Christmas is more a celebration of the future than any event in the past. Sure, there was a child born in Bethlehem, but if it is only the birth of a child we celebrate our festivities have as much substance as Santa Claus, balloons and Christmas bom boms. While it may bring families together and create memories that bind, it remains a bit of light hearted fun. The togetherness and the memories could just as easily be created in some other way. Christmas is all about hope that one day we will triumph over our failures as human beings.
The bloodline of the Christmas Child brims over with this failure, as far back as we may care to go. A good place to start is with Abraham, the father of the Jewish tribes and the nation they formed.
Now if you were God and you wanted to find someone to be the founding father of a nation to represent you on earth, you would probably look for a good, righteous man, someone who exemplified the values you desired. So, would you pick Abraham - or Abram as he was known before God changed it.
First, he was a liar who was prepared to allow his wife to sleep with another man to save his own neck. His father was an idol worshiper, as at least some of his relatives. Was Abram? We are not told, but having been raised in that environment would have influenced his worldview.
Part of the story reads like he was a war lord. He had allies and his personal army. When his nephew Lot was captured by the combined forces of four kings Abraham led his fighting men on a successful raid to free Lot and retake all that had been captured. Abraham obviously had an understanding of military tactics and the ability to lead a fighting force, indicating this was not a one-off event.
Abraham is called the Father of the Faithful, yet his story reads as one failure of faith after another. There is the one outstanding exception, and that is his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac at God’s command. While the story is one of total obedience we can still ask why.
Later, the writer of Hebrews states Abraham reasoned God could raise Isaac from death, and that may in fact be so (Heb. 11:17-19). Today, if anyone claimed God had given them a similar command we would question their sanity, and we would have strong Biblical support for doing so. After all, God expects us to take the Bible as our ultimate authority and if anything goes counter to that we are to reject it.
Many centuries later we read the interesting account of a discussion between God and Moses. When Abraham's descendants made a golden calf and worshiped it, God expressed His anger, threatening to destroy them all and make the descendants of Moses into a nation to replace them. Moses argued against this, reminding God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and arguing that this action would portray God as evil (Exodus 32:7-14). Moses had come to know God at a deeply personal level, and this gave him the confidence to question God.
Human sacrifice was part of the culture Abraham knew. While his is the story of a growing faith, we cannot rule out the cultural influences that had shaped and, no doubt, distorted his view of God. There is no evidence he questioned this demand, he simply put his mind to obey. It seems he had not yet come to the realisation that human sacrifice under any circumstances was abhorrent to God.
As we read the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we find they are all flawed. Jacob’s family, from whom the 12 tribes of Israel were descended, could only be described as dysfunctional. They definitely could not be described as model citizens. Yet it was this family that God chose to be His representatives on earth.
The story doesn't get any better. David, the celebrated king from whom Jesus descended was an adulterer and murderer. His son Solomon, born as a result of David’s affair with the wife of Uriah, opened the floodgates to idolatry and pagan worship in Israel. His reign led to the dividing of the nation into Israel and Judah. Many of the kings that followed and whose blood flowed through Jesus’ veins were no better. The prophets continually warned of the consequences of idolatry, oppression and lack of regard for the welfare of others. God's nation was meant to demonstrate mercy, compassion and care of the less fortunate.
Eventually they were so bad that God allowed the nation to fall to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who carried them into exile. Seventy years later God allowed them to return to their homeland, but they would not become an independent nation again. Cured of their idolatry, they became legalistic, developing strict legal codes to preserve their holiness. In so doing they lost sight of compassion and mercy, putting their rules and regulations above the revelation of God. So much so that when Jesus came and walked amongst them they rejected Him, because He did not conform to their expectations.
Throughout the Old Testament the story of human failure, exploitation and degradation runs parallel to the theme of God's mercy seen in His promises to heal, forgive and restore. Isaiah 11 presents a vision and promise of a future ruler and a world where their is peace, justice and fairness for all. Exploitation and poverty will be no more. The vision and promise is for all who desire it, regardless of race, culture or religion.
It was that Ruler and that vision that people were looking for that first Christmas. We see elements of the vision in the story. The wise men, or Magi, were gentiles, coming to worship this King of Righteousness. The Shepherds were considered among the lowest classes of society. Jesus Himself bore the shame of the bastard, being conceived outside of wedlock, the shame He would carry all His life. The ruling class hounded Him and eventually crucified Him because He challenged their authority, corruption, and exploitation of the poor, justified by their twisting of religion.
The vision and the promise has not yet been realised. It remains a future hope. Christmas without that expectation of righteousness, justice and compassion may be a nice, feel-good celebration, but for what? Christmas is properly celebrated when we live out that vision in the way we relate to those around us, and the poor, oppressed and exploited of the world. It is for those who acknowledge their own moral failings, recognising the future is for those who earnestly long for the mercy of God. It is for the Abrams, those who respond to God's call but never come to a full understanding of what God requires. And it is for those who are prepared to extend that mercy to all who have wronged them, regardless of the magnitude of that wrong.
Christmas is a celebration of the future when, regardless of our failures, we can experience triumph over all that life throws at us.
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