In September, the Marshfield, Massachusetts, School Committee voted 3-2 to change “Christmas Break” to “Holiday Break.” The traditionalists didn’t take too kindly to that action. So more than 4,000 residents signed a petition asking the committee to reconsider.
That request was the focus of a special meeting last Monday night. The debate lasted two hours, and school leaders voted to keep the name “Holiday Break.”
On our county’s school calendar, we have Thanksgiving stamped across Nov. 24-28, but Semester Break designated for Dec. 22 – Jan. 2.
Obviously, a variety of religious traditions are represented in any school system and community, and we want to be sensitive to that reality. Yet, if Thanksgiving is still Thanksgiving, then why can’t Christmas remain Christmas?
Because Thanksgiving is a national holiday? And Christmas is a religious observance? Actually, Thanksgiving is a spiritual discipline that should be exercised every day.
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18).
And Christmas should be more than a religious observance. Christmas is not about a religion; it’s about the Baby born in Bethlehem who came to be the Savior of the world.
Have you noticed we don’t put up Holiday trees or hang Holiday ornaments? We don’t bake Semester goodies or wrap Semester presents. We don’t sing Semester carols or listen to Holiday music. Bing Crosby didn’t dream of a White Semester, and Kate Smith didn’t sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Holiday Break.
We don’t greet each other with Merry Semester Break! And we don’t call December 25 Holiday Day. It’s Christmas!
What a mess Christmas can become, not only with what we call it, but also with how we approach it. It’s Dec. 3, and the countdown has begun. Have you made your plans? Are you rushing to buy your gifts? Are you feeling just a little stressed? The Christmas rush can crowd Jesus right out of His season if we let it.
In the mess that can lead up to Christmas day, let’s not miss the message that Christmas brings. Some 700 years before Christ was born, before our Christmas season was ever invented and commercialized, the prophet Isaiah shared these words: “Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14).
This prophesy is one of many found in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. Christmas reminds us that God always keeps His promise. He is faithful to His Word, and He kept His promise at Christmas time.
There is a word about promise, but also about power. A virgin shall conceive. How do we explain the virgin birth? It’s beyond human comprehension, but much of God’s work is beyond human comprehension.
For centuries, the virgin birth has come under attack. With our human limitations, people can’t explain it, so they dismiss it as myth or imagination.
Yet, Christmas is not Christmas without the virgin birth because Jesus is not the Son of God without the virgin birth. No human father can produce deity. Only God can produce deity. For Jesus to be God, He must be born of God.
Christmas reminds us that, as the angel shared with Mary, “For with God, nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37). God showed His power at Christmas time.
And there’s a word about God’s provision. And bear a Son. The Son was God’s great gift. He’s the reason we celebrate. He’s what Christmas is about. If there were no Jesus, there would be no Christmas. It’s His day, His time, whether we choose to recognize it or not.
God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world at Christmas time.
Then, there’s a reminder of God’s presence. And shall call His name Immanuel, literally God with us. Christmas comes to affirm that God will never leave us nor forsake us, that His presence is very real and always true. Christmas reminds us that we are never alone.
——-
[Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Georgia. The church family gathers at 352 McDonough Road, just past the department of driver’s services office, and invites you to join them this Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. Visit them on the web at www.mcdonoughroad.org.]
