A Fresh Perspective - 12/07/07

How is it that in our culture Christmas has assumed a larger-than-life place? Don't misunderstand me; it's not all bad. In spite of the conglomerate retail business that is so incessant and intrusive in its marketing of products this time of year, there is much good done and a lot of generous giving takes place. Still we have to wonder why, on the Christian calendar, we have allowed the season of Advent to overshadow Holy Week. I'm not accusing anyone; I'm as guilty as any.

But the fact is, in the New Testament Gospels Christmas is not that big of a deal. The Gospels of Mark and John do not even mention the birth of Jesus. While John's Gospel begins with a theology of incarnation - the Word, Wisdom, Grace and Truth of God becoming flesh - the Gospel of Mark begins with John the Baptist.

The birth narratives as told separately in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, though cherished by so many of us, are so different from each other that the majority of Gospel scholars question their historical reliability. Their importance, they say, resides not in their historical accuracy, but in their theological meaning to people of faith, understood in light of the total story of Jesus. I always find it challenging during Advent to come up with fresh sermon ideas from the stories of Matthew and Luke.

There would be no Christmas without Easter. Even though Luke gives us more Christmas material than Matthew, in his account of early Christian preaching and the spread of the gospel in the book of Acts, the birth of Jesus never enters the picture. According to Luke, it all began as a renewal movement within Judaism, heralding Jesus as Israel's Messiah and Lord (i.e. Acts 2:14-41; 3:11-26, etc.). In Luke's summary of Peter's first sermon, Peter says: "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah." The heart of the message of these first Christ followers was that God vindicated the man, Jesus of Nazareth, by raising him from the dead. The early Jesus movement, from which all Christianity sprang, was fueled by Easter. It is some time later, in light of Easter, that the early Christians begin to theologize about Jesus' birth.

I love the season of Advent. But if we want to be more authentically Christian in our celebration of the Christmas season, then instead of getting too sentimental or dogmatic over the birth stories (some Christians make belief in the virgin birth a basis for Christian fellowship), we should employ these stories as a way of reflecting on the total meaning of the Jesus story. And, in particular, we can ponder how God has acted in the person of Jesus of Nazareth - his words, deeds, death and resurrection - to manifest God's unconditional love and to bring redemption to all people.

Chuck Queen is Senior Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort. You can access his sermons and past articles at www.ibcfrankfort.com. He welcomes your comments at cqueen@fewpb.net