Christmas literally means “Christ’s Mass.” It originally was a church service commemorating the birth of Christ.
I remember the first time I put those two words together, and it was one of those “Ohhhh…” kinds of things of everything just making sense.
Here’s one thing I didn’t know: The word mass is derived from a Latin word that means “dismissal.” At the conclusion of the worship service, the priest would say this word and it became traditional to associate that word with the event it was concluding. In time, it took on a deeper meaning it that it meant “to go” as in “to go on a mission.”
My being able to associate an even deeper meaning with the word Christmas further reinforces the thing I’ve always appreciated about the holidays (“holy days”) in the way in which the world is transformed by a spirit of joy.
It’s palatable. You can feel it, and it goes beyond gift giving and the way in which the first snowfall of the season inspires the same kind of grin you sported when you were 10 years old. It’s as though God Himself steps in and bestows upon the planet an inescapable glimpse of something legitimately holy.
Holy is not the disconnected dynamic often associated with nice guys who don’t cuss. From a biblical standpoint, to be holy means to be whole. Part of being whole is to be enthusiastic and honestly happy. It’s not an emotion based on circumstances as much as it’s based on what God brings to the table in the context of the fruit of the Spirit.
The bottom line is that you’re able to share in God’s nature, and you don’t do that without a relationship with God or without Christ. That’s what makes Christmas so special. For the first time in the course of human history, there was a divinely engineered arrangement put in place that allowed for human beings to enjoy more than just occasional spikes in holiness. God called it the new covenant, and the whole thing was kicked off the night He lit the skies up with an amazing star and a mighty chorale of angels (
Christmas—the commemoration of Christ’s arrival as Emmanuel “God With Us”—is amazing. The way that it makes everyone’s stride a little lighter and while want may be felt more keenly, it is (at least potentially) more likely to be addressed and remedied by the generosity inspired by the holy in the holy-days we experience this time of year.
I’m a huge fan of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. While his faith wasn’t orthodox, his use of biblical terms and imagery make it clear he was familiar with Scripture. That fact is further reinforced by the book he wrote for his children titled The Life of Our Lord, which lays out the story of Christ and the basics of Christianity in way that made it easy for them to understand.
In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, drops by his uncle’s office to invite him to come have Christmas dinner with him and his family.
Scrooge, of course, refuses and they get into a bit of debate as to the significance of Christmas, as far as whether it represents anything worthwhile. Fred says: “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew. “Christmas among the rest.
“But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”
To me, this comment captures, not only Dickens’ perspective on Christmas, but also a rational snapshot of what this time of year means.
Why disdain the joy and generosity associated with Christmas just because you bristle at the thought of anything religious? Why insist the substance of Christmas be discounted, if not entirely dismissed, in the name of political correctness when by doing so you discourage the heightened sense of hope and benevolence inspired by the example of the One whose birth is being celebrated?
The reason it’s “the most wonderful time of the year” is because beyond the gift giving and the abundance of carbohydrates is a Savior, and regardless of which side of the aisle you sit, either as a believer or skeptic, you benefit by embracing the results of a couple weeks when people tend to be less preoccupied with their to-do lists and more attentive to the needs and feelings of others.
As believers, we need to jump on the go dynamic represented by the word mass and make sure we’re decorating our houses and illuminating the outside with lights and inflatables if for no other reason than to distinguish this particular timeframe as being something special.
Some may justify a darkened home with comments such as, “I just don’t have the time,” or, “I’m not going to succumb to the commercialization of Christmas.”
OK, but keep in mind your actions aren’t always perceived in the context of the commentary you intend toward those who are watching from a distance. Whatever is most obvious is what speaks. If you don’t decorate, then you’re showing an indifference to what this season represents regardless of how you attempt to justify it. No one’s stopping long enough to hear your podcast. All they see is a dreary looking home positioned between two cheerful looking displays.
What’s true with houses is just as true with people. Get in the spirit! Smile because you can. What’s possible isn’t determined by your abilities as much as it is by God’s power. That’s something to be stoked about, and it’s true because God saw fit to enter this world via a teenage virgin accompanied by her believing finance.
Christ’s Mass.
Go.
Tell.
Merry Christmas!
