December 28, 2025
The First Sunday After Christmas
The People Who Missed Christmas
There’s a story about a large downtown church in a big city that was constructing a live nativity scene for
the community to enjoy. One day a group of young boys, on their Christmas break, rode by the church on their bikes. They saw the various props being built and set in place. Finally, one kid asked, “What are they building?” Another boy replied, “I think my mom said it was going to be a live “fertility scene.” We might smile at the story, but obviously the boy was wrong. He’d clearly missed the real message that the live nativity scene was going to be communicating: namely, that Christ, the Savior of the world, has been born.
In our day, as was true at the time of Jesus’ birth, many people continue to miss the real purpose and meaning of Christmas. If we went around interviewing people, asking “What do you think Christmas is all about?” I’m fairly certain that we would get a variety of responses….but few – if any – of them would be Biblically-related. Some would probably say that Christmas is a holiday for partying. Others might say that Christmas is a time to celebrate love and hope for peace on earth between people. Still others would probably say that Christmas is all about family. A few might suggest that one of the most important parts of Christmas is that it’s a time to be charitable to others less fortunate that you are. But very few, if any, would say that Christmas is about the miracle in the manger…..the story of God becoming human to be our Savior from sin and our Divine King.
And so, in today’s Sermon we’ll consider some of the people of Jesus’ day who “missed” Christmas…..and, of course, we’ll make a few applications to the age in which we live in, and to each of us.
When Jesus was born, many people in the immediate vicinity missed out entirely on celebrating His birth because they were preoccupied with other matters of life. Take the Bethlehem innkeeper, for example. He was occupied accommodating his guests who were in town for the Roman census. He likely was too busy making money and taking care of the needs of others to see what God was accomplishing for his salvation right in his own backyard (or stable, as the case might be). Luke tells us that he couldn’t find room for Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:7). Now, I’m not saying that the innkeeper was a bad person. I don’t doubt that if he had understood what was really happening, he would have stopped everything to serve Joseph and Mary and welcome the Christ Child into the world. He was just too busy to slow down to pay attention to what God was accomplishing that first Christmas night.
That was very likely true, as well, for the people of the Bethlehem community, and perhaps even many devout Jews in Jerusalem who might have heard about the King of Jews being born in connection with the visit of the Magi. But going to see if He really had been born was too much of a bother. Besides, they were devout Jews, and following their religious rituals and regulations was already satisfying to them…and had them thinking they’d earned God’s favor by their loyalty and obedience.
I wonder if you and I aren’t occasionally guilty of the same thing. I’d like to suggest that sometimes we can get so distracted by our many holiday activities and shopping and to-do lists that we fail to pause from all that busy-ness to properly thank and praise God for the unspeakable gift of sending His own Son into our sinful world to be our Savior and Lord. Others easily get caught up in their devotion to certain religious rituals and traditions, and then convince themselves that organizational loyalty to a church, or synod, and a personal fondness for certain hymns, liturgies and practices is already the cornerstone of their being faithful. How wrong – and sad – that is!
Some of the many others who missed out on the joy of that first Christmas did so because they were afraid. Think of King Herod who was “deeply troubled” when the Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem and to his place to find “the One Who has been born King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). Herod was a tough-as-nails politician who was a persistent “survivor” when it came to dealing with any and all rivals to his power. He considered himself to be the only ruler the Jewish people needed. Consequently Herod deemed any potential rival to his power and throne – even a baby just born in the Bethlehem area – to be threat worthy of elimination. And so eventually he ordered all the boys under age two in the Bethlehem vicinity to be murdered, so that none of them one day could grow up and usurp His position as king.
Are there ever any times when you’re afraid that Jesus might be trying to set the agenda for your life….and you don’t want to do or go where He wants you to? Are you ever afraid that Jesus might want more from you than your time when its convenient for you – when you don’t have other things “more important” to attend to? It’s one thing to come to church on Sunday, or Christmas Eve or Day….and entirely another thing to fully and gratefully give yourself and all that you are and have to the One Who says, “Take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 10:38). Do you and I sometimes fail to joyfully and faithfully respond to God’s Christmas Gift to us of His Son because being fully committed to Him as our Lord makes us a bit uncomfortable?
To me, the saddest reason that most people miss out on the salvation, peace and love of Christmas is because they’re Spiritually indifferent to what God is doing for them through that Baby born in a manger to be the Savior of the world….let alone what God expects from them in response to His grace. I think I’ll always be amazed that the priests and scribes who encountered the Wise Men and, on the basis of God’s Word in Micah 5:2, sent them to Bethlehem to worship the ChristChild….not only failed to advise Herod to also go to Bethlehem, but they also didn’t go themselves to Bethlehem, to meet the Promised Messiah. Maybe they decided that those strange foreigners could not possibly have any Spiritual insight that they didn’t already possess about the Promised Savior. After all, they were the scholars and theologians of the Jewish faith. They already knew that Bethlehem was going to be the birthplace of the Messiah. But – for whatever reason….and, ultimately, it had to be a very lame reason – it was too much of a bother for them to make the short, 6 mile trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see if, in fact, the Promised Savior truly had been born. Sometimes I wonder if, perhaps, we’re also a bit indifferent to the significance for us of the birth and life of Mary’s and God’s Son. After all, for years we’ve all heard the same, old story of Jesus and His birth, righteous life, sacrificial death and bodily resurrection. There’s really nothing new to it. So, has Christmas – perhaps – become “old” for you?
Today’s Scripture Lessons
In addition to our sermon (see the comments above), based on several events from the Christmas story, but also tied to John 1:10-12, we’ll look at those inspired words in their larger context as today’s Gospel Lesson, the first 18 verses of John’s Gospel. Here, in what has been called by some “John’s Christmas story,” the Apostle introduces the Savior by referring to Him as “the Word,” since – as God – He has come and directly spoken the Word of God to us. Notice, too, how John emphasizes the Second Person of the Trinity’s (Jesus’) deity and His eternal character, as well as His role in God’s work of creation. John further stresses that real life now and forever comes only through faith in Jesus. He goes on to talk about how Jesus was not accepted by His own Jewish people (even some of His immediate family members and the community in which He grew up….which is our Children’s Lesson for this morning). But to all who do believe in Him, by His redemptive work (and only by that) He has earned for us the privilege of being called God’s children and heaven’s heirs through the faith-creating work of God the Holy Spirit. John also touches on Jesus’ incarnation (the Word became flesh) and affirms that he (John) had seen Jesus’ glory as God (probably hearkening back to Jesus’ displaying a glimpse of His divine glory on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17). John’s point for his readers, and for us today, is that the Jesus he is about to present in His Gospel is the One and only God-in-the-flesh and the Savior of the world.
In this morning’s Epistle Lesson Paul expresses his sorrow over the fact that God’s chosen people (and his people) the Jews, who had all the “information” about the Messiah and the best opportunity to believe in Him – instead rejected Him. The fault was not with God, or His Word, but was entirely the Jews’ (ethnic Israel’s) fault. Just as God knew Esau would reject Him, the Lord also knew that Israel would reject Him. In contrast, faith is always the result of God’s gracious choosing of us, and the Holy Spirit’s working that faith within us. Nevertheless, God patiently endured the people of Israel, since He had promised that the world’s (and their) Saviour would come through their nation. Sadly, only a handful of Jewish people would believe in Christ. Instead, they were convinced that they didn’t need a Savior because they were owed heaven due to their ethnicity and their outward obedience to God’s Law. So, God moved on and brought the Gospel to the Gentile nations for their salvation – which includes us.
In our Children’s Lesson we’ll talk about Jesus own friends in his hometown of Nazareth simply couldn’t – and wouldn’t – believe in Him because they saw him only as Joseph and Mary’s boy and not God.
Finally, through today’s Old Testament Lesson (a reading familiar to us, since it often used to open Holy Week as well as on Good Friday), Jesus is described as a “tender Shoot” and “a Root out of dry ground,” emphasizing the weakness He assumed when entering our world. Isaiah writes that there was nothing in His appearance that made Him attractive. In fact, He was despised, rejected and held in low esteem by the people He came to save (and still is so regarded today by many.) But it was God’s will that He suffer and eventually die, bearing the burden of all the world’s sins on His sacred shoulders. Eventually, says Isaiah, He will be exalted for His saving work. And we exalt Him in our hearts, by honoring, loving and believing in Him as our Savior.
Pre-Service Prayer
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I thank You my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, for keeping me through the night from all harm and danger. Keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. Into Your hands I commit my body and soul and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the Devil may have no power over me. Amen.
Silent Prayer upon entering the sanctuary
Pre-service music
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We Praise Our God
The Greeting and Invitation to Worship
Opening Hymn Hymn 28 “Let the Earth Now Praise The Lord”
Sung antiphonally
All – Verse 1
Pulpit side – Verse 2 Lectern side – verse 3
Women and Girls – verse 4 Men and Boys – verse 5
All – verse 6
1 Let the earth now praise the Lord, Who has truly kept his word
And at last to us did send Christ, the sinner’s help and friend.
2 What the fathers most desired, What the prophets’ heart inspired,
What they longed for many a year Stands fulfilled in glory here.
3 Abram’s promised great reward, Zion’s helper, Jacob’s Lord —
Him of twofold race behold – Truly came, as long foretold.
4 Welcome, O my Savior, now! Joyful, Lord, to you I bow.
Come into my heart, I pray; Oh, prepare yourself a way.
5 Crush for me the serpent’s head That, set free from doubt and dread,
I may cling to you in faith, Safely kept through life and death,
6 And, when you shall come again As a glorious king to reign,
I with joy may see your face, Freely ransomed by your grace.
after which the Congregation will rise for
The Invocation
Pastor We begin this service in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We Confess Our Sins
Pastor: As we approach the Lord in worship today, let us all confess our sins and seek God’s forgiving mercy:
Congregation: O Lord, hear my prayer, + Listen to my cry for mercy + and in Your faithfulness, come to my relief. + Do not bring Your servant into judgment, + for no one living is righteous before You. + Answer me quickly, O Lord; + my spirit fails. + Do not hide Your face from me, + For I have put my trust in You. + Show me the way I should go, + for to You I lift up my soul. + Teach me to do Your will, + for You are my God.
Almighty God, merciful Father, + I, a troubled and repentant sinner + confess that I have sinned against You in my actions, thoughts and words. + I have not loved You with all my heart; + I have not loved others the way I should. + I have not been a faithful steward of the time, abilities, opportunities and resources + which You have entrusted to my care. + I have not always been eager and willing to worship You, serve You, or learn from You as I ought. + My transgressions, whether deliberate or done out of ignorance + are too numerous for me to recall. + I know that because of them + I deserve Your punishment both now and eternally. + But I truly am distressed by + and deeply sorry for my sins. + And so I implore You, for Jesus’ sake, + to have mercy upon me + and to forgive me, + a poor, sinful being.
Pastor: Jesus says to His followers: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven.” Do you believe this word and promise of your Savior?
Congregation: Yes, I believe.
Pastor: Then according to the command and promise of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and in His place, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace once more with your God, assured that you are a dear child of God and an heir of eternal life in heaven through faith in Christ Jesus.
Congregation: O Lord, my God + I called to You for help + and You answered me. + I thank You for the love You have shown me in Jesus Christ, my Savior. + Through Him You have rescued me from the guilt and curse of my sin. + Renew me now, through Your Holy Spirit + that I might faithfully fight against all temptation, + correct whatever wrongs I can, + and live in the peace of Your forgiveness. + Let my life be filled with Your love and praise. + Now and forever. + Amen.
Our Grateful Response for God’s Forgiveness
To the tune of “Nun danket alle Gott” (“Now Thank We All our God”)
The Lord, my God be praised My God, Who, ever-living,
To Whom the heavenly hostAll praise and honor, giving –
The Lord, my God, be praised, In Whose great name I boast,
God Father, God the Son And God the Holy Ghost.
To Him with joyful song Our praises we are bringing
And with the angel throng Thrice “Holy,” we are singing
With one united voice The Church does Him adore.
The Lord, my God, be praised Now and forevermore. Amen.
The Prayer for the Morning
Almighty God, + grant to Your Church Your Holy Spirit, + and the wisdom which comes down from above. + Let nothing hinder Your Word + from being freely proclaimed + to the joy and edification of Christ’s holy people, + so that we may serve You in steadfast faith + and confess Your name as long as we live. + We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, + Your Son, our Savior, + Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, + One God, for ever and ever. + Amen
After which the Congregation will be seated as
We Hear God’s Word
The Old Testament Lesson Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message and to Whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before Him like a tender Shoot, and like a Root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a Man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.
4 Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. 11 After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The Epistle Lesson Romans 9
I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, Who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by Him Who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the One Who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
22 What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My people’ who are not My people; and I will call her ‘My loved one’ who is not My loved one,” 26 and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will carry out His sentence on earth with speed and finality.”
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a Stone that causes people to stumble and a Rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
after which the Congregation will rise out of respect for the reading of
The Gospel Lesson John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him everything was made, and without Him not one thing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 The Light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome It.
6 There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as an eyewitness to testify about the Light so that everyone would believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 The real Light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to what was His own, yet His own people did not accept Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. 13 They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen His glory, the glory He has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about Him. He cried out, “This was the One I spoke about when I said, ‘The One coming after me outranks me because He existed before me.’” 16 For out of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, Who is close to the Father’s side, has made Him known.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
after which the Congregation will be seated for
The Children’s Lesson Matthew 13:54-58
54 Jesus entered Hs hometown and taught in their synagogue. As a result, the people were amazed and said, “Where did this Fellow get this wisdom and these miracles? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s Son? Isn’t His mother named Mary? And aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas His brothers? 56 And aren’t all of His sisters here with us? Where then did this Fellow get all of these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown and in his own house.” 58 He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
His Own People Didn’t Recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior….Do You?
Hymn of the Day Hymn 41 “Let All Together Praise Our God”
1 Let all together praise our God Before his highest throne;
Today he opens heav’n again And gives us his own Son,
And gives us his own Son.
2 He leaves his heav’nly Father’s throne, Is born an infant small,
And in a manger, poor and lone, Lies in a humble stall,
Lies in a humble stall.
3 He veils in flesh his pow’r divine A servant’s form to take;
In want and lowliness must die Who heav’n and earth did make,
Who heav’n and earth did make.
4 A wondrous change which he does make: He takes our flesh and blood,
And he conceals for sinners’ sake His majesty as God,
His majesty as God.
5 He serves that I a lord may be – A great exchange indeed!
Could Jesus’ love do more for me To help me in my need,
To help me in my need?
6 For us he opens wide the door Of paradise today.
The angel guards the gate no more; To God our thanks we pay,
To God our thanks we pay.
after which the Congregation will REMAIN SEATED for
The Pre-Sermon Salutation
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, our Lord! May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
The Sermon Text based on….John 1:10-12
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to what was His own, yet His own people did not accept Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
The People Who Missed Christmas
The Post-Sermon Blessing
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, now encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Amen.
We Present God with our Offerings and Prayers
The Offering
Offerings will be received this morning through offering plates passed among those who have gathered here for worship.
However, for those watching this worship service, we offer you the following suggestions for providing God with Your thank-offerings through our ministry:
1) You can mail a check (no cash) to the church address (415 N. 6th Place, Lowell, AR 72745)
2) You can go to our website (www.gracelutherannwa.com) and use the giving option.
At the Pastor’s invitation, the Congregation will rise for
Today’s Special Prayers
Included in our prayers is:
A Prayer of Thanksgiving on behalf of George Layton, who continues to receive rehabilitation therapy so that he can recover his strength and mobility and return home to his wife Laura, and to us here at church
Today’s General Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
We Leave With The Lord’s Blessing
The Benediction
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The LORD look with favor upon you, and give you His peace. Amen.
The Closing Hymn Hymn 64 “Let Us All With Gladsome Voice”
1 Let us all with gladsome voice Praise the God of heaven,
Who, to bid our hearts rejoice, His own Son has given.
2 To this vale of tears he comes, Here to serve in sadness,
That with him in heav’n’s fair homes We may reign in gladness.
3 We are rich, for he was poor; Is not this a wonder?
Therefore praise God evermore Here on earth and yonder.
4 O Lord Christ, our Savior dear, Bless us and be near us.
Grant us now a glad new year. Amen, Jesus, hear us!
A Brief History of The Christian Church’s Celebration of Christ’s Birth…..and the History of some of our more Familiar Christmas Traditions
by Charles Huebner, BA, MDiv
What is the most important church festival? No doubt many church-goers would answer, “Christmas, of course!” But it wasn’t always that way. As a matter of fact, for the first 350 years after Christ’s birth Christian churches didn’t celebrate a December 25th Christmas. (There is evidence that the origins of a primitive and isolated Christmas celebration can be traced back to 98 AD, but it was not embraced church-wide and was rather short-lived.) For early Christians the major Church festival of the year was Easter, with each new Sunday (the Lord’s Day) being a fresh reminder of Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week. In fact, church members who did consider formally commemorating Christ’s birth were afraid that by doing so, outsiders might come to think of Jesus as just another one of the many earthly rulers whose birthdays customarily were celebrated in those days.
Instead of being concerned with a December 25th Christmas, the ancient church was much more interested in January 6, the Festival of Epiphany, which directed people’s attention to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry: his baptism and first miracle. Today, of course, Epiphany lies in the shadow of Christmas and has even taken on a Christmas theme. We now use Epiphany to relate the final chapter of the Christmas story, the coming of the Wise Men.
It was during the fourth century that the spotlight began to shift from Epiphany to Christmas. One reason was a growing emphasis on the miraculous, yet human, birth of the Savior. The early Christians had to contend with a cult known as the Gnostics (“Knowers”). These heretics down-played Jesus’ humanity. To them it was unthinkable that the eternal Son of God should come into the world as a little baby. They taught that Jesus first became divine at the time of his baptism. Gnosticism posed a serious threat to the early churches, much like cults who are pulling thousands away from Christian churches today. It was only natural that discussions about Christ’s humanity would center on his birth.
The only problem was, nobody knew when the Savior was born. The Bible gives no specific date. And if the first generation of Christians knew it, either they didn’t write it down or it wasn’t preserved.
When Was Jesus Born?
Most serious Bible students realize that Jesus was probably
not born on December 25th. The shepherds had their flocks in open fields, which implies a date prior to October. Furthermore, no competent Roman administrator would require registration involving travel during the season when Judea was generally impassable due to the rainy season (late October into March).
If Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, just when was He born? Although the Bible doesn’t explicitly identify the birthday of our Lord, many scholars have developed diverse opinions as to the likely birthday of Jesus. (It reminds one of the rabbinical observation: “With two Jews, you are going to have three opinions!”)
Then Why Do We Observe December 25th?
As we noted earlier, the early Christian church did not celebrate Jesus’ birth, and therefore the exact date was not preserved in their writings or their festivals.
The first recorded mention of December 25th is in the Calendar of Philocalus (A.D. 354), which assumed Jesus’ birth to be Friday, December 25th, A.D. in the year 1. Putting together what scant information they had, theologians sought to arrive at the date. Some attempted to establish the day when Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) served in the temple; they then combined it with the annunciation to Mary which took place “in the sixth month” following (Luke 1:26).
Others tried to determine at what time of the year the shepherds might or might not have been in the fields of Bethlehem. Such calculations have led to a variety of possibilities: January 2 or 6, March 28 or 29, April 18, 19 or 20, September 29, December 25.
The church father Hippolytus (about 170-235) is given credit for being the first person to set the date as December 25. He had concluded that the time of Christ’s life from His conception to His crucifixion was exactly 33 years. Having somehow determined (we now know his conclusions were erroneous) that both these events took place on March 25, it was simply a matter of adding nine months to get the day of Jesus’ birth, December 25.
About the same time that Christians were deciding Jesus’ birthday was important, another momentous event took place. The Roman Emperor Constantine (280-337) was converted to Christianity. He subsequently issued his “Edict of Toleration” in A.D. 313, which enabled the formerly persecuted Christians, figuratively-speaking, to exchange their rags of rejection for the silks of royal recognition. Suddenly Christianity had changed from being a persecuted religion to having the “status” of being the official state religion. Because of this, many people found it politically advantageous to become Christian. Needless to say, more than a few of those “conversions” were less than sincere. The predictable urgency to adopt/embrace cultural changes favoring Christianity inevitably forced many former pagan rituals to be adapted to Christianity with some new “Christian” trappings of their own.
The date of December 25th, which was officially proclaimed by the church fathers in A.D. 440 as the birth date of Jesus, was actually a remnant of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. The Saturnalia (December 17-24) was always observed near the winter solstice (December 21/22), which itself was among the many pagan traditions the Romans inherited from the Greeks, who inherited it from the Persians, who inherited it from the Babylonians. The Saturnalia always culminated in the celebration of the shortest day of the year and the birth of the “new sun” on December 25. These days were marked by processions, lighting candles and giving presents. This was also a time of merrymaking and overindulgence.
Since the Romans were not inclined to give up their holiday, it seemed natural for the Christians to replace the birth of the sun with the birth of “the Sun of Righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). However, victory over paganism was not easy, nor was it total. In fact, to this day, since that first celebration of Christmas (historians believe it occurred in 336), Christians have been trying their best to keep Christ at the center of the Christmas celebration, often against rather formidable secular and materialistic competition.
The Christmas Tree, Wreaths and the Advent Wreath
The Advent wreath is a combination of two very common symbols: light and the fir tree. From the early centuries of Christianity it has been the practice to represent Christ by a burning candle. The fir tree also has a long history of religious use.
One of the most popular themes for the medieval “mystery plays” revolved around the telling of the story of Paradise. In those plays, the Garden of Eden was typically portrayed by a fir tree hung with apples. In the Eastern churches (Eastern/Greek Orthodox) December 24th was celebrated as the Feast Day of Adam and Eve. The custom of putting up a Paradise (eventually known as a Christmas) tree in the home on December 24th, decorated with apples, came into Europe (and the Americas) by way of the East.
In Germany there was also a custom of placing a lit Christmas candle on top of a wooden pyramid decorated with evergreen twigs. In time the wooden pyramid was replaced by the Paradise tree, decorated with apples and lighted candles.
Undoubtedly the use of wreaths (and the Advent wreath, in particular) was developed in large part in connection with the Christmas tree. Advent wreaths, such as we employ in church, originated a few hundred years ago among the Lutheran Christians of eastern Germany. A wreath of evergreens, made of various sizes, was either suspended from the ceiling or placed on a table. Four candles (called the prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd and Angels candles) successively lit over the four Sundays of Advent were fastened to the wreath.
The general symbolism of the Advent wreath lies in the growing light of the wreath, increasing each week as we approach the birthday of Jesus, Who is “the Light of the world.” That same symbolism is connected to the lights of the Christmas tree and the lights that adorn homes at this time of the year……even if that significance is lost to most people today.
What About Santa Claus?
Santa Claus means Holy Claus, short for Nicholas. The word “santo” is “holy” in Latin as well as its descendent tongues, such as Spanish and Italian. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, St. Nicholas was born in the ancient city of Patara. As a youth he traveled to Palestine and later became Bishop of Myra. He was imprisoned during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian and was later attendant at the First Council of Nicea in A.D. 325.
Legend says that Bishop Nicholas showed unusual kindness to the poor and the weak; oftentimes leaving things for them on their doorsteps while they were asleep. In the Middle Ages he became patron saint of charitable fraternities, children, and other things as well as patron saint of the City of Moscow, Russia.
After the Reformation, the legend of St. Nicholas died out everywhere except in Holland. It migrated to the U.S. with Dutch Reformed Christians. The Dutch Christians referred to him as “Sinter Klaus,” from which the name “Santa Claus” is derived.
Later in Germany, St. Nick would traditionally arrive on his Feast Day, December 6th. A man dressed as St. Nick would go door to door loaded with a giant sack. To those children who had been good during the year, he gave presents. To those who had been bad, a lump of coal was their lot. “How did he do that?” the kids would wonder.
St. Nicholas’s red outfit was derived from the red colors bishops, like Bishop Nicholas wore. The modern version of St. Nick originated in a series of Thomas Nast engravings, which appeared in Harper’s Weekly between 1863 and 1886.
A Few Other Christmas Affections and Traditions
The Night before Christmas was first published in 1822 and picked up widespread popularity and republishing, and remains a favorite part of Christmas for many to this day.
During Queen Victoria’s reign in England (1837-1901), tree decorating was a commonplace practice. Incidentally, Martin Luther is reported to have been the first person to actually put lights, in the form of candles, on a Christmas tree. The story is that he was inspired to do this because of his taking a walk among some evergreens one clear evening. Seeing the starlight twinkle around the trees’ branches led him to use candles to produce a similar effect inside the house. (One can only speculate whose house was the first to burn down as the result of a Christmas tree.)
In 1880, Woolworth’s stores began selling the first manufactured Christmas tree ornaments. They caught on immediately, quickly spreading across the country..
In Mexico and southern parts of the United States, Las Posadas has been a major Christmas tradition. In recent years it has become increasingly popular here in our United States. During Las Posadas children go door to door asking for shelter, just as Joseph and Mary did when Mary was about to give birth to Jesus. The proper response from the person who answers the doors is always a negative head shake and these words are spoken, “no posada” (no shelter). Candles placed in paper bags (luminarias) serve as chains of lanterns on the ground leading up to the doors to show the expectant couple the way.
Rudolph, the “genetically mutant” reindeer (because of his red nose), is a latecomer to our modern American Christmas observance, and has absolutely no religious significance whatsoever. In 1939, the store Santas at various Montgomery Wards department stores throughout the country gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet called “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The story was written by Robert May, an advertising executive who worked for Wards. In 1949, western singer Gene Autrey recorded a musical rendition of the poem. His song has become familiar to us all, since it became an overnight, sensational hit.
Keeping Christ in Christmas
Christians today often do their best to fight the ongoing secularization of their holidays. In so doing, some have gone so far as to reject anything to do with holidays like Christmas…..saying it/they are not Biblically ordained. We should point out that the New Testament doesn’t really ordain anything for the Church other than the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But it does not prohibit the observing of special days either (Romans 14:5,6), and since we live under God’s grace, as Christians we are free to honor different days if we wish…..as long as the Lord is honored in all that we do.
Perhaps one of the best ways for us, as Christians, to keep Christ as the center of our Christmas observance is for us to better understand and appreciate some of the various symbols and customs that have come to be used to celebrate Christ’s birth across the centuries, so that we can better distinguish between what is “sacred” and what is secular…..and then use them with the intent of retaining and emphasizing the uniqueness inherent in the mystery and majesty of what truly lies at the heart of Christian Christmas: the incarnation…..the birth of the Son of God, and Mary’s Child, Who is our LORD and Savior.
For instance, at Christmas we remember the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh presented by the Magi by giving gifts to family and friends. As more than a “precedent” for our Christmas gift-giving, these gifts of the Wise Men were given to celebrate Jesus’ deity and royalty (the gold), His priesthood (the frankinsense), and His death (the myrrh….and ointment often used in connection with a person’s burial).
Consequently, we can make this Christmas season – and every Christmas – a real, Spiritual celebration, regardless of how our secular world approaches it. We can do that by bringing our Lord the gifts of our hearts and lives, as well as offerings worthy of Him as the only One Who could save us. Let’s also do our best to grow in our faith during this time of the year, by keeping our hearts and minds focused on God’s Word, and particularly the various Scripture lessons associated with the seasons of Advent and Christmas…..as we are intending to do today.