Yo, Ho, Ho!

Jesus is the Reason for the Season, so says my favorite Christmas Album Yo, Ho, Ho! Although there may be many who would raise up a Hallelujah at the first part of the statement, rare few would do so for the latter. Oh, how I grieve for those who have had a lack of exposure to the best of the 1990’s Christian Rap culture. My wife does not appreciate this little known gem and often bemoans the moment every year when I dust off an old cassette player to broadcast my nostalgia. Of course, she has no room to talk having such a fondness for the pinnacle of musical composition by such bands as The Police and Tears for Fears… but I digress.

(Hey, I said I digress.)

Even though the music has changed, the church’s lyrics have not. We might not be battling the “X”, but we are still shouting that You Can’t Spell Christmas Without Christ! Thus, we picket the “Happy Holiday” signage in stores and boycott Santa Claus, even though we may be falling prey to consumer manipulation when we gladly spend our hard-earned money in those stores that comply, if only for reasons of business strategy. (Not to mention that many of these things in their historical context can also be used to point back to the Christ child).

I believe it is right for us to so loudly desire that our holidays gives Glory to God, but could it be that we are focused on the wrong war? After all, Christ may be at the center of our Christmas celebration, but many do not believe that Mary Had a Little Lamb. And even though many profess and acknowledge this fact, there are few that truly trust in Him. Their Christmas celebration is nothing more than materialistic indulgence while chasing after the perfect memory in a Winter Wonderland. So why are we so emphatic to force Christ at the center of that?

I fear our message has become too cultural, too much on par with the Poinsettia-Lily crowd message. If we are not declaring JOY to the World throughout the rest of the year, what are we really saying? Jesus should not be regulated to one day out of the year, nor a single month, nor even one day for every week. Jesus should be our reason for every day. We should be as The Little Drummer Boy and bring our best, our life, our all.

“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” –Luke 14:33

I conclude that Christ is at the center of my Christmas, because He is at the center of my life. We should have a passionate outcry, not to force Jesus into our culture’s festive celebration, but to have each member of our society embrace our King to be Lord over their entire lives.