This morning while driving to work I passed a house in our neighborhood that was decorated with lights and inflatable snowmen, and Santa’s etc... Smack dab in the middle of the yard next to the inflatable Santa was an arrow shapped sign that read “North Pole” What was funny was that the sign pointing to the north pole was pointin’ due East. Now I know some of us are more anal about things like this than others, but it made me laugh.
It doesn’t take much to get my mind spinning off on tangents and this morning a misplaced sign to Santa’s workshop got me thinking....
I’m generally not too upset with the non-christian images and traditions that have crept into the Christmas celebrations we enjoy. We have a Christmas tree in our home, and Santa Claus has often opened the door for me to have a conversation with someone about St. Nicholas. (My son, at the age of 4, asked the mall Santa “did you know that you were once bishop of prussia?”) But, I do find myself consistently saddened by the increased climate of consumerism and “buy, buy, buy!” at this time of year. That's a whole nother blog topic.
The arrow placed incorrectly got me thinking about how often we follow after things that really lead us nowhere, especially at Christmas time (nice segue huh? you wondered how I was gonna find my way back I know...)
Last week in Seattle, there was a complaint filed at Sea-Tac airport about the christmas trees on display by a Jewish Rabbi. They were removed. The Rabbi has since said that his intention was not to have the trees removed, but to have some Jewish symbols added. That's all well and good. I would like to see a mannorah next to the alaska airlines kiosk. But since when was a fir tree with lights and ornaments depicting penguins skiing a religious, let alone, Christian symbol?! That's like looking for “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” in the Methodist Hymnal. (I think its a direct reference to first sparticus 1:12 “thou shalt rock around the christmas tree, verily fa la la, verily la” Am I gonna have to have Windmeir bros. holiday brew Snow Plow Ale available at communion because it’s “christmassy” so there for it’s Christian? (which by the way was a bit of a disappointment - never had a milk stout before and probably wont have another for a while)
I was speaking with my friend Mike, whose child was in a preschool program that included Hanukah symbols and songs as well a Quanza themes and images. The teachers made sure that Christianity was represented by... Wait for it... a christmas tree. Mike said “Is that the best we can do for the Christian belief about Christmas?... a Christmas tree?... I mean come on!”
When I was a kid in grade school I did the dance and sang “dreidel, dreidel dreidel” at the Christmas program, but never heard a word about the miracle of the oil not running dry, nor did I hear much about the concept of God becoming human. But I sang my heart out with the rest of the 4th grade choir when we performed “Silent Night” and snickered when we had to sing “round yon virgin” --hee hee. It was never a faith/religious experience.
It just seems that there are so many things that we can chase after and call them holy, religious or Christian but in reality they don’t lead us anywhere.
So deck the halls, and make the mall Santa uncomfortable with questions of church history, but remember that Christmas isn’t about trees, or holly, candy canes or “Snow Plow Ale”. It’s about a God who loves us enough to become human, walk with us, sacrifice for us and make sure that arrow sign point to the way that leads to life.
Raise your glass- have a blessed and holy season of Advent and merry Christmas!
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