The Real Story of Christmas

 
This is the story of how we have come to celebrate Christmas today. The story starts with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth either in the year 6 BC or 6 AD. Both dates have pros and cons. The earlier one would have the baby Jesus born during King Herod’s lifetime (Matthew 2:1), before his death in 3 BC. Jesus would also be in his thirties (Luke 3:23) during the time Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea, from 26 AD to 36 AD. In 6 BC there was a conjunction of planets that could have been what the Magi saw (Matthew 2: 1-2). However, there was no census (Luke 2:1) that we know of taken in Palestine in 6 BC. We do know that there was a census taken in 6 AD while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Luke 2:1). However if Jesus were born in 6 AD he would not have begun his ministry in his thirties and still face Pilate at a trial. Another date to consider would be 3 BC, but this date has problems too. All we really know is that Jesus didn’t say what year he was born in or what day. In fact, Jesus probably didn’t want anyone to make a fuss, and so he kept quiet about it. And this silence left the door wide open for people to make Christmas into whatever they wanted.
 
The earliest celebration of the birth of Jesus was called the Theophany or manifestation of God. Today we call it Epiphany and it is celebrated on January 6^th, which was the beginning of the year in the days of the early church. The celebration included more than Jesus’ birth, it included the concept of God being with us always. This celebration was split into two holidays in the 4^th century AD. At that time the Christmas celebration competed with the pagan celebration of the birth of the Unconquered Son which was placed on the winter solstice (the calendar in those days was off by four days). When the Roman Empire became Christian, December 25^th became Jesus’ birthday. Epiphany was then considered the day Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit became manifest to all (Matt. 3:16). And Advent came about as a civil law that required all citizens to be in church for forty days before Epiphany! For over a thousand years Christmas was a midwinter religious celebration. But it changes dramatically in the last several hundred years.
 
Our modern celebration begins in the fourth century AD in the Turkish town of Myra. Bishop Nicholas was known for his generosity and kindness to children and after his death was canonized as Saint Nicholas. The day of his death, December 6^th became a major holiday around Europe and people celebrated it by exchanging gifts. Protestants in the 16^th century banned the celebration of saint’s days and so people moved the day of celebration to Christmas. German traditions have Nicholas giving gifts to children and a ghost-like Christ child hovering around him called Christkindl (Kris Kringle). Dutch settlers in New York brought with them the story of Sinter Klaas (Santa Claus) who was plump and smoked a pipe. And in the early eighteen hundreds in America Clement Clarke Moore wrote the words, “‘Twas the night before Christmas…” which cemented the story of Santa in the minds of every American. In his story St. Nick rides a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, is a jolly old elf and delivers toys to children through the chimney. Our modern Santa is dressed in red and white because in the 1930’s Coca-Cola used him to sell soda in the winter. And so there you have it - the story of how the birth of our savior and a kindly saint became tied up with gift giving and soda pop!
 
Isn’t this an amazing story! Isn’t it astonishing how St. Nick became Santa and was thrust into the Christmas story? I hope you can see that many of our Christmas traditions have very little to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Fortunately the core message of the religious celebration still survives in our churches today. And that is the message of God becoming manifest to people in a very real way. God came to our world, as a real living person to show us how much He loves us. And He lived His life as an example of how to serve our Father in Heaven as well as serve other people. This is the real message of Christmas. And the message is more important than all of the gifts and all of the celebrating in the entire world. It is my hope that as we are opening presents and drinking soda, we keep in mind a child in a manger who came to give us the gift of light and life.
 
Blessings, Pastor Bill

Christmas Storm Strikes Philippines

 
A terrible storm struck the Philippines before Christmas leaving a thousand people dead and tens of thousands homeless. Please pray for the people of the Philippines today.
 
President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines declared a state of national calamity on Tuesday after visiting areas in the south of the country that were devastated by a tropical storm over the weekend.
 
The death toll continued to rise from Tropical Storm Washi, which has left tens of thousands of people homeless as aid agencies struggle to deal with a growing humanitarian crisis.
 
Read the rest of the Story…

Am I To Be

( A Poem by Ted Zendarski)

If it's your will, am I to be seen
And if that's so, will anyone look
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be heard
and if that's so, will anyone listen
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be touched
And if that's so, will anyone feel
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be fed
And if that's so, will anyone feed
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be held
And if that's so, will anyone hold
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be loved
And if that's so, will you love me
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
If it's your will, am I to be
And if that's so, do you really want me
But it's out of my hands
Please give me a chance
But not as I will
 
It was her will, and given free
And so long ago, she accepted it to be
But now it's in your hands
Please give me a chance
As Mary did He

Religion at Christmas

This Christmas Eve there will be candles burning. Lots and lots of candles burning. Our church turns off the lights at the end of the service and we light our candles and sing Silent Night. The more traditional churches like the Roman Catholic Church probably have enough burning candles in them to outshine New York City on New Year’s Eve. Some contemporary churches will have their congregants holding battery powered electric candles. Safer, but not very cool. All throughout the world this week there will be praises, prayers, singing and burning candles. This is how we Christians worship during the Christmas season. However, this is not religion.
 
That last statement has probably gotten some of you to shake your heads or wrinkle your noses. If our celebration of Christmas is not religion then what is? It depends on how you define the term, as opposed to how I define the term. Most people define it in a very broad sense. If a person is worshipping something whether it is God in Heaven or a dandelion, then that person is practicing religion. I do not define religion in this way. In my definition it is not enough to worship God or whatever it is you believe in. It is not enough to light a candle and sing a song. It is not enough to believe in something. These aspects are all a part of how we express our religious belief, desires and feelings. However, they are only a very small part of what religion is.
 
When asked “which is the greatest commandment”, Jesus responded; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Notice that neither of these are in the 10 Commandments. Instead Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The Deuteronomy passage is part of the Shema, the foundation of the Law of Moses: “Here O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is One”. The worship practices cited above would fall under this commandment. Religious people are to worship God with everything they have and everything they are. And so those of us who have faith in God do just that, at church services, synagogue services, etc… For Jesus, this commandment is not enough.
 
His second command is to love your neighbor. This comes from Leviticus and is surrounded by a host of laws some of which we wouldn’t consider too important today. “Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” (Lev. 19:19). I think I’m in trouble with The Lord because of my cotton/polyester blend sweater. And yet, Jesus lifts up loving your neighbor as the second most important law besides loving God. And though I have said that these two commandments are not in the 10 Commandments, they are the foundation of the 10. The first 5 commandments are all concerned with loving and honoring God. The second 5, are concerned with loving and honoring people. I hope that you can see, being a religious person is more than being a devote worshiper. It is also about treating each other with dignity, love and respect.
 
Whether you agree with me or not, my definition of religion is; Loving God and Loving People. It’s as simple as that. A so called religious person is not religious if he/she do not place both of these concepts at the foundation of their life. All of the candles, all of the prayers and praises, all of the religious practices in all of the world do not amount to a hill of beans if the people involved do not love their neighbors. You can pray to a dandelion all you want, and it can make you feel good, but if you treat the people around you like garbage, your prayers and your good feelings will disappear like your godlike weed when the winter sets in.
 
So when you light your candles and sing your songs this Christmas, just remember as you step outside into the cold. Love God and Love People, religion hangs on these two commandments.
 
God bless you and Happy Christmas,
 
Pastor Bill

Charlie Brown Christmas Almost Didn’t Happen

 

Few headlines about network television make me giddy. Fewer still make me hopeful that all is good in the world. But back in August of 2010, I read the following headline from the media pages with great excitement: “Charlie Brown Is Here to Stay: ABC Picks Up ‘Peanuts’ Specials Through 2015.” The first of these to be made, the famous Christmas special, was an instant classic when it was created by Charles Schulz on a shoestring budget back in 1965, and thanks to some smart television executives, it will be around for at least another five years for all of us to see and enjoy.

What people don’t know is that the Christmas special almost didn’t happen, because some not-so-smart television executives almost didn’t let it air. You see, Charles Schulz had some ideas that challenged the way of thinking of those executives 46 years ago, and one of them had to do with the inclusion in his Christmas cartoon of a reading from the King James Bible’s version of the Gospel of Luke.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Continue Reading the story…

Let’s Put Christ-mas in its Place

(This is an interesting take on the dilemma that has become our biggest holiday of the year. From USA Today)

Instead of engaging in a battle to reclaim Christmas, I propose an alternative. Let's take Christ out of Christmas. I know what you're thinking: What about "the reason for the season"? But that's precisely my point. Do Christians really want to think of the son of God as the reason for reduced-price waffle-makers and winter wonderland scenes at the local mall?

Read the rest of the article…

A Christmas Message from Billy Graham

On that first Christmas night, the angels appeared to shepherds on a hill near Bethlehem. Alfred Edersheim, the great 19th-century Jewish-Christian scholar, wrote in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah that the shepherds and the sheep to whom the angels appeared near Bethlehem were no ordinary shepherds and sheep.

The sheep were those bound for the temple sacrifices. The shepherds were outcasts because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances. And their manner of life rendered legal observances unlikely, if not absolutely impossible.

How wonderful that in God’s wisdom and love the angels should appear to them—the doomed and the outcast—that night.

Today we can declare to the world that the Good Shepherd cares for all people and wants to give them peace. Christ came on that first Christmas for one great purpose—to die on the cross for our sins. Now God offers forgiveness, inner peace, and eternal life to all who will repent and believe in His Son. This is the Christmas message!



Do you know people who need to hear about God’s love and forgiveness? Will you share the true Christmas message with them this year?

http://billygraham.1mobb.com/

Chris Tomlin sings Joy to the World

The Real Story of Christmas

This is the story of how we have come to celebrate Christmas today. The story starts with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth either in the year 6 BC or 6 AD. Both dates have pros and cons. The earlier one would have the baby Jesus born during King Herod’s lifetime (Matt. 2:1), before the King’s death in 3 BC. Jesus would also be in his thirties (Lk 3:23) during the time Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea, from 26 AD to 36 AD. In 6 BC there was a conjunction of planets that could have been what the Magi saw (Matt. 2:1 - 2). However, there was no census (Lk 2:1) that we know of taken in Palestine in 6 BC. We do know that there was a census taken in 6 AD while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Lk 2:1). However if Jesus were born in 6 AD he would not have begun his ministry in his thirties and still face Pilate at a trial. Another date to consider would be 3 BC, but this date has problems too. All we really know is that Jesus didn’t say what year he was born in or what day. In fact, Jesus probably didn’t want anyone to make a fuss, and so he kept quiet about it. And this silence left the door wide open for people to make Christmas into whatever they wanted.

The earliest celebration of the birth of Jesus was called the Theophany or manifestation of God. Today we call it Epiphany and it is celebrated on January 6^th, which was the beginning of the year in the days of the early church. The celebration included more than Jesus’ birth, it included the concept of God being with us always. This celebration was split into two holidays in the 4^th century AD. At that time the Christmas celebration competed with the pagan celebration of the birth of the Unconquered Son which was placed on the winter solstice (the calendar in those days was off by four days). When the Roman Empire became Christian, December 25^th became Jesus’ birthday. Epiphany was then considered the day Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit became manifest to all (Matt. 3:16). And Advent came about as a civil law that required all citizens to be in church for forty days before Epiphany! For over a thousand years Christmas was a midwinter religious celebration. But it changes dramatically in the last several hundred years.

Our modern celebration begins in the fourth century AD in the Turkish town of Myra. Bishop Nicholas was known for his generosity and kindness to children and after his death was canonized as Saint Nicholas. The day of his death, December 6^th became a major holiday around Europe and people celebrated it by exchanging gifts. Protestants in the 16^th century banned the celebration of saint’s days and so people moved the day of celebration to Christmas. German traditions have Nicholas giving gifts to children and a ghost-like Christ child hovering around him called Christkindl (Kris Kringle). Dutch settlers in New York brought with them the story of Sinter Klaas (Santa Claus) who was plump and smoked a pipe. And in the early eighteen hundreds in America Clement Clarke Moore wrote the words, “‘Twas the night before Christmas…” which cemented the story of Santa in the minds of every American. In his story St. Nick rides a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, is a jolly old elf and delivers toys to children through the chimney. Our modern Santa is dressed in red and white because in the 1930’s Coca-Cola used him to sell soda in the winter. And so there you have it - the story of how the birth of our savior and a kindly saint became tied up with gift giving and soda pop!

Isn’t this an amazing story! Isn’t it astonishing how St. Nick became Santa and was thrust into the Christmas story? I hope you can see that many of our Christmas traditions have very little to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Fortunately the core message of the religious celebration still survives in our churches today. And that is the message of God becoming manifest to people in a very real way. God came to our world, as a real living person to show us how much He loves us. And He lived His life as an example of how to serve our Father in Heaven as well as serve other people. This is the real message of Christmas. And the message is more important than all of the gifts and all of the celebrating in the entire world. It is my hope that as we are opening presents and drinking soda, we keep in mind a child in a manger who came to give us the gift of light and life.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Pastor Bill