Ask a Pastor: How do we balance the true meaning of Christmas with all of the seasonal festivities?

Question

How do we balance the true meaning of Christmas with all of the seasonal festivites?

Answer

On Christmas, most Christians remember the incarnation (humble birth) of Jesus. It is certainly a biblical principle to remember and rejoice in God's redemptive work, and the redemptive work of Jesus should lead us to worship every day. Romans 14:5-6 states, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike…. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.” I bring this passage up because the Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us to remember the birth of Christ on December 25. Therefore, if we do set apart special days to remember a particular work of Christ’s redemption, then we must esteem it unto the Lord. The same would be true of remembering your birthday, anniversary, or any other special day. The challenge your question highlights is that many of the seasonal festivities can distract us from esteeming the day unto the Lord. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, “How am I esteeming Christmas day unto the Lord?” Another way to ask it is, “How am I giving glory to God in all I do and all I participate in?”

Furthermore, we recognize that Romans 14 is part of Paul's teaching on Christian liberty regarding various practices. Therefore, it would not be wise to list dos and don'ts, because each person must search his or her heart regarding how and why they might or might not participate in various seasonal festivities. I left out a sentence when I quoted Romans 14:5, which states, “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

Therefore, to balance the true meaning of Christmas and the seasonal festivities with conviction, we must search our hearts and ask whether we are making seasonal festivities into an idol that distracts us from Christ and doing all to His glory. We could ask ourselves the following questions: Have the seasonal festivities led me to focus on consumerism or empty tradition? What gives me the most joy at Christmas?

Would your answers reflect this:

• I prioritize gathering in corporate worship, family and personal devotions (reading Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2, and John 1), and meditating on the incarnation through scripture and our confessions. As I do this, my heart burns within me with love for Christ and all He has done for me. The glorious gospel is my true joy!

  
  

• When I gather with family, friends, or co-workers, I seek to promote activities that direct our hearts toward gratitude and joy in Christ and love for God and my neighbor, rather than pride in tradition, hosting, or material goods.

  
  

• I strive to guard against making idols out of the food, gifts, trees, lights, or finding my identity in family traditions rather than Christ. I ask myself whether an activity helps me treasure Christ or is it self-focused. This way, I can enjoy the fellowship of family and friends, good food, beautiful music, and seasonal decorations as creational blessings with thanksgiving to God because they reflect the goodness and provision of my Creator and Redeemer.

In addition, the Christmas season provides us with unique opportunities in evangelism. In an individualistic culture, Christmas provides a great opportunity for social gatherings and relationship building. Christmas is a season where many businesses slow down or celebrate together. This can be an opportunity to enjoy God's gifts with thanksgiving and create more meaningful relationships with our neighbours. Christmas gives a unique opportunity for evangelism as songs about Christ and the gospel are playing in secular settings. Also, while we can and should invite colleagues and friends to any Lord's Day service, yet our friends might be more ready to attend a service during the Christmas season.