Dec

24

The Dark Side - Christmas

December 24, 2005 |

Thanks to Michelle Malkin’s pointer to an interesting article on the real meaning of Christmas entitled A Sword Will Pierce Your Heart.

From watching “Christmas with the Kranks” you watch the transformation of one family boycotting Christmas who in the end rediscover the ‘real meaning’ of Christmas when their neighbors pull together to recapture the warm fuzzies of Christmas. Mr. Krank of course discovers its about sharing and not thinking just about himself.

In the new “How the Grinch stole Christmas” you have the grumpy Grinch and the ever spending families of Whoville. In the end you they ‘find the real meaning’ of Christmas when they find that something more.

Amy Wellborn’s article at the National Review presents a ‘fresh’ perspective is an old forgotten one in today’s culture. It is about the dark side of Christmas. Though uniquely Catholic in perspective she points out that much of both sides in the culture war seem to be missing the point.

Which he is. But I say that many of the Defenders of Christmas have it almost as wrong as the secularists. Their vision of Christmas ??? centered on words, a rather generic baby, and nostalgic visions of families and fireplaces ??? actually gets no closer to the real Real Meaning of Christmas than do generic wishes for peace and joy in this holiday season.

The reason Jesus was born so that people might be saved from the coming wrath of God because of sin.

Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. - Col. 3:6

Mary was told that her heart would be pierced and these are the words which would find its fulfillment in the crucification. Yet it began not long after his birth. The ugliness of human behavior was revealed when Herod sent others to slay the baby Jesus. It was again seen when they plotted to kill Jesus throughout his ministry. It was seen when the same crowd which eagerly welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem cried for his death just one week later. The ugliness continued as they mocked and made demands upon Jesus even as he hung dying on the cross.

It was from the beginning when man refused to obey one rule. Throughout history the one line that could be quoted the most often is…

And the LORD told him: ???Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. - 1Sam. 8:7

Today the darkness continues as people still reject God as their king. People find it easy to break the laws of people they see. How much easier it is to break the laws of one they have not seen. So comes the story of Christmas. A king they could not see was born so that it would be obvious to all that there was a need for forgiveness by their creator King. Those who will listen will listen and come into the light and leave behind the darkness they once lived in.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.??? - John 3:20-21

That something else of Christmas is found not in the ‘warm fuzzies’ but in understanding the reason he came for you and I. This alone will prepare you for the final day when the baby born returns to judge men’s secrets.

Glad tidings of comfort and joy, and Merry Christmas indeed. But without awareness of the risk of discipleship, and the reality that the baby in the manger ends up hanging on a cross, those words have about as little power to change the world as “Happy Holidays.”

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