The Hoax That Is Christmas

In the infamous words of Ebenezer Scrooge “Bah, humbug” and for those who may not know, this is one of the literary characters of Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870); so very appropriate to address my topic – the hoax that is Christmas.  Consider that at this time of the year, we are allegedly supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the foundation of Christianity.  Before I continue let us go back to Dickens very quickly.  We laud him as one of the classical literary geniuses yet many fail to see or realize that the majority of his books touch on a particular touchy subject for so many conservatively religious individuals (CRI) – politicians, ministers, and laypersons alike:  the poor, the lost, the destitute (PLD); those whom Jesus calls “the least of these His brethren.”  The most celebrated work of Dickens, we see on the screen every Christmas is A Christmas Carol (1843) and for those who are of sound mind, consider that Scrooge is the embodiment of those CRI because like Scrooge they decry the poor, the lost, the destitute; blinded by their false sense of religious superiority.  There are many ideological statements by Scrooge that is shared by these CRI but the most profound would be his comment to those gentlemen who were collecting to help the PLD; he said “If they'd rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population.”  If those CRI could actually make this statement without a social outcry and backlash, they would; because their many idiotic statements and policies about and against the PLD is the very mindset of Scrooge’s comment.

I digress, let us continue.  Now, the Holy Bible is divided into two parts: Old Testament (O.T.) and New Testament (N.T.).  The New Testament is the written testimony and religious/spiritual documentation of Jesus Christ but I am perplexed as to where within the N.T. that anyone is told by Jesus to celebrate His birth and I really do not recall any of the disciples or apostles celebrating His birth either.  What they did do was celebrate His life. His was a life dedicated to helping the PLD, a life full of compassion and humility; a life given so that anyone and everyone who choose to believe in Him and His purpose would have new life; a life given to give anyone and everyone hope and peace.  His life on this Earth was one dedicated to the PLD, not the CRI of His time – Jew or Gentile.  His life was one of sacrifice not fixed on the power He could [have] wielded over people as the King of Kings, the Son of Heavenly Father; He lived the life of the PLD. If He walked the Earth now as He did then, He would be labeled an indigent because He had no “fixed address”, He stayed in homes by the courtesy of hospitality by those who loved Him and believed in the purpose of His life.  Just as the CRI of His time ignored Him, so would the modern version because He was not “highly educated” and technically a blue collar because He was a carpenter, after all.  Ah, but the pièce de résistance would be the fact that He traveled with men, although there were women who gathered around Him; His constant companions were males.  Now, I wonder how these CRI would react if He entered their churches as a blue collar indigent who wore the same clothing every day and in the company of men.  Can you just hear the whispers or having some notable within the church quietly asking them to leave?  Oh, before I move on I really have to address the fallacy of Jesus being the attractive person in the many pictures in churches and homes.  Isaiah 53:2, in the O.T., reads “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.”  The definition of the base word comely is attractive and that means those pictures are not the true identity of Jesus Christ. As far as the topic of the color of His skin; any true believer knows that it does not matter and is a petty sentiment to place upon Jesus who broke every societal barriers; do remember He healed Jews and Gentiles [non-Jews] alike. 

If one truly wanted to celebrate Who Jesus Christ is, why would or should that be about buying materialistic objects for those within our “circle” at this one time of the year; when we can buy these things for them at any time?  Would not or should not the real celebration of Jesus represent what His life stood for?  As a matter of fact, Jesus Himself said “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” [Luke 14:12 – 14].  Hmm, I wonder what He was trying to tell us.  But we know those CRI would not even consider this option; oh my bad, they would for a photo op.   Let us look to the birth of Jesus Christ - first, Father did not choose a wealthy family to be the conduit for His Son’s entrance into the world of men; second, He was born in a manger [actually a barn as there were animals and hay], if Joseph and Mary had been wealthy they could have paid a higher fee for a room and the innkeeper would have gladly made a place for them; third, Father sent the angels to the lowliest of blue collar workers, the shepherds; not to the religious and political leaders of the Jews; and finally, the Magis [or wise men] who presented their gifts to the baby in the manger were foreigners - Gentiles who Father contacted via the Star of Bethlehem.  Anyone see a pattern here?  Father paid no attention to any of the leaders from the 12 tribes of Israel.  Those who allegedly spoke for Him to the people; He gave no heed to them in the joyous announcement of the birth of His Son.  

To continue my explanation of the hoax of Christmas, let us look at some of those religious/spiritual songs sung in celebration.  All the songs speak of hope, joy, and peace on Earth to all of mankind, not only to a selected few. First, in Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, verse one reads “GOD and sinners reconcile” and “Joyful, all ye nations rise” not just certain nations; second, Silent Night! Holy Night!, verse three reads of “the dawn of redeeming grace”; third, The First Noel, verse one reads of “certain poor shepherds”, not the wealthy leaders of Israel and verse four reads “let us all of one accord” which means that Father does not classify us as categorizations as we do to each other; fourth, O Little Town of Bethlehem, verse three again shows that Heavenly Father does not see status as it reads “GOD imparts to human hearts”, not just to a chosen few; fifth, Joy to the World, the title says it all as world encompasses the multitude of peoples on this Earth; sixth, Away in a Manger speaks to poverty and the poor in the first verse with “no crib for a bed”; seventh, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear speaks to those “beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow” which speaks to the poor, the destitute, the “least of these” in verse three; and finally, the another pièce de résistance is Oh Holy Night, in which the third verse reads “Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace; Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His Name all oppression shall cease”; powerful words ignored by many.  There are also some secular carols that emphasize the purpose of Jesus’ birth. First, GOD Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen  tells us in verse one “Let nothing you dismay” and “To save us all”; but the most powerful is Good King Wenceslas  about a king who left the comfort of his throne to bring comfort to the poor, dying in his mission.  Even in the secular celebration of this holiday of greed, the resonance of the message of Jesus is still seen in the character of Santa Claus, whose real identity is Saint [Bishop] Nicholas.  A man born to wealthy parents in a town that was part of Greece, who taught him the tenets of Jesus and upon the death of his parents, Nicholas followed one of those tenets by selling all that he had and giving to the poor, the destitute according to Jesus’ Words [Matthew 19:21 & Luke 18:22].  Mind you, I do not have envy for those with wealth but what I cannot condone is the irresponsibility of those CRI who talk a good sound bite but purposely choose not to walk the walk.  Not only do they not walk this path in personal responsibility to He whose birth they celebrate, but the economic/domestic policies they support decries the purpose of Jesus’ birth and His life.

In conclusion, the unfortunate thing is that this is applicable to everyone despite religious beliefs, race, gender, ethnicity, and political ideology; it speaks to the selfish conditions of the heart.  Jesus said “ it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of GOD” [Matthew 19:24 & Mark 10:25]; not because of the wealth but how one uses that wealth.  Scrooge had the opportunity to change the condition of his heart and became a great benefactor to the poor and destitute.  To throw a zinger in here in the fairness of this holiday, one cannot forget that Scrooge had an employee, Bob Cratchit, who was part of the working poor with a family in which was a son, Tiny Tim who had an impediment.  Scrooge paid Cratchit minimum wage even though he could afford to pay a higher wage. This was rectified once Scrooge saw the error of his ways; increasing Cratchit’s wages and ensuring that Tiny Tim had the best medical treatments to address his medical condition; with Scrooge becoming a second father to Tiny Tim.  Again, it is unfortunate that many of our modern day Scrooges will not have the same opportunity to change their hearts and minds and in truth may metaphorically end up like Scrooge’s former business partner, Jacob Marley.  I lift a cup of egg nog to wish everyone “ A most Happy and Blessed Holidays”.  In the words of Tiny Tim “GOD bless us, everyone.”

Sandra M. Corder
17 December 2013