the reason for the season . . .
the other night, my roommate, tyler, hassled me about writing "x-mas" on a gift box at my youth christmas party. i explained to tyler and ben (the other rm-mate) that the first letter of the word Christ in greek - christos - is X, or chi, pronounced "kai." i further pointed out that the greek for for fish - icthus - is made up of five letters that each stand for a different word.
the letters are as follows: IXOYC (the O is actually a theta, but i don't have greek fonts on this blog). I = Jesus, X = Christ, O = Son [of], Y = God, C = Savior.
So then, while the originators of the x-mas shortcut may not have had that in mind, i can have the confidence to occasionally write x-mas instead of Christmas without feeling guilty or ashamed.
ben conceded the point, but tyler wasn't buying what i was selling . . . which brings me to another point.
ever since the onset of "political correctness" and "tolerance," there has been this whole "Happy Holidays!" thing. Every where you go, you see "holiday" this or "holiday" that. yesterday, i was shopping at target for decorations for my apartment, and i noticed that the stuff i was perusing were "holiday" garland, tinsel, ornaments, lawn decorations, etc. all of the stuff were clearly CHRISTMAS decorations, but in the hopes of not offending some non-Christian shoppers (who likely wouldn't even be shopping for the stuff!) it had been labeled "holiday" decorations.
so, like many of my christian brothers and sisters, the first thought in my head was, "How dare they!?!? It's CHRISTMAS, not "HOLIDAY." part of me wants to say to all the folks living in america who don't "celebrate" christmas, "If you don't want to celebrate it, then go to work on the 25th." if i can't wish you a merry christmas, then you shouldn't be allowed to get paid to not work on christmas.
but is that really how i/we should be reacting to this "holiday" business? i think we can probably find a better way to handle this. let's look at what Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).
is it more important to see the word christmas on signs or to show Christ in your words and actions in the midst of the holiday/x-mas/christmas blur? do you honestly think that "putting Christ in Christmas" is simply about saying his name or calling it Christmas?
so, the next time you see a "happy holidays" sign or receive some email pushing militant Christmas propaganda, and you begin to feel that "It's CHRISTMAS!" angst welling up inside you, how about pushing it back down and finding a way to love your God and your neighbors. after all Jesus Christ is the reason for the season, and the best way to show the world is do put Jesus on display in your hearts and in your actions.
