Christmas

1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

Romans 14:1-8

I love this passage from the Book of Romans. It sets out for me a paradigm that I would hope that all Christians would embrace. Sadly, too many people acting out of their ignorance, seem to enjoy passing judgment upon their fellow servants. This happens in every faith. We are not alone. In fact, it is a frailty of humanity to want to draw lines and to decide who is "in" or who is "out" of our box. Paul's teaching above suggests that there is room for differences in opinion. Faith is not defined by "uniformity". Different people can do things differently in how they honor God. In the end, it is not up to us. It is God who decides. We are simply called to love one another as ourselves.

When I was growing up at McKnight Road, we used to hear sermons on Christmas about why one should not celebrate Christmas. Yet, my family would go home and open presents around a tree and celebrate the holiday. It is of interest, historically, that the celebration of Christmas was a late attempt to "Christianize" the pagan holiday of the winter solstice. An interesting article by Tom Breen of the AP appeared in The Tennessean religion section. Headlined "Christmas wasn't always Christian," its subheading stated, "Most U. S. churches rejected holiday on biblical grounds." Breen stated: "Through much of the 19th century, schools and businesses remained open, Congress met, and some churches closed their doors, lest errant worshippers tried to commemorate the day." Citing Bruce Forbes, a religious studies professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and author of the book, Christmas: A Candid History, Breen quoted: "The whole culture didn't stop for Christmas. Government went on as usual, business went on as usual, school went on as usual." Forbes discovered "that major American denominations -- Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists -- either ignored the holiday or discouraged it until the late 19th century. This rejection was rooted in the lack of biblical sanction for Dec. 25 as the date of Jesus' birth, and suspicion toward traditions that developed after the earliest days of Christianity." Samuel Sewall, a Boston Puritan was quoted as having written on Christmas day of 1685: "Some somehow observe the day, but are vexed that the body of people profane it, and blessed be God no authority yet compels them to keep it." The article pointed out that the United Church of God does not celebrate Christmas, refusing to do so on "religious grounds," and affirming that "divine instruction, rather than culture and society, should determine whether the holiday is appropriate."

This type of thinking influenced the the early Stone-Campbell Movement, i.e. (i) there was a lack of Biblical sanction of December 25 as the date of Christ's birth; (ii) there was a suspicion towards practices that developed later in the history of the church; (iii) there was no authority to compel the keeping of this day; and (iv) divine instruction, rather than culture and society, should determine if the holiday should be celebrated.

As a young man, I used to sit and listen to those types of sermons condemning those who celebrated the day religiously. I sat there and wondered if Jesus had walked in, would he have felt welcomed? Would he have stayed to listen to such teaching? Somehow, I feel he would have suggested that those who condemn others for celebrating a day unto the Lord missed the point of Paul's teaching in Romans 14.

I am thrilled to be part of a fellowship that offers believers a choice. For those who wish to come and worship and celebrate Christmas this year, we are offering a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007 at 6:00 pm at the McKnight Road Church of Christ, 2515 McKnight Road, St. Louis MO 63124. For further information one can call 314-962-7026 or see link.