21st Decemeber, 2003

DAVID ADAMS

The celebration of Christ’s birth is one of the most important events on the Christian - no make that the world - calendar. Millions around the world acknowledge it in festivities ranging from singing carols to putting up Christmas trees every year.

Yet it’s ironic that many people, particularly in the secularised states of the Western world where Christmas is often celebrated enthusiastically in a glut of spending and feasting, know little about who Christ is or why they are celebrating.

And it seems they are less likely to than ever before. Growing politicisation of Christmas is seeing what is a celebration of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ - the keystone of Christianity - being hijacked by secular, so-called “non-confrontational”, forces.

Ever noticed that sayings such as ‘Merry Christmas’ are being replaced by the politically correct ‘Happy holidays’? That Christmas carols aren’t so much sung as celebratory anthems heralding the birth of the Son of God as traditional songs for the festive season with little or no impact on our day-to-day lives? That the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth has for many become no more than an obscure side-show to putting lights on the roof, getting together with the family for dinner and exchanging the millions of presents we give each other every year?

PICTURE: iStockphoto.com "It’s time Christians start reclaiming Christmas. Rather than despairing about the lack of Christ in Christmas, we need to seize the opportunity the celebration represents."

It’s time Christians start reclaiming Christmas. Rather than despairing about the lack of Christ in Christmas, we need to seize the opportunity the celebration represents.

Statistics show that as many as 31 per cent of all Australians attend church at Christmas, a fact which represents an enormous opportunity to share the gospel with what is - at least for an hour or so - a captive audience. It means we have a chance to put on carols services that are first and foremost a celebration of Jesus and all that He means to us. It means we have a chance to show the caring, compassionate nature of Jesus through our words but probably more importantly through our actions, to an audience that as a whole, even if only slightly, is more open to hearing about Jesus than at any other time of the year.

It also means that, on a more micro-scale, sharing a meal with family and friends or watching the Christmas carols together can become an opportunity for sharing personal experiences of Jesus Christ; for revealing that Christmas means more than simply a holiday - that it’s a celebration of the birth of your Lord and Saviour.

It’s an opportunity for showing thankfulness even while waiting for a carpark in a crowded city centre. It’s a chance to be generous with your gifts and cards without the expectation that it will be returned. It’s a chance to open the doors of your home and invite in those who may not have a family to share with over the Christmas period.

It’s also a chance to remember in word, prayer and deed those people in Australia and around the world for whom a Christmas dinner with family in a secure, healthy environment is no more than a dream.

For the Iraqis struggling to rebuild their nation in the aftermath of the rule of a dictator and amid the ongoing hazards of military occupation. For the 40 million people world-wide the United Nations says are infected by the HIV virus. For the people of Sierra Leone where the World Health Organisation said last week there is an average life expectancy of just 34 years (compared to 80.4 years in Australia). The list goes on.

Most importantly of all, make sure you make time this year amid the business of Christmas to spend some time with Jesus. To reflect upon what his birth has meant to the world and your life in particular. To re-read the gospel stories of his miraculous arrival on earth and to gain a new insight into the reality that Mary and Joseph faced in that stable so many years ago.

So this year, when you’re stuck in a queue trying to buy those last minute Christmas presents, when you’re rushing from one family event to another in sweltering heat or pouring rain (as is often wont to happen in Australia), or when you’re simply looking in amazement at the glowing blaze of Christmas lights on your neighbour’s house, remember what Christmas is really all about.

Don’t let the world take the Christ out of Christmas.