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
