The Real Reason to Celebrate This Holiday Season
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (8) that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, (9) He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, (10) to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.’ (Ephesians 1:7-10)
Once Halloween passes us on the calendar, the holiday season erupts on 1 November with Christmas ads. Television streaming services flood the airwaves with Christmas movies while the Pilgrims are still trying to get off the Mayflower to set up Thanksgiving. We know the story of the birth of Jesus, in a manger or stable by a virgin after traveling to take part in a census, and His birth heralded by shepherds and angels, and later three wise man coming to visit Him and provide Him gifts.
As a young child, with the holidays running into each other, I was easily confused (not too much has changed over time), especially when it came by the gifts of the three Magi given to the baby Jesus – actually just one. Gold I could understand, of course. He is a King and all treasures and riches belong to Him! The Myrrh I was told was a fragrant oil that was used to cleanse the skin and anoint those who were sick, as it has anti-inflammatory properties. Our Lord is pure, without blemish, and He is the Great Healer! Later I would learn it was also used in the funeral process and was the original embalming fluid for many cultures in the regions of the Holy Land.
Those two gifts, Gold and Myrrh, I could as a 5-year-old, who was not familiar with the Bible at that time, comprehend those items. But the third one I really struggled with; Frankenstein. Why would the three Magi give a baby Gold, then Myrrh, and then a big green stumbling monster? I somewhat thought that perhaps the three wise men knew that Joseph and Mary would need to take Jesus to Egypt to escape the edict of Herod, ordering the death of all firstborn males in Israel. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would be riding on donkeys, while Frankenstein, being very strong, would lumber behind them carrying the chests full of gold and myrrh, all the way to Egypt. To a 5-year-old, this made sense.
Later (fortunately not much later) I would learn that it was not ‘Frankenstein’; it was frankincense that was the third gift, much to my relief. Like myrrh, frankincense is also used for its fragrance but more as a perfume and it also has some medicinal value as a relief for gastronomic issues. It was also used in Arabia as an incense believed to shield people from evil. The biggest takeaway I learned from this is that not all holidays we celebrate are related together, though in some form or fashion they are. It is a blessing that in time He gave me wisdom to see this (and what frankincense actually is).
Halloween is a derivative (and now a poor one) from the Harvest or Fall Festival it once was related to. Thanksgiving is to remember to life thanks up to the Lord who provides us our bountiful harvest and our deliverance from evil. Christmas is the birth of Jesus and Easter is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Are these meanings, though, really what these holidays represent? Yes… and no…
What is true purpose for us to celebrate Christmas? It is about the birth of Jesus yet that is not the biggest component of us celebrating that holiday. It is similar to Easter; it recognizes but not necessarily celebrates the death of Christ, or His burial, or even His resurrection that Sunday in the spring, though these events need to be recognized by Christians as very important events or steps necessary to provide the purpose why we celebrate Easter. The true reason we as Christians need to celebrate Christmas and Easter is that God provides us through Jesus the Ultimate Sacrifice to satisfy our Redemption; the only thing that could provide us reconciliation to Him. Paul in Ephesians 1 explains this; that God, in order to unify His creation, separated by sin, had to provide the means to remove our impurities in order to bring us back into line within His Glory.
Christmas is ‘part one’ of a three-part series in our Redemption process; Christmas brings Jesus to Earth to live among us, Easter fulfills the Ultimate Sacrifice to provide reconciliation by God through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, and the Rapture will be the conclusion when we, the Church of those accepting Jesus as King, are formally and forever unified with God through Jesus, and thus completing the Redemption process.
The best way to celebrate Christmas is to do what Jesus provided us as ‘marching orders’; the Great Commission to go and share His Gospel message, that Faith in Him and accepting Him as Lord in repentance is what we should provide others, and do so in the attitude of agape love that Jesus models. It is not a one-day celebration but a 24/7/365 one to go and share Jesus and His Gospel to all who need Him (i.e., everyone). He has risen for all, but Redemption will only apply to those who accept Him and His Gospel. This is why we celebrate all these holidays – we have a path to Redemption through Jesus and this is why we should rejoice!
