At this holiday season it is pivotal that we focus on our communion with Christ. There is so much pressure to bless people, particularly with alms, and while this is noble and biblical (James 2), we must not allow charity work to eclipse Christ the Word of God! So many people get on a holiday treadmill, where they exhaust themselves trying to please loved ones and take care of the poor. And while we are called to “love our neighbor as ourself,” Jesus our Lord actually said the greatest command js to love Him, “Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”” (Matthew 22:37-40). Our Lord prizes knowing him in an intimate close relationship with all that we are!
Somehow this message is lost in the Christmas Season. The emphasis becomes the second commandment, to love our neighbors, with campaigns to carol and church functions like Xmas dinner. These in of themselves are not bad, but the preoccupation with the Second Commandment of “love your neighbor” is overshadowing the Greater Commandment of “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind, body and strength.” The point of Christmas is to celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, God with us and somehow the holiday got hijacked into charity work and doing anything but seeking Christ and communing with Him in prayer.
To out it bluntly, poinsettias are distracting from the Power of the Cross! That is to say the good acts of piety and kindness towards persons is overshadowing the Prince of Peace and distracting from the whole point of why Christ died, to draw us near and allow us to know Him, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3). The Church gets obsessed with works, but even doing good can become an idol in front of God. Churcholicism is real, and many in their zeal spend their time doing much in Jesus’ name, but we must remember when Christ divides the goats and sheep, it will not be over who did more works:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Knowing Jesus is key. Its not confess Him as LORD and believe in your heart and your done; that was opening of the door to a vibrant relationship with Christ our God, and the Holy Trinity. We should have a yearning upon conversion, to know Jesus. Christmas is suppose to be our celebration of God coming into the world to tear down the veil (Matthew 27:48-51) and make it possible to be close to the Holy Trinity. Yes confession snd belief saves (Romans 10:9-10), but what is the point of salvation? To escape hell and go to heaven? Yes, but more importantly to be with the True Triune God forever and know Him here and now! Its a relationship and Xmas is suppose to highlight that relationship, to make us remember He came as s babe to know us and save us. Instead, Christmas has become antichrist.. yes I said it. It either is used to draw your attention away from Christ via commercialism (gifts, stuff, and presents) or more subtlety through charity and churcholicism which honors not the greatest commandment of loving the Lord, but serving neighbors.
Antichrist in greek does not mean against, it means to replace as the object of attention and devotion. This is why I can say Christmas can be antichrist. Because people aren’t focused on celebrating Christ, knowing Him and loving Him; they are focused on charity and putting computerized presents under the tree. These again are not evil, gift giving goes along with the Magi giving gifts to our Savior (Matthew 2:11), and there is nothing wrong with helping the needy, but when these eclipse knowing Emmanuel in an intimate relationship; when your nerves are shot from having to rush to get presents or pour more soup at a kitchen, and you no longer are making being in presence of the Lord Jesus, then those good things have gotten in the way of the most important of all things God The Trinity!
This Christmas I urge you to prioritize prayer, time spent in the Lord’s presence and doing what builds that personal relationship with The Lord God Trinity! You can still buy presents and preform acts of piety, but let those take a back seat to your relationship with Jesus. Put the poinsettia down, and put up the cross. Put Christ back in your Christmas not as some catchy slogan or tradition, but in a meaningful personal way through knowing Him. Amen.
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