characters of CHRISTmas: zechariah

as promised, so begins my journey into the exploration of the characters of CHRISTmas, and going one step further and drawing parallels to character types we see today.

have you ever just sat and read the whole CHRISTmas story?  if not, then i encourage you to sit down and read it this year.  most people know the luke 2 story, and even the matthew 1-2 portion, but the story actually begins back in luke 1.  it begins when the angel gabriel appears to zechariah, who was an elderly priest serving in the temple of the Lord.  the angel informs him that his elderly wife elizabeth (we'll get to her later), is going to have a son who will pave the way for CHRIST, and that zechariah is to name him john.

now, i don't know about you, but if an angel ever just appeared to me, and then told me something, i think i might be inclined to believe him.  but what does zechariah do?  he questions gabriel, and says something along the lines of him and his wife being old (sound familiar?  read the story of abraham in case you have forgotten).  as his punishment, gabriel renders zechariah mute until the baby is born.

have you ever been asked to believe the unbelievable?  what was your response?  caedmon's call has a song called "there you go", and there is an excellent rephrasing of john 3:16 within the lyrics:  "for You so loved the unlovable, that You gave the ineffable, that who so believes the unbelievable, will attain the unattainable."  every year at CHRISTmas, we are called by God to believe and outrageous story of a young girl who miraculously becomes pregnant, yet claims to never have had sex, and that baby is born into poverty to become Immanuel, God with us on earth.  some religions deny this, and say that mary was a liar and a fornicator.  yet we are called to believe it based on some words that were written over 1900 years ago.  you say you believe that, but what do you do when God calls you to believe a promise He has made to you?

i can remember a time in my own life, when i, like zechariah, had my faith tested.  God has promised in His Word, that He will supply all my needs, yet when i was without a job, i began to do like zechariah and look around me at my circumstances and say, "but God. . ."  the Bible is filled with those who doubted God's promises.  so why should it be any easier for us today?  i mean, if zechariah actually saw an angel, and still didn't believe, then how much harder is it for us to believe without a personal visit from an angelic being?  it becomes that much harder when God actually asks something of us in the midst of our crisis of faith.  i can remember when God told me to move back to mississippi (even after i said i would never go back there).  i had no place to live there, no job, and a pregnant wife and son to move with me.  i remember praying, "God, if you want us to move there, you have to tell my wife that, too, because she is going to flip when i tell her that You want us to move to mississippi!"  the very next day, while talking to my wife on the phone, she asked me had i been praying about where we were to move, and i told her that i had, but that she was not going to believe me when i told her.  she said, "it's tupelo, mississippi, isn't it?"  keep in mind, i had not talked to her at all about this.  i was in rhode island at training and she was in texas at her mom's house at the time.  she said that God had told her that as well.  long story short, we obeyed God, took a huge leap of faith, and God was faithful to provide jobs for both of us while there.  now, before you start saying, "wow, chris, i wish i had that kind of faith!", let me confess.  after about a year and a half, God began telling us it was time to move on from tupelo to my ultimate calling as a navy chaplain.  however, i used my own logic again, like zechariah, and saw the super nice salary i was bringing in, no offers of active duty, and refused God's offer.  since i ignored God's gentle prodding, He decided to give me a violent shove in the right direction, which was not a fun time for my family or me.  i, like zechariah, was rendered powerless. 

but if you read the rest of the story of zechariah, you will find out that he was faithful in spite of his unbelief and silent punishment, and when the baby was born, he wrote that he was to be named john as gabriel had instructed.  after that, his voice returned, and he began to praise God and to prophecy about his son.  the prophecy came true, and his son john, would become the man known to the world as john the baptist, the forerunner of CHRIST.

perhaps this CHRISTmas, you find yourself like zechariah.  maybe God has called you to do something out of the ordinary such as provide a meal or CHRISTmas gifts for a needy family, serve in a soup kitchen on CHRISTmas day, step out of your comfort zone and do something that otherwise would seem outlandish.  or maybe it's the commands already revealed to you through Scripture:  attend church on sunday even if it is CHRISTmas (i know, novel idea, right?), actually spend this CHRISTmas focusing on CHRIST instead of presents and the rush, or be the voice of the angels proclaiming the good news of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of CHRIST to someone who desperately needs to hear it this year.  it could be that you have not believed God on something He has told you, and you are suffering in silence as a result.  as in the case of zechariah, God can still use you despite your unbelief, provided you obey Him despite your lack of faith.  and i know that there are some, that have found this whole CHRISTmas business nothing more than a fairy tale, a children's story in the same vein as santa claus.  my prayer for you this year is that God sends someone to reveal the truth to you.  who knows, somebody's obedience and belief may give the world its next billy graham or martin luther.    

happy CHRISTmas, merry hanukkah, or season's holidays?

a few years back, when i was still but a young, aspiring seminary student, i had an encounter with a store clerk that stuck with me, yet i had all but forgotten about it until recently.  one day during the CHRISTmas shopping season, i begrudgingly went out into the chaos that is the CHRISTmas rush to purchase a present for someone at work whose name i had drawn in the secret santa game.  while standing patiently, but teetering on the edge of madness, i found myself two shoppers back from the register, and i began to see light at the end of the tunnel that i would make it out of the store with my sanity somewhat still intact (for those of you that know me, you will know that is relatively speaking, of course!).  when what to my wandering eyes should appear?  a very well dressed lady, who took it upon herself to break into full three points and a poem sermon right there in the line, with her congregation being the unsuspecting clerk.  i can almost still hear her treacly inane tone as she smugly commented, "i know you can't say it anymore, but i can, so merry CHRISTmas!"  her tone then descended into one that can only be considered toxic as she berated the current state of society and the materialism that it had degraded into (nevermind the hundreds of dollars of presents that she herself had just paid for with her visa gold card) and that the stores were trying to persecute CHRISTians by saying "happy holidays" and "season's greetings".


i say this, because i recently received an email from afa (american family activists, er, association) with their latest cause they were championing and calling CHRISTians to action on, which happened to be the saying of "merry CHRISTmas".  as i thought about it, i began to get angry.  ghandi once said, "i like your Christ.  i do not like your CHRISTians.  they are so unlike your Christ."  who are we to try and force our religion down others' throats?  this does not lead to converts.  it leads to opposition.  we have seen what happens when a religion is forced on people, from examples of theocracies forcing subjects to choose between conversion or death, to religious extremism we currently see today in many of the muslim nations around the world.  it does not lead to greater support of, nor eager disciples of, your particular flavor of religion.  it only creates disdain and animosity towards religion and anyone who practices it.  so what shall we make of the "say merry CHRISTmas" campaign?

first off, let me say, that i absolutely love CHRISTmas.  i am not some scrooge who just can't wait for it to go away.  i look forward to it every year, and i enjoy saying "merry CHRISTmas" to those that i meet.  however, there are those today that somehow believe that our very existence as CHRISTians is threatened if we do not say "merry CHRISTmas" and force others to do the same.  after all, "america is a CHRISTian nation and blahbitty blah blah".  those people end up sounding like ricky bobby in talladega nights when he stated, "this is america!  we speak american here!"  ok, for those folks, newsflash:  america is NOT a CHRISTian nation founded on CHRISTian principles!  read your history books!  i know carman has the song that says otherwise, but it's just a song.  can't place much historical value on it!  truth is, america is a moral nation founded on masonic principles, as most of our founding fathers were masons.  true, many of them were CHRISTians, and each lodge within the masonic rite usually takes on the religious principles of its populus.  so yes, many of our laws were founded upon CHRISTian principles, filtered through the religion of morality practiced by the masons!  true, america was settled originally by those seeking freedom to worship Christ as they saw fit, but when it came down to establishing our country as a sovereign nation, that was only a part of the equation.  not all the founding fathers who wrote the original documents that defined our nation, such as the declaration of independence and the constitution, were CHRISTians.  so when they said, "freedom of religion", they meant just that: freedom of religion, not freedom of religion as long as that religion was CHRISTianity. 

now that our history lesson is over, let us return to the subject at hand:  CHRISTmas and the holiday season.  first off, Christ is still Lord, whether we pray in His name, or whether we say "merry CHRISTmas", or not!  as CHRISTians, we should not feel threatened that the mall has signs that say "happy holidays".  we should not feel like our faith is collapsing around us if we see a menorah next to a CHRISTmas tree (oh, and by the way, that tree, that everyone has their little CHRISTian parallels to its aspects, is pagan!  that's right, it's a carry over from the days of the festival of yule, the worship of the tree gods, and was assimilated into CHRISTianity during the missions to northern europe!)  the simple truth is, the retailers are catering to their greater population!  there are many other holidays (holidays=holy+days, present in all religions) that take place during december, and many of which involve gift giving (another pagan practice at its source, no matter how much you dress it in the story of the magi) such as hanukkah, kwanzaa (yes, i know it's a made up holiday), winter solstice (from wicca, where we get our practice of gift giving in december), etc.  so it behooves retailers to try and capitalize on the month and peddle their wares to everyone of every religion that shops in their stores.  so happy holidays (and since it starts well before thanksgiving, we can include it in the said greeting as well) is a very encompassing approach.

i will admit, that i do have a problem with the ones that go uber-pc and try and label things that are blatantly CHRISTian as "holiday", such as a "holiday nativity setting", etc.  of the holidays, CHRISTmas is one of them, and let's face it, is the major one of the month, no matter that 90% of those celebrating it have little to do with Christ or His Church.  so i say to them, "get over yourselves, acknowledge that CHRISTmas is there, and label things correctly!"

so what should we as CHRISTians do?  first off, say "merry CHRISTmas" to as many people as is prudent.  but do it with a smile!   show people that Christ who lives within you is the most important part of your life, and not just in december!  actually look like you mean it when you say it.  penn, the atheist from the popular magician duo penn and teller, made the statement that he has no respect for a CHRISTian who does not share his faith, as he had just had a "delightful" encounter with a gentleman who in a very polite, but non-pushy way, gave him a Bible.  he said, if you truly believe what you say you do, and people are going to an eternal hell, you would be arrogant and selfish if you kept the way out to yourself.  but you have to show that the Christ who lives within you is greater than anything this world has to offer.  however, if you know someone is a different faith, try and show some couth and greet them with the appropriate greeting for their faith!  for example, whenever i see rabbi sherwin on base, i will say "shalom" to him, and at hanukkah, i do not say "merry CHRISTmas" to him, but rather, a cheerful "happy hanukkah"!  it's not because i am ashamed of my faith, but rather that i am respectful of his.  and i have found that if you treat people with dignity and respect, and acknowledge that they are of a different faith than you, as paul did at mars hill, you open the door for future dialogues with those people where you can possibly show them what you have in your faith that is worth their pursuing! 

as i approached the counter of the clerk, i first apologized.  i apologized if i had a look of disdain on my face as i do not enjoy the shopping experience at the height of the CHRISTmas rush.  i then apologized for the rude customer who just launched into a verbal tirade on her.  after she rang my purchase and i paid, i told her that my Christ was about more than just a simple collection of words.  she was not a CHRISTian, but she told me that she would entertain coming to a church that i attended, but would no way in a hot place go near the church that the self-proclaimed "CHRISTmas greeting police" attended.  i then gave her my email address and told her that if there was anything i could ever pray on her behalf, or if she ever had any questions about CHRISTianity, that she could email me.  you know what?  she did!  we exchanged a few emails, and her and her husband actually visited our church a few times, but i lost track of her when she moved out of state for her husband's job.   i'm not sure if she ever became a CHRISTian, but i do know that she was exposed to the gospel and had a much better chance than if i had not been there to counter "sister bertha, better-than-you's" attack.

this year, be true to your convictions.  say "merry CHRISTmas" with all your heart!  but do not try and force your convictions on others.  a good friend once told me, "expect lost people to act like lost people".  that includes during the holiday season.  but be that light that draws others to the "peace on earth, good will toward men in His favor!"

please, no cutting allowed in the holiday line

wow.  my lovely bride pointed out that it has been almost a year since i posted on here!  looking back, i have no good excuse.  i have plenty of excuses such as no time, can't access my blog at work, etc., but no good ones!  well, there've been a few things bugging me here in the last weeks, so i decided to dust the old soapbox off and get a few things off my cyber-cyber chest, so to speak. 

my first post of the group is on the holidays.  many of you who have spent any time around me know that i have a strict policy concerning thanksgiving.  while it may be popular for retailers to decorate for CHRISTmas immediately following the fourth of july, and our neighbors may already have their lights and trees up, i remain adamant:  one holiday at a time!  much to the chagrin of my bride, who would love to follow suit and have our CHRISTmas decorations up (after all, we are only allowed to keep them up until january 15th, according to our housing agreement), i remain steadfast on my commitment to observe one holiday at a time.  i have been called scrooge, old-fashioned, and even silly, but until today, i was never questioned as to the reasoning for my stand, and i had never really had to answer it. 

so, what was my answer?  i know that is what you are thinking as you shiver with antici..........pation. 

while at first, my resistance was simply out of nostalgia for the past that i remembered as a kid, the magic in the air following thanksgiving and leading up to CHRISTmas day, but now, there is far more substance to my resistance than mere memories.  before i state my case, let me first say that i am not against CHRISTmas.  i believe as scrooge said in his tale, that CHRISTmas should be kept in our hearts all the year long.  what i am against, is the CHRISTmas rush that is forced upon us by over-amorous retailers trying to make money.  why am i against the rush?  it has to do with two principles that are in direct conflict with each other:  thankfulness and greed.

the problem with the current relationship of thanksgiving and CHRISTmas is that the rush starts earlier and earlier and thanksgiving becomes nothing more than a speed bump on the way to CHRISTmas.  in today's society of greed and entitlement, thanksgiving is not something that should be neglected or taken for granted.  yet every year, we are faced with a barrage of commercials and advertisements designed to initiate want and desire in us for things that we don't have, and usually don't need.  by the time the retailers are done, our desire for "stuff" gets misconstrued in our minds into need.  so instead of focusing on what we have and what we should be thankful for, we focus on what we don't have and become materialistic and selfish.  the stores know this, and throw their materialistic gasoline on the public's fire of desire for stuff, to the point that many stores now are opening at noon on thanksgiving for black friday sales.  thanksgiving has become nothing more than another shopping day. 

in the 1800s, the average kid received one, maybe two presents, which were usually something useful, such as new clothes for school.  today, we have families calling our marines working "toys for tots" with a list of extravagant items their kids want, and even have the audacity to get upset when they don't receive what they want!  we have truly become what the apostle paul prophecies, when he says in the last days, that men will be selfish, loving themselves more than God.  we have stripped what should be one of the most sacred holidays in the christian calendar and turned it into an occasion for one of the seven deadly sins:  greed.

i admire nordstrom for taking a stand and saying that they will not begin their CHRISTmas rush until after thanksgiving.  i had a friend from overseas tell me upon driving past a mini-storage facility, "americans have so much stuff they have to rent extra space to hold it all.  they have no idea of what it means to be in need!" 

so i choose not to focus on all of the propaganda and the allure of the lights and the decorations that serve as distractions from a time that should be focused on being thankful for the sometimes countless blessings that we have been given by God.  so this year, at thanksgiving, enjoy your turkey and football, and the time with family, and take a moment to take inventory of all of the things you have to be thankful for.  and especially be thankful for Christ, who was sent at CHRISTmas (which, by the way, was more than likely in the spring rather than in the winter, and sure not december 25th!), to die on good friday, and rise again, so that we could experience true freedom. 

lessons learned in childbirth

as most of you know by now, we are now the new parents of our third baby boy, logan jeremiah.  and if there is one thing that i have learned in life, it's that God can teach you anything, anytime, anywhere.  all you have to do is look around (and having a decent working knowledge of His Word doesn't hurt either).

while watching my little baby be born, i was taken aback by the miracle of it all.  but the thing that struck me most is how being a father is an idea that originates with God, and His relationship with us as His children.  when Jesus was talking to nicodemus in john, He told nicodemus that unless a person is born again, they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  watching my son, and being overjoyed, i could not wait to tell everyone i saw.  i even made up birth announcements in the form of candy bar wrappers that i spent hours creating, just to tell everyone everything about logan's arrival.  the nurses in the mother-baby ward commented that i was "bouncing" around the hall.  it then hit me how God must feel when He sees a person being born into the kingdom.  stop for a minute and imagine the celebration that must take place in heaven.  can you imagine the conversations?  how Jesus might go around and tell everyone that another new birth happened and a new babe in Christ has arrived into the kingdom!  this may seem ludicrous to most, but God mentions being a father more than a few times in Scripture, and if God is our model for fatherhood, then He must have put in us the same emotions and feelings He feels as well.

the other thing i learned was while watching two of my family suffer.  after a cesarean, lori was naturally very sore, and even in what i would call excruciating pain.  and the first few hours after logan was born, he was having serious breathing difficulties and had to spend the day in the level 2 nursery hooked up to a cpap.  the common sentiment i felt in seeing both of my loved ones in that condition was one of helplessness.  while God is not helpless, He must feel some sort of grief in seeing His children suffering the consequences of a fallen world and being unable to stop it and still be true to His holiness and justness.  but the thing that struck me most is that if i could have, i would have gladly taken the place of my wife and son to ease their suffering.  the difference between God and myself, is that not only was God able to, He actually came down and took our place, so that we could escape the eternal suffering we would have experienced otherwise. 

so the next time you look around you, think about what God could possibly teach you through whatever circumstance you find yourself in.  you might just be surprised at how God reveals Himself through that still, small voice.  we just have to learn to be quiet to hear it. 

east side wise guys

this year for CHRISTmas, i received a gift from my two boys (as well as my third one, who was unable to participate on account of he hasn't arrived yet!).  it was a book entitled "the revelation of the magi".  in this book, the author translates as well as provides commentary on an ancient manuscript, dated somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century after Christ's birth, that goes into more detail concerning the magi from a mystical eastern land that are talked about in matthew 2.  it has been a fascinating read, and while i would not hold it anywhere near as authoritative as the Bible, it is interesting to get a glimpse into what might have been the untold story of the magi.  matthew's gospel is very cryptic concerning the magi, or wise men, as some call them.  all we know, from matthew's account, is that they came from the east, following a star that led them to Jesus' house, and caused quite a stir in jerusalem, especially among the ruling authority, herod the great.  we also know that they brought gifts:  gold, frankinscence, and myrrh.  that is as far as the story goes.  many have speculated as to where they were from, some saying persia, others babylon, and some even saying the far east.  many also like to say that there were three of them, hence the three gifts.  however, we do not know how many there were.  although, for them to cause such a stir in jerusalem, there must have been more than three, for a small band of three travelers would hardly have been noticed.  however cryptic the story may be, the truth is in the details. 

first, we know that they left everything to follow a star for years that was to lead them to the Christ.  whether or not they knew his name, we do not know.  we do know that they had faith in Him before they had even met Him.  as Jesus once said, those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who have seen and believe.  in "revelation of the magi", the magi were not astrologers or kings, as many hymns and CHRISTmas pageants make them out to be.  instead, they are direct descendents of seth, adam's and eve's son, who are watchers for the prophecy that was given adam when he was expelled from the garden.  they go on to say that there was another prophecy, not mentioned in the biblical account, given to seth by adam, to look for a star signifying God's birth in human form.  whether or not this is true, is for an outside discussion.  however, we can look at the faith of these men who made an extraordinary long journey just to worship the King of Kings, born to a teenage girl and a middle class carpenter.  many of us could do well to learn from them.  we find it a burden (and yes, i myself sometimes fall into this category) to get up and get our households dressed and out the door and drive in traffic 15 minutes to church. 

another detail is in the gifts given by the magi.  first, is gold.  gold was a gift that was given to a king.  they recognized this Baby they had never met as King, regardless of how he appeared to them in His infancy.  second, is frankincense.  this was a gift given to a deity.  in the holy of holies, the priest would burn frankincense as a scent offering to Yahweh on yom kippur, the day of atonement.  these first two gifts, gold and frankincense, He had been offered before.  gold was used in the construction of the ark of the covenant, as well as in the construction of solomon's temple.  however, the third gift, myrrh, is the most intriguing.  myrrh was a spice, and had two purposes.  the first was in burial.  they recognized the purpose of this Baby was to die.  today, we have turned Jesus' cross into an accident, pitying Jesus suffering and dying on it.  we view it as a cruel punishment brought on by the corrupt Jews and the power hungry Romans, and "poor Jesus" was murdered on it.  however, this is as far from the truth as it can be.  the devil and the world WANT us to pity Jesus.  for when we pity Him, we deny His power and His purpose.  He came FOR the cross, the cross didn't come for Him.  was it horrible?  yes!  was it torment?  yes!  was it injustice?  absolutely!  but was it avoidable?  NO!  interesting that of all trades, Jesus was fathered by a carpenter!  He knew of His destiny, long before crosses were even used.  there are countless prophecies of the cross, hundreds of years before Jesus was even born.  He came to die.  which brings us to the second use of myrrh:  analgesic.

out of the three gifts Jesus was offered, only one would be offered again to Him during His time on earth:  myrrh.  when He was dying on the cross, myrrh was put on a sponge and offered to Him to dull His pain.  the romans liked to keep their victims alive and alert and did not want them passing out in shock from pain.  myrrh was used in His burial. 

one day, He will be offered gold and frankincense again.  we can see that in the book of revelation.  however, today, most of the world would rather deny His deity and His royalty, in the same way that herod did.  herod the great was known for his ruthlessness, even going so far as to having his wife and sons killed so that no one could lay claim to his throne.  he feared this little Baby so much, that he had every child two and under in his kingdom murdered.  imagine laying in your bed, and soldiers coming to your door demanding your 18 month old son, and them taking him out into the street and beheading him right in front of you.  many today are just as threatened by this Baby that was born 2000 years ago.  amazing that people aren't threatened by any other ancient religious leader.  oh sure, people are threatened by mohammed, but not so much the man himself, but his evil murdering followers.  why the fuss over a peasant Baby?  it's because if He truly was who He said He was, then they know that they have a lot to answer for.  they also know that He threatens their rule over their own respective worlds.  but mostly, they know that the day is coming that they will stand before Him and then they will know that He truly is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty God. 

what is your view of Jesus?  is He a threat to your world?  is He still in the manger?  as a popular movie once said, "i like the CHRISTmas Jesus!  little baby Jesus in the gold diaper. . ."  is He still on the cross?  do you still feel sorry for Him when you look at a crucifix or watch "the passion of the Christ"?  or is He the RISEN Jesus, who is sitting on His throne in heaven and will one day come back as the Conquering King, with fire in His eyes, and a double-edged sword in His mouth?  choose well, for the difference between the choices is eternity!

xmas and Christmas

normally i like to post entries of my own authorship, but being that c.s. lewis is my favourite author, and this essay by him is very appropriate for the season, i give you "xmas and Christmas".  it is a fictional account of the island of niatrib (britain spelled backwards), written from the point of an outside person observing their culture during the holidays.

“Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus,” by C.S. Lewis
And beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed declares to be the same size and shape as Sicily, but it is larger, though in calling it triangular a man would not miss the mark. It is densely inhabited by men who wear clothes not very different from the other barbarians who occupy the north western parts of Europe though they do not agree with them in language. These islanders, surpassing all the men of whom we know in patience and endurance, use the following customs.

In the middle of winter when fogs and rains most abound they have a great festival which they call Exmas and for fifty days they prepare for it in the fashion I shall describe. First of all, every citizen is obliged to send to each of his friends and relations a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech is called an Exmas-card. But the pictures represent birds sitting on branches, or trees with a dark green prickly leaf, or else men in such garments as the Niatirbians believe that their ancestors wore two hundred years ago riding in coaches such as their ancestors used, or houses with snow on their roofs. And the Niatirbians are unwilling to say what these pictures have to do with the festival; guarding (as I suppose) some sacred mystery. And because all men must send these cards the marketplace is filled with the crowd of those buying them, so that there is great labour and weariness.

But having bought as many as they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent to them. And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, they throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also. And let this account suffice about Exmas-cards.
They also send gifts to one another, suffering the same things about the gifts as about the cards, or even worse. For every citizen has to guess the value of the gift which every friend will send to him so that he may send one of equal value, whether he can afford it or not. And they buy as gifts for one another such things as no man ever bought for himself. For the sellers, understanding the custom, put forth all kinds of trumpery, and whatever, being useless and ridiculous, they have been unable to sell throughout the year they now sell as an Exmas gift. And though the Niatirbians profess themselves to lack sufficient necessary things, such as metal, leather, wood and paper, yet an incredible quantity of these things is wasted every year, being made into the gifts.

But during these fifty days the oldest, poorest, and most miserable of the citizens put on false beards and red robes and walk about the market-place; being disguised (in my opinion) as Cronos. And the sellers of gifts no less than the purchaser’s become pale and weary, because of the crowds and the fog, so that any man who came into a Niatirbian city at this season would think some great public calamity had fallen on Niatirb. This fifty days of preparation is called in their barbarian speech the Exmas Rush.
But when the day of the festival comes, then most of the citizens, being exhausted with the Rush, lie in bed till noon. But in the evening they eat five times as much supper as on other days and, crowning themselves with crowns of paper, they become intoxicated. And on the day after Exmas they are very grave, being internally disordered by the supper and the drinking and reckoning how much they have spent on gifts and on the wine. For wine is so dear among the Niatirbians that a man must swallow the worth of a talent before he is well intoxicated.

Such, then, are their customs about the Exmas. But the few among the Niatirbians have also a festival, separate and to themselves, called Crissmas, which is on the same day as Exmas. And those who keep Crissmas, doing the opposite to the majority of the Niatirbians, rise early on that day with shining faces and go before sunrise to certain temples where they partake of a sacred feast. And in most of the temples they set out images of a fair woman with a new-born Child on her knees and certain animals and shepherds adoring the Child. (The reason of these images is given in a certain sacred story which I know but do not repeat.)
But I myself conversed with a priest in one of these temples and asked him why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas; for it appeared to me inconvenient. But the priest replied, “It is not lawful, O stranger, for us to change the date of Chrissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left.” And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, “It is, O Stranger, a racket”; using (as I suppose) the words of some oracle and speaking unintelligibly to me (for a racket is an instrument which the barbarians use in a game called tennis).

But what Hecataeus says, that Exmas and Crissmas are the same, is not credible. For first, the pictures which are stamped on the Exmas-cards have nothing to do with the sacred story which the priests tell about Crissmas. And secondly, the most part of the Niatirbians, not believing the religion of the few, nevertheless send the gifts and cards and participate in the Rush and drink, wearing paper caps. But it is not likely that men, even being barbarians, should suffer so many and great things in honour of a god they do not believe in. And now, enough about Niatirb.

as they shouted out with "glee"

in a recent episode of "glee", the show tackled the subject of "religion" and how each of the members of the glee club viewed it.  there has been a lot of talk about the episode and many christians have publicly denounced the episode, crying blasphemy and the like.  while i do agree that the episode teetered on the edge, and even crossed over in a few instances into the land of blasphemy, my concern is that those who watched it, or didn't watch it, but rather went on what someone else said about it, and missed a valuable glimpse into our society. 

to get a feel on the pulse of a society on any particular subject, a good lithmus test is to look at the entertainment that is valued by that society.  the artists that are usually the most popular are the ones that society as a whole identify with most.  if we look back through history, we can see that even as far back as ancient greece, the theatre was a political commentary on the times in which they were living.  shakespeare was so popular because he reflected the views of the common people.  today is no different.  glee has grown from an obscure late night "dramedy" to one of the most popular shows on television.  musicians are scrambling to get their songs performed on the show, and celebrities are clammering for a guest spot in an episode.  and considering the recent news pieces on the religious illiteracy of society, it is no surprise that the writers of the show chose this subject to focus on. 

but what of the content?  for those of you that missed the episode, the synopsis is basically two different story lines.  finn, the former quarterback of the football team, has a religious experience when he sees the face of Jesus in the burn marks on his grilled cheese, that he refers to as his "grilled cheesus", and begins asking for trivial prayer requests that seem to be answered.  meanwhile, kurt, the homosexual member of the glee club, has a dad that has a major heart attack and is in a coma.  the rest of the club attempts to reach out to him and pray for his dad, which only angers him because he doesn't believe in a "god that would take his mother away (she died when he was young) and would now do this to his dad.  besides, what kind of god would "make him gay" and then have his followers tell him he was going to hell for something he "had no control over". 

so, i challenge you to step back away from your holy blessed assurance and look at the characters in this episode and get a snapshot of society's various views of god.

first, there's kurt.  we all know someone like him.  they claim a disbelief in god because of all of the bad things that have happened in their lives, their families' lives, their friends' lives, the world, etc.  in a sense, they are blaming a god they claim to not believe in, for their misfortunes.  and they see those who do believe in god as judgemental and more evil than they because of the way that the believers treat them.  what do you say when you are confronted with a kurt?  do you ostracize them and call them a sinner?  do you try and give them a theology lesson explaining why they are wrong? 

next, there's puck.  puck is the high school jock that is mr. popular.  he responds to the question of religion by saying that he is a total "jew for Jesus" and that Jesus is his favorite "heb".  yet, his life is one that could hardly be classified as the embodiment of christian morals.  our youth groups are filled with pucks.  do we disciple them and lovingly point them to the truth?  or do we ignore their behaviours and hope that they figure it out through osmosis?

look at finn.  he has a religious experience (can anyone say "youth camp"?) and begins asking for things that are trivial and even unbiblical, praying to his triangle of grilled cheese with Jesus' face on it as if it were a golden buddah.  our youth groups are also filled with finns.  they have a religious experience and they build a faith around that experience, and when it's challenged like finn's was by the guidance counselor, it crumbles, leaving us singing the familiar bars of "losing my religion" like finn at the end of the show.  that's just it, he did lose his "religion".  that's because there is no validity in religion.  but so many in our society treat God as if He was a magic genie that is there solely to answer our petty requests, thus centering their religion on themselves as opposed to God, and falling flat and feeling empty and hopeless in the end.  do we encourage this behaviour by relying on a big event such as a youth camp to lift us or our youth up, but neglecting solid biblical teaching and discipleship throughout the rest of the year?

and sue sylvester.  who could forget sue sylvester?  she is the acid-tongued cheerleading coach who has it in for the glee club, and sees the club's new musical numbers on religion as a chance to jump in and slam the club for violating separation of church and state.  as the show goes on, she is much like kurt, in that she prayed and prayed to God to heal her sister who has down's syndrome, only to see her prayers go unanswered and her sister mocked and ridiculed by the bullies of society, leaving her jaded and bitter and denying the existence of any sort of God.  but she takes hers one step further.  she tries to force her nonbelief on everyone else around her.  she says at one point that in a public school students are not allowed to express their religious beliefs, which is completely untrue.  when we are faced with a sue, do we stand up and refuse to back down?  or do we withdraw our kids from the school and quickly retreat from confrontation and shuffle them into a "christian" school (which, by the way, are usually filled with the same sorts of kids that are in the public schools, they just have their names on a church roll somewhere).

as we are bombarded in the episode with this barrage of negativity towards religion, there is the one small candlelight that breaks up the darkness, and from the most unexpected place:  sue's older sister with down's syndrome.  at the end of the show, sue is playing checkers with her sister and asks her if she believes in God, to which her sister responds "yes!"  when sue protests about her profession and reminds her about her condition, her sister replies, "sue, God doesn't make mistakes!"  sue, then replies in a moment of near realization, "would you pray for me?" and her sister replies "yes!"  in the midst of adversity, do we shine bright for the Saviour?  do others see a peace in us that they want?

as the debate continues about the religious overtones of glee, we as christians can either step up and take notice, and then develop a gameplan of how we are to engage the culture that is reflected in the episode, or do we bury our heads in the sand?  the thing about burying our head in the sand, the danger is still there, and everyone around us can see our cowardice exposed, leaving us looking ridiculous and portraying nothing that the world sees as remotely attractive.  ever wonder why Jesus chose a party with drinking to start His earthly ministry?