“Xmas” and Trite Religiosity

It’s that time of year again…you know, time to saddle up and join the fight to thwart the “war against Christmas”. The ACLU is in overdrive trying to remove any mention of Christ either in word or symbol from the public view, and politicians and judges are falling all over themselves to ensure that there remains no visible or audible offense (competition) to zealous followers of religious beliefs whose primary doctrines include either suicidal murderers spending eternity slaking their lust in "paradise", or a complete denial of God’s Almighty Hand at work in creation and human events.

By all means, continue to resist the advance of the insidious “x-mas” and insist on wishing everyone you meet a “merry Christmas” rather than “happy holidays”, a phrase rank with ambiguity and desire to create a new taboo.

Rivaling the atheists’ strategy for effectiveness and the serpent in the Garden for subtlety however, is something that I like to call “trite religiosity”.

Allow me for a moment, to mount the hill overlooking the front lines and point out something that many of us seem to forget on a regular basis.

Go to any Church in the United States and you’ll probably see a nativity scene of some kind and more than likely hear about how Jesus is “the reason for the season”, how He came “to save us from our sins”, how His coming fulfilled certain prophecies, (I certainly hope that most Churches still go through the Old Testament prophecies during the Christmas season!) and other tidbits of truth, often straight from the pages of Scripture.

Unfortunately, whoever said that “familiarity breeds contempt” was right. We have many of our facts right, yet our attitude is one of “trite religiosity”. We fail to comprehend the full impact and significance of the facts behind our several-hundred-year-old clichés, and we reduce the awesome nature of Biblical events—especially those surrounding Christ—to the segregated domain of the “religious”.

Think about it; when was the last time that you actually took in the enormity of the fulfilling of hundreds of ancient prophecies?

Doesn’t it send chills up your spine and a thrill through your being to think about it in those terms?

We love fantasy stories involving a hero (or heroes) whose coming was foretold by some wise ancient, (think about the “Lord of the Rings” or “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”) and yet here we celebrate the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies far greater in scope, precision, and power than anything any fiction writer has ever dared to throw at us, and we say…

…“merry Christmas”?

Many of our Christmas traditions have faded with use until they seem to have lost much of their original effect—if not meaning.

The significance of the event itself is difficult to comprehend. Think about it. To tell the story properly, with all of the necessary set up and background, we would have to start at Genesis 1:1, at the very beginning of history!

No wonder the angels sang “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” Christ’s birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection—indeed, Christ Himself—forms the crux—the central point—upon which all of history turns! (Who are these insignificant little blowhards who think that they can sweep Him under the carpet?)

Maybe part of the reason that we tend to lose sight of this thrilling reality—aside from the fact that we celebrate it every year in much the same way—is it’s very magnitude.

It’s a classic case of missing the forest because of the trees. Not that we never see it, but in the day-to-day discussion of the Christmas holiday it’s often completely absent, if not from our words, certainly from our attitudes.

“Merry Christmas” sounds a little trite doesn’t it? Don’t you just wish you could come up with something that would just convey the full power and excitement rightly inspired by such a momentous event?

I suspect that we’re stuck with “merry Christmas” for a while, unless we want to start shouting “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” or “glory to God in the highest!” (which actually wouldn’t be a bad idea!) but let’s make sure that we take a few minutes this Christmas to let those chills run up our spine as we soak in the amazing event we’re celebrating! (and ultimately the amazing God behind it!)

God bless!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!