Why Should We Celebrate Christmas?

This year, I would like to look at the celebration of
Christmas from a slightly different perspective.  As a Christian, Christmas is both a wonderful
and dreadful experience.  It is wonderful
because of the reality behind the celebration.  It is dreadful because of the pressure to buy
gifts, not because we want to, but because it is expected.  Too often, as it has been said time and time
again, the wonderful part of Christmas is overlooked and consumed by the
dreadful part of Christmas.

The question I have asked myself many times over the years is, is it worth it?  Is it worth dealing with the long lines at the
mall?  Is it worth worrying about the
perfect present?  Is it worth wondering if you should buy a gift for this person or that one?  Is it worth going to party after party?

Let’s face it, the things of Christmas often become the focus of Christmas, and
when this happens my conclusion is that it isn’t worth it.  Going into debt to buy presents isn’t worth
it.  Running ourselves to the point of
exhaustion isn’t worth it.  Standing in
line after line isn’t worth it.  When we
make the things of Christmas the point of Christmas, this holiday is just not
worth celebrating.  When Christmas
becomes about decorations and gifts, then the point of celebration is gone and
we might as well forget about this wonderful holiday.

A part of me wouldn’t mind forgetting Christmas altogether.  Jesus never told us to remember Him by
celebrating His birth.  And besides, we
don’t even know what time of year Jesus was actually born.

Since there isn’t a biblical mandate to celebrate the birth of Jesus, then we
don’t have to celebrate Christmas.  So I
want to give you permission not to feel guilty about not living up to
expectations of the holiday.  We don’t
have to celebrate Christmas, and we can be good Christian people even if we
decided not to celebrate the holiday.

Having said all that, I do think Christmas is an important holiday to
celebrate.  One of the reasons I feel
this way is because of all the excitement that was going on at the time of His
birth.

Let me give you three examples of what I am talking
about.

The first example is found in Luke 2:8-20.  There were some shepherds out in the fields
watching the sheep, and then an angel shows up and tells them about the birth
of a special baby in Bethlehem.  And then, here is when it gets interesting, the armies of heaven show up, praising
God.  The shepherds, only aware of what
the angel said, found the baby boy just as they were told.  They worshiped Him and then told everyone
they met what had happened.  So, there
was excitement stirred up about Jesus when He was born.

The second example is found in the rest of chapter 2 of Luke.  According to
Jewish custom the baby Jesus needed to be presented at the Temple on His eighth
day after birth to be dedicated to the Lord.  Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple,
where they encountered an old man.  This
old man was named Simeon and he was a very righteous man. God had revealed to
Simeon that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.  When he saw the baby he took Jesus from the
arms of His parents and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, as you have
promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your
salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:21-32)  

Mary and Joseph were amazed at what was being said about
their child, but if that wasn’t enough there was also an old lady named Anna.  She was a prophetess, and pretty much lived at
the Temple.  And while Simeon was
praising God for Jesus, Anna began telling people about the arrival of the new Messiah,
the long awaited King of Israel. (Luke 2:36-38)
Then there was excitement stirred up about Jesus at the Temple.

The last example is found in Matthew 2:1-18.  Some wise men from the east saw a star.  They apparently had some knowledge of Jewish
teachings, because they connected this star with the birth of the Messiah. They began to travel west in search of the
promised King.  They could have been
traveling up to two years in search of this special child.  And when they finally found this small family in
Bethlehem they presented the tiny King of Kings with special gifts.

Angels, shepherds, special prophecies, a long journey by gentile scholars, and
expensive gifts are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the excitement stirred
up about Jesus.  From the biblical text
it is apparent that the excitement stirred up about Jesus over His birth was
because people believed He was special.  And
I believe the same is true today.