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Professor/Pastor Ryan's thougths for Christmas 2009
How wide is the gap between Christmas and Easter?
Pastor Ryan Welsh
As I sit and write these words on December 2, I already see “baby Jesus” everywhere; on cards, in stores, on the television. It’s not that it’s too early for Christmas décor, but rather “baby Jesus” is NOT what Christmas is about. At this point some of you are picking up the phone to call me, or opening up your email to write me. Before you do,please hear me out and I think you will understand and agree that Christmas is significantly more than “baby Jesus.” What I am asking you to consider this Christmas is this: Maybe the gap between Christmas and Easter isn’t as wide as you once thought.
We have made the grave mistake in our country of making Christmas about “baby Jesus.” This is possibly the most reductionistic thing that we as Christians can do. Although virtually everyone celebrates Christmas in our country, it is we Christians who ought to celebrate this holiday for the right reason.
This time of year I am always reminded of the movie “Talladega Nights” (I am not endorsing this movie, I am simply using a scene from it for illustration).Ricky Bobby (a race car driver) and his family are sitting around the dinner table and Ricky starts to pray. “Dear Lord baby Jesus… We hope You can use Your baby Jesus powers to help us.” Later in the prayer, Ricky says, “Dear, tiny,infant Jesus,” he can hardly finish this line before his wife chimes in, “Hey…You know sweetie… Jesus did grow up.”Ricky responds, “I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace you can say it to grown up Jesus or teen age Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” Before his wife can respond with a single word he begins to pray again, “Dear, tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers, with your tiny balled up hands” at this point his angry father-in-law interrupts him, “He was a man! He had a beard!” Ricky ends the scene, “Look! I like the baby Jesus best!”
This scene is absolutely hilarious for two reasons. First, the ignorance of Ricky Bobby is unparalleled. Second, there is a lot of truth pertaining to the way Christians act during this time of year.
I must say this before there are any misconceptions: We should be celebrating Jesus’ coming year-round! With that said, during this season we traditionally(only traditionally, not biblically) celebrate Jesus coming in the flesh and we traditionally (only traditionally, not biblically) call this holiday Christmas.Here is the problem, Ricky Bobby’s wife is right! Jesus did grow up! I don’t know when it started, but I’m guessing it was long ago, when Christians (at least the majority of) began to celebrate Christmas by remembering, “baby Jesus.”
As I mentioned above this is exceedingly reductionistic of us. Did Jesus enter into human history as a baby? Yes. Is Christmas meant to celebrate the coming of Jesus into human history? Yes. So what’s the problem? I think we can all agree that the reason we celebrate the coming of Jesus is because of what He did on the cross about thirty years after his birth. In other words if this MAN, Jesus, was born 2000 years ago and lived for about thirty years and died,and that was it, end of story, then we would have nothing to celebrate, we wouldn’t even know that this MAN Jesus ever existed.
If we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, we are only celebrating it because of what He came to do and the fact that He accomplished what He came to do. What does this mean? This means that we ought not leave Jesus in the manger, but rather celebrate not only his coming as a baby, but celebrate every aspect of His life, and even more so, His death on the cross for our sin. To celebrate“baby Jesus” is to forget why He came. To celebrate “baby Jesus” is sentimentalism. To celebrate Jesus Christ our Savior, for coming into human history as a baby, growing up, and dying on a cross for our sin, is to celebrate what the Bible tells us to celebrate.
I find it fascinating how the book of Isaiah includes all aspects of Jesus’ life. Isaiah is prophesying about700 years before Jesus would ever appear on earth. “Baby Jesus” (maybe not in those words) is referred to in the book of Isaiah. In Chapter 9 we have prophecy about a “child being born to us,” but this is not all. Isaiah, 700years before Jesus enters into human history in chapter 53 verse 2 says this,“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground…” This prophecy goes on to say in verse 5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” The chapter ends like this: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Some will ask, “Isn’t this more of an Easter passage?” What I am asking you to consider this Christmas season is this: Maybe the gap between Christmas and Easter isn’t as wide as you once thought.