioned in Scripture. There is absolutely no theological benefit to having candles or a creche in the building—but we sure did have a good time enjoying the process and enjoying one another. And there is more to come!

Scripture

    There was a time when most people in our communities shared a minimal Biblical vocabulary. Even the un-churched understood that Christmas and Easter focused on Jesus and what the Bible says about His life, ministry, and saving sacrifice. That common vocabulary is not as widespread. It’s OK. In the first century, there was virtually no common ground between the Church and Pagan culture—and we got along fine. In fact, when it comes to the Bible, no information is better than misinformation. 

    One of our jobs during the year is to remind one another that we are a Biblically formed people and that our understanding of what we think the Scripture says, and what the Scripture actually says, are not always the same thing. Because both believers and unbelievers will be in Worship during Christmas, sharing fellowship and companionship with one another, the exegesis of Scripture and the preaching of the Word must be accurate and understandable. 

    Yes, this should always be the case. We need to remind ourselves that of all the Biblical stories that are partly known, or recalled from childhood, Christmas leads the parade. There are times when we will confirm what people know and understand about the story of Jesus. There will be other times when we confront and correct what people think they know about the story of Jesus. Like all good preaching, we are called to combine compassion, affection, and clarity along with doctrinal accuracy. 

Jesus

    Finally, we focus on Jesus. The Bible tells His story. The Church gathers for fellowship because we are His body. We worship to exalt His name and prepare ourselves for service week by week. It’s all about Jesus all the time. 

    There is an ever-increasing cast of characters that we enjoy around the Christmas season. It may have started with Santa Claus, but we have quickly moved from the “Jolly old Elf” to Buddy the Elf.  Talking snowmen, flying reindeer, and grumpy grinches will all bask in the seasonal glow. 

How did all this industry, all this hoopla, all this celebration come about? What kind of bizarre cultural transference moves us from Bethlehem to Whoville? How did we get from shepherds to Santa—from the babe in the cradle on a silent night to decking halls and yule-tide cheer?  

We will never know. It is what it is. Either we embrace it or reject it. What an opportunity! To tell the story of Jesus amid a culture so awash in stories of mystery and magic! Not to rail against the seasonal fictions but to ride on the coattails, taking the opportunity to reframe the dialogue with the truest story of all.