"Oh! You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town! He's making a list. He's checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town! He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! So, you better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town!"
This last week I spent more time than usual on the road and I got an earful of Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus, and Jingle Bells. I was struck by the religious overtones that many of these songs contain and how they attempt to approximate Christian truth. In many ways Santa Claus is presented as a caricature of Jesus Christ.
Why Santa Claus?
For example, Santa Claus is this bigger than life person. He is this generous, warm, jolly old man with a long flowing beard and a twinkle in his eye who emanates love for everyone. Santa Claus is to inspire goodness. As the song says, "So be good for goodness sake." Santa Claus is someone we are to believe in. He is someone who runs an unseen kingdom of elves at the North Pole and drives a sleigh complete with flying reindeer. He has this supernatural ability to whisk down chimneys into the homes of children across the world to provide them with good gifts. Santa Claus is coming to town just as Jesus Christ came to the town of Bethlehem. Santa is making a list and he's checking it twice. He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice. He sees you when you're sleeping and he knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, just as Jesus Christ is all knowing and will one day judge the world.
Have you ever wondered what necessitated the creation of Santa Claus? Was the story of the Son of God becoming the son of man not exciting enough? Was the dramatic story of the virgin birth, complete with wise men from afar, angels on high, fulfilled prophesies, celestial signs, and a baby in a manger somehow deficient or lacking in mystery? Was the true Christmas story somehow unable to transform us, unable to inspire us toward goodness, and unable to inspire us to be generous toward others?
Was the story of the true God, the God of the universe dwelling among us in the flesh, too intrusive? Would we rather that he come into our living room for a brief moment in the night than to come into our lives for eternity? Was the creation of Santa Claus a feeble attempt for us to set up a less demanding god, a god who shares our materialistic pursuits, and a god who gives and gives but never asks for anything in return?
To be honest I don't know what necessitated the creation of Santa Claus. What I do know is that Santa Claus is no replacement for Jesus Christ! I know that if you have Jesus you have no need for Santa Claus! Jesus is infinitely greater, infinitely more loving, infinitely more compassionate, infinitely more generous, infinitely more present, and available. Jesus is sufficient to meet all our needs and inspire deep, lasting transformation in our lives.
Why Jesus Christ at Christmas?
Jesus is not some seasonal phenomenon that we enjoy for a time but then forget in the New Year. He transcends every holiday. He doesn't work miracles on thirty-fourth street per se, but he does work miracles deep in the recesses of our human hearts and wills. He is celebrated, worshiped, and obeyed year round by people around the world. Jesus is not just for kids. He is not just for adults. Jesus is for men and women, rich and poor, young and old alike. He is not only the heart of Christmas. He is the heart of the universe.
Everything was created by him, through him, and for him. He sustains all things. He grants eternal life to all who believe in him. Jesus makes good on his promise to redeem us from the power of sin and death, and into our resurrection hope. He is ever present while at the same time promising to one day return visibly and undeniably with power to judge the righteous and unrighteous, the naughty and the nice, and to receive into glory those whose names are written in the book of life.
We have one life, this life, to make up our minds about Christ. Our temporary existence is not even a tick on the clock of eternity. But in our tick, we hold the ability to choose our destiny. Our destiny is the choice between eternal life in Christ Jesus or death. Santa Claus can provide a quick year-end lift anda flicker of materialistic happiness. But it is Christ who provides deep, lasting, eternal joy to all who believe. And this is why Christ cannot be eclipsed by anyone, and especially not by Santa. Jesus Christ is why we must keep coming back to the original Christmas story year after year. We must never forget the greatest event in history. We must continually thank our father God in heaven for his action in Jesus Christ on our behalf.
A Christmas song to remember.
Earlier I read the lyrics of a Christmas song that celebrated a mere caricature of Jesus Christ, if that. Songs are important because they help us to remember. Just now I would like to introduce you to one of the oldest and richest Christmas songs around. It is a Christmas song that you have never heard sung before, though you have probably heard its lyrics read dozens of times. In two thousand years of Christian tradition, no one has ever sat down and reset it to music.
If you have your Bibles, I would like you to turn to Philippians 2:5-11. It is widely believed by scholars that these words represent the lyrics of an early Christian hymn that was frequently sung by the early church. As Paul was in prison writing to his friends at Philippi, he refreshed their memory of these lyrics in order to teach the Philippians a powerful lesson about Christ and life. A lifetime of study could not even come close to exhausting the richness and depth of the powerful meaning in these words.
Let's read the lyrics of this Christian hymn together starting with the introduction. Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV) says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
The selfless Jesus.
The heart of the Christmas story is that in Jesus Christ, God is fully giving himself to us. The hymn begins, "Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing."
Most people carry with them the image of a demanding, selfish, judgmental God who is always taking, taking, and taking. To some people God is a cosmic grinch who wants to take away our money, our time, our possessions, and also our energy, our fun, ultimately our whole life.
As a child I remember watching a video about the gimme monster. At Christmas this sweet innocent child creates a Christmas list for his mother. But his list soon becomes an obsession. As Christmas nears, the child becomes more demanding. He adamantly insists on having everything in sight, "Gimme, gimme, gimme more, more, more." Every time he says "gimme", he turns just a shade greener until by the end of the video he is this angry, out of control, dark green monster with a swollen deep blue blood vessel about to burst on his forehead. At the end of the video the boy is saved from his own demise when he recognizes that Christmas is more about giving and less about getting.
This Christ hymn declares that God is the antithesis to the gimme monster. In the presence of the Father, Jesus wasn't grasping for more and more. He wasn't taking and demanding or insisting and angrily shouting, "Gimme gimme." Jesus didn't have some ulterior agenda to usurp God's throne, to undermine the Father's authority, to accumulate more, or to establish a greater power base. Because Jesus was God, because he shared the very selfless nature of God, this hymn tells us that Christ, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing."
The Greek text tells us that Jesus literally "emptied himself." He emptied himself of his eternal glory. He emptied himself of all presumption. He emptied himself of any entitlement he had as the creator of the universe. Instead of angrily demanding and insisting for more, Jesus willingly poured himself out. He did this by putting the Father before himself, by putting humanity before himself, and by putting you and me before himself.
Whenever the true spirit of Christmas is set forth it is always set forth in these terms. The true spirit of Christmas, even to the secular mind, is generosity toward others. The spirit of Christmas is that instead of getting more by grasping, we ultimately gain more by giving generously. The true spirit of Christmas is the attitude of Christ. It is the very nature of God. God is selfless. He is self-emptying. He freely gives. He sacrificially and completely pours himself out on our behalf.
The servant Jesus.
The Christ hymn continues, "but (he) made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!"
The depth of God's generosity to us can be measured by the life of Jesus Christ. At Christmas, we often calculate the value that someone places on us by calculating the value of the gifts we have received. Jesus emptied himself. He took a subservient posture to the Father and to humanity. The God of the universe became a lowly servant. Jesus emptied himself of his glory. He took on the finite limitations of a human body. He was found in the appearance of a man. He was born of a woman on Christmas day in a manger of straw, amidst animals and the stench of their stalls. He became human in every way. Jesus experienced pain, agony, frustration, and loneliness. In obedience he suffered unto death, even a horrifying death on a cross at the hands of unbelieving Roman executioners. The measurement of God's generosity toward us is the cross of Christ. God values us so much that he paid the ultimate price to forgive us and to save us from sin.
Reuters News Service ran a story Saturday about U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan. The headline read, "Bearded U.S. Special Forces Step Out of Shadows." The article talked about how the Special Forces became like the Afghans in every way. They grew long beards. They adopted their routines. They ate goat meat and rice. They battled alongside them in their dusty trenches. One of the Special Forces members named Steve talked about how he became a "brothers in arms" with the Northern Alliance troops. He recounted his experience. "One time, we were getting incoming fire and a Northern Alliance general lay down in front us. You know when someone is willing to put himself in the way of hostile incoming fire, that really means a lot."
Can you think of a more powerful image than a general, one of the highest ranking officers in the Afghan military, laying down his life for a low ranking foreigner? I can think of a more powerful image! How about the image of the God of the universe laying down his life for you and me? How about the God of the universe, Jesus Christ, becoming an obedient servant willing to die on behalf of sinners like us, not even being dissuaded by the prospect of a horrifying execution on a wooden cross? Now that is something worth singing about at Christmas! And it is the essence of Christmas. Christmas is God generously pouring himself out for us. God seeking us. God dying for us. God emptying himself to fill us up.
The exalted Jesus.
The Christ hymn concludes, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
The path God chose to gain our undying devotion ran through the cross. Because Christ willingly and selflessly poured himself out, the Father exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name. In the end, the Father made the Son the object of our adoration and obedience. "...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
In the end, Christ gained everything by giving everything. He gained by not grasping. And this same truth holds true for us this Christmas and every day. We gain everything by giving everything to the Father. We gain by not selfishly grasping. And Philippians 2:5 tells us that we should have that same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Most songs help us remember the true meaning of things. Some Christmas songs take us away from the true meaning of Christmas. Fortunately for us, we have this Christ hymn in Philippians 2 that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is not about frantically grasping and accumulating more stuff. Christmas is about God generously pouring out his life for us. Christmas is about God emptying himself of everything in order to gain our adoration and obedience.
This week Time/CNN released a poll showing that seventy-six percent of Americans believe that the events of September 11, 2001 "changed everything forever." This is a hard poll to argue with. We will never forget the events of September 11.But this Christmas the events of September 11 are put in their proper order. This Christmas we should reflect upon the single greatest event in history. This was the event of the self-emptying of Christ, first in his birth, and then in his death on a cross. Long after the events of September 11 are forgotten, for generations to come the Christmas story will continue to change history one soul at a time as every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus as Lord.
This Christmas, will you remember the good news of Jesus Christ? This Christmas, is God making history in your life? Has the magnitude of Christ's self-emptying at Christmas and later in the cross captured your attention? Do you know God by name in the face of Jesus Christ? Have you prepared yourself for the day of Christ's return?