The Ridiculousness of Christmas 

David VanAcker, Pastor of Discipleship

Grace Church, Sunday Worship

Matthew 1:18-24 and Luke 2:1-16  

November 29th, 2009

 

INTRODUCTION

My journal entry from November 26th, 2003 (eight days after Daniel’s birth):

Back in 1957, when Gerri was still pregnant with Daniel, she and I were teaching a ballet class in Tibet.  In the middle of the class a cheetah came up to one or our students and told her that she had followed a golf ball all the way from Canada.  The cheetah explained that she had done this because she was told by a mermaid that a special man was going to be born in Tibet in two days.  At first the cheetah didn’t believe the mermaid.  However, as the cheetah explained, when the alien interrupted her afternoon nap with a song about the soon-to-be-born Tibetan man she knew that she had to follow the bouncing golf ball.  “So where is the newborn man”, inquired the cheetah? 

Stunned by this news, Gerri went into labor and minutes later gave birth to a 164lb, 51 year old man-child.  We decided to name him Daniel.  It was only in hearing his recitation of the pledge of allegiance that I was able to move from the second ballet position.  And move I did!  I danced like never before.  I felt as free as a bird in spring.  Seeing this, our new man-child, Daniel, joined in the dance with me.  Since that moment, Daniel has been ridding the world of hunger, crime, poverty, and disease through ballet dancing.  He is now six years old and will need to be born again soon.  Gerri and I are so proud – especially since he taught his older brother and younger sister how to levitate. 

This is all ridiculous…right?  When you hear that type of story you are immediately skeptical.  You surely assume that I am either joking or lying.  It is easy to dismiss that kind of ridiculousness.  And, in this case, you should.  But, what if it were all true?  What if Daniel truly was born in 1957 and has been ridding the world of suffering through ballet dancing ever sense?  What if this was foretold by a talking cheetah? 

I have two simple points this morning: 1) The Christmas story is every bit as ridiculous as this one; and 2) Ridiculous stories, when true, require ridiculous responses.

THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF THE CHRISTMAS STORY

Consider with me, with your ridiculous meters turned on, the story of Jesus birth from Matthew and Luke.  See how many outlandish claims that you can find (I found twelve).

Matthew 1:18-24  Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."  22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife…

Luke 2:1-16  In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.  8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"  15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."  16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

It probably didn’t take a great deal of concentration to recognize many of the fantastic claims in this story.  In reading through the New Testament’s description of Jesus’ birth, specifically the accounts given in the gospels, I found twelve absolutely ridiculous aspects of the Christmas story.  Consider each of them very carefully.

  1. Jesus was born of a VIRGIN and conceived by the HOLY SPIRIT (Matthew 1:1-16; Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:27; Luke 1:35).

  2. ANGELS spoke to Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, about the birth, name, origin, power, and nature of Jesus and His life (Matthew 1:20, Matthew 1:21; Matthew 2:13; Matthew 2:19-22; Luke 1:28; Luke 1:32-33).

  3. Jesus was supposed to FORGIVE people of their SINS (Matthew 1:21).

  4. Jesus was the FULFILLMENT of many, many prophesies made hundreds, and even thousands, of years before His birth (Matthew 1:22, Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:17).

  5. There was a MOVING STAR that led the gentile Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:2, 9-10; Matthew 2:11).

  6. Jesus was supposed to reign on King David’s throne FOREVER (Luke 1:32-33).

  7. The presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb caused John the Baptist to JUMP in Elizabeth’s womb (Luke 1:41).

  8. The birth of Jesus was preceded by the prophesied birth of John the Baptist whose job was to announce the birth and ministry of Jesus (Mark 1:2-3). 

  9. Angels of God proclaimed the BIRTH of JESUS to several Shepherds (Luke 2:9-14).

  10. A man named Simeon was told by the Spirit that Jesus was the CHRIST (Luke 2:25-35).

  11. Jesus CREATED the universe before He was born (John 1:1-3).

  12. Jesus is GOD in the FLESH (John 1:1, 14).

This is all ridiculous, right?  Prophesies and moving stars and talking angels and sin forgiving and universe creating and divine babies.  Just like the story of Daniel’s birth, the Christmas story is absolutely crazy, isn’t it? 

So what’s the difference?  Why do we have a holiday because of Jesus’ birth, but not Daniel’s?  Why would I be put into a mental hospital for celebrating bouncing golf balls and talking cheetahs, but not moving stars and direction-giving angels? 

The difference is that the Christmas story is true!!!  It’s crazy (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise), but it’s true.  You have to see how outlandish it is before you can rightly appreciate or celebrate it. 

In fact, I suggest that the Christmas story is so ridiculous that we must either dismiss it entirely and commit the people who insist on celebrating it into crazy houses (like we would one who believed the Daniel birth story) or we must embrace it as the work of a miraculous God and celebrate it in a way that truly reflects its ridiculousness.  There can be no in between.  Christmas is not a holiday for normal people!

Please, then, as Christmas day approaches, decide what you believe about it.  Did God put on skin and join the human race?  Did He come to earth as a little child in Bethlehem?  Was this child the foretold Messiah who would be King of Israel forever?  Was Jesus born as a baby to die as a man for the sins of man? 

My guess is that many of you (like I did for so many years—and still do to some degree even now) have casually nodded your head in the affirmative to these questions for many years.  My prayer is that this year would be different for Grace Church.  My prayer is that we would look (with eyes wide open) at these claims and that our answers to these questions would directly effect our Christmas celebration. 

Christmas is ridiculous and until you realize that you have no chance of celebrating it in a way that’s pleasing to God. 

Celebrating the Christmas ridiculously

What would that look like?  What does all of this mean?  What might happen if I were to take this seriously?  What should our celebrations look like given the ridiculous nature of Christmas? 

Before giving you a few pastoral thoughts on this I want to show you a brief video that will, I pray, make plane the absolute silliness of the typical Christmas routine. 

A brief history of Christmas video

The fact that we can all relate so easily to this video means, in my estimation, that something is really broken in our Christmas traditions.  There is a disconnect between the unbelievable reality of what we claim to be celebrating and the ways in which we celebrate it. 

The second point that I want to make is that ridiculous stories, when true, require ridiculous responses. 

Many of our Christmas celebrations are, in fact, ridiculous.  The problem is that they are on the wrong end of the ridiculous spectrum.  They are ridiculous, not because we’re so in awe of the incarnation that we can’t keep from singing the praises of Jesus (singing all the time is the right kind of ridiculous), but because so much of our celebrations have nothing to do with Jesus.   They are ridiculous, not because we’re overwhelmed with the knowledge that the Gospel was born in a manger that we can’t stop dancing (continual dancing is the right kind of ridiculous), but because many of them have nothing to do with the gospel.  Our Christmas celebrations are often ridiculous, but they’re the wrong kind of ridiculous—they’re incompatibly ridiculous.

So, again, what does this mean?  How might we celebrate the ridiculous Christmas in an appropriately ridiculous way?

I certainly don’t have all the answers.  And I’m very confident that there’s not one right way. 

The main thing that I have been praying for, for my own heart and yours, is that every one of us would simply seriously consider our Christmas celebrations in light of the nature of Christmas.  That is, I have asked God over and over to cause the Spirit to convict all of us in an unmistakable and irresistible way to ask ourselves “How can I celebrate Christmas in a way that truly brings glory to God?” 

Asking yourself how your Christmas celebration might truly bring glory to God (and being willing to only do those things that you come up with) can be a scary question—especially for those whose primary buzz around this time of year comes from repeating traditions rather than celebrating Christmas. 

With that said, I am certainly not going to tell anyone how to celebrate Christmas this year.  I do however want to wrap up by offering offer just a few quick pastoral thoughts to help you think through how you might celebrate Christmas this year in a God-honoring way.

Please keep in mind

  1. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, not yours or your kids’.  This means that Christmas is not ultimately about you or your kids or your family traditions or the holiday spirit or time off of work or school or any of the other things that it has become for so many; it is ultimately about the glory of God in the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ, who was born to die for the sins of man. 

This does not mean that family gatherings around Christmas are necessarily bad.  It does mean, however, that they’re not necessarily good either.  They certainly can be bad if they distract from the centrality of Christ in Christmas.  However, they certainly can be good when our gatherings serve to amplify the significance of Jesus’ incarnation…any truly Christian celebration will be festive and grand and special and corporate as well.

Similarly, this does not mean that family traditions are necessarily bad.  But, again, it does not mean that they are necessarily good either.  Certainly some of them are bad and those ones should be done away with.  However, certainly some of them are excellent as well and should be kept up for generations to come.  There is something decidedly Christian about continuing good traditions year after year (as long as each new generation learns the heart behind them and not just the practice).

And this does not mean that giving gifts around Christmas is necessarily bad.  But it also doesn’t mean that it is necessarily good.  It’s certainly bad when it teaches us or our children to treasure presents more than Jesus.  And it’s certainly bad when we hijack Jesus’ birthday in order to indulge ourselves the things of this world.  But gift giving certainly can be good when the gifts are given with the ultimate aim of magnifying the worth of Christ to the recipient.

  1. Because the Christmas story is so ridiculous our response to it must be ridiculous as well.  If Christmas is not a reason to celebrate in an absolutely unique way, I don’t know what is!  Grace, let’s get creative in our celebrations.  Let’s make our celebrations bigger and more special than any other.  Let’s make sure that we spend Christmas and the time surrounding it celebrating in a way that demonstrates that we believe it to be true.  People who do not believe in Jesus should not out party us and we should not blindly adopt their party habits!!!

  2. We should all rethink doing what we’ve always done.  It may all stay the same, but some of it may need to go.  Please be willing, should you recognize a Christless aspect of your normal Christmas celebration, to do away with it this year and replace it with something full of Christ. 

  3. Everything that we do (the songs that we sing and the way that we spend our money and the places that we go and the traditions that we take part in and the food that we eat and the gifts that we give and…) all speak to our view of the gospel.  Everything that we do in the name of Christmas speaks of our view of God’s glory, our purpose in life, our sin, hell, the cross, faith, etc.  Please ask yourself what you want to be communicating about the gospel to those around you.  Many of us need to stop “doing Christmas” and start celebrating the birth of our King!

  4. Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for much of what has been done in the name of Christmas.   

CONCLUSION

If any of this sounds restrictive to you, you’ve missed the point all together.  Truly celebrating Christmas can only happen once we unshackle it from the worldliness that seems to have overtaken it.  This message is, I believe, one of the most liberating things that you can hear during this time of year.  It frees us from so much of the stressful, expensive, and demanding aspects of this season and it frees us to bask in the glory and celebrate the birth of our savior!

In the incarnation of the God of the universe we have an absolutely awesome reason to celebrate!  Everything that I’ve said this morning is a call to a greater, not lesser, celebration.  Let us celebrate, then, with a passion and truth and depth and understanding and consistency befitting the ridiculousness of Christmas.  May this be a time to proclaim (or declare) the glory of God to ourselves and to those around us.  May we truly have a celebration fit for the King! 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).