FAMILY AND FAITH

Christmas Day is falling on Sunday this year! What's up with that!? Are we now expected to go to a worship service on Sunday? But, we do that every Sunday, and besides it's Christmas and that's a time for family and friends. And, by the way, isn't it ridiculous how certain retailers are allegedly refusing to deliver a "Merry Christmas" greeting when we buy all that stuff for our "family and friends" time of year? I'm so appalled that these retailers, and many others, are not acknowledging what Christmas is all about! They just don't get it! C'mon! This is family and friend time. In fact, that's why we're working so hard to schedule our Christmas services on any day around Christmas, but not actually on Christmas!

But why?

Here's the responses I hear, you'll love em!
-"We're choosing to value families; people over policy."
-"In Jewish and biblical tradition, Sunday begins at sundown Saturday so we're holding Christmas Eve services. Besides, Jesus broke tradition and was criticized for it."
-"Christmas Day is a family time. We always gather and open gifts that day!"
-"Christmas began as a pagan holiday to the Roman gods, and anyway, Jesus was most likely born in January or April."
-"Jesus isn't concerned about when we celebrate His birth. He only wants our hearts!"
-"Christmas has always been time to really connect with family. Going to church interferes with that time."

Cool. So here's a great idea. Since it's not really necessary to celebrate the birth of Christ on a set day each year, no matter when it falls. Let's do the same with the other major Christian "holiday" - Easter. By scheduling Easter on Sunday each year, we're cutting into some heavy duty family connecting time. It would be so helpful if we could spend Easter with family....taking our time with the ham, enjoying more time and creativity with the Easter egg hunt, and even developing new traditions...maybe even gift exchanges. Let's celebrate Easter on Thursday, and then take a long weekend break, just for family! Besides, Resurrection Sunday could be celebrated anytime...even on another day, right? Let's not get hung up on policy!

Bottomline view from my vantage point: Christmas has become more about us than about Jesus, even though we continue to tell ourselves that He is the reason for the season. When we make decisions about putting "family time" and certain "Christmas traditions" ahead of celebrating God's gift to mankind - the Christ Child, we may just be on a slippery slope, heading toward greater secularization of Christmas, and perhaps joining forces with the secular mindset we continue to rant about and decry. A good way to react to this would be to attend church together, as a family, and worship Jesus Christ! Jesus would probably tell each of us that He is not the reason for the season, we are! He became like us, for the sole purpose to redeem us! That's Good News!

Merry Family Time!
DOM