English
Korean
Spanish
Recently I was standing with a group I had taken to Israel inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The altar area of the church sits above a series of caves underneath where, according to tradition, Jesus was born and placed in the manger. The altar is incredibly gaudy, with icons, decorations and all kinds of other objects of gold and silver. It seems that the manger has been buried under the altar.
I thought of a conversation Thomas Aquinas had with Pope Innocent II. The Pope was showing Aquinas some of the riches of the church and said, “You see, the church is no longer in that age in which she said, ‘silver and gold have I none,’” to which Aquinas replied, “True, Holy Father, but neither can she say to the lame, ‘rise up and walk.’” We forfeit the power when we bury the purpose.
Martha was in a sense burying the opportunity of having Jesus in her home by her busyness, while Mary sat at his feet embracing the moment and the joy. Martha buried the purpose, Mary gloried in his presence.
There’s no doubt Christmas has been buried under profits, presents, and parties. Ten minutes of chaotic joy around a Christmas tree is followed by months of payments and a return to the pre-Christmas misery of life endured by so many. But really, should it surprise us when lost people bury the true meaning of Christmas? Under our watch the church has lost much of her influence as our culture turns away from biblical truth and from Christ. Some folks get stirred up when “Happy Holidays” takes preference over “Merry Christmas,” but the question remains, why should we expect lost people to act like saved people? A greater issue to be addressed is this: Is it too much to expect saved people to live like saved people? How can we dig Christmas out of the grave in which our culture has buried it?
We can make that answer more complicated than it has to be. Vance Havner had it right when he said “we don’t need something so new as much as we need something so old that it would be new if anybody ever tried it.” God became flesh and dwelt among us. His name means that he is with us. That promise intensifies as we make disciples of all the peoples. Ten minutes of obedience to our Lord can unleash more power through us than 10 years of study or sacrifice.
I’m not too alarmed that our culture is burying Christmas. I would expect a lost culture to do so. I am somewhat concerned that sometimes God’s people are helping in the burial. But I am also mindful that Jesus never stays buried very long. We must never disconnect his resurrection from the celebration of his birth. He was born to die and be raised from the dead. Many will try to bury the true meaning of the gospel, but the fact remains that today Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and we have the privilege to carry out his marching orders to speak and live the good news.
We don’t have to dig Jesus out from under anything. We must preach him crucified. No one knows what God might do if we refocused our lives, energy, and resources on his Great Commission rather than our Great Convenience. May spiritual awakening break out during this Christmas season.
God is with us. Yes, he is.
