Christian Cliches - 'Tis the Season

... and in passing, what other time of the year do we say "'tis"? I suppose I am a nasty person. I hate Christian cliches. You know the sort of thing-- little sayings that were innovative and a helpful mnemonic sometime 30-50 years ago ("grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense", "Jesus is the Reason for the Season"), but now are buttons worn by little old ladies with reindeer earrings. (I got nothing against buttons or reindeer earrings.)

I don't mind the cliches because they're uncool (see reindeer earrings note above), but because the familiarity of them blunts any meaning they might actually have. I have met people for whom the meaning is still fresh, but most of us--and certainly the people we're trying to reach with the cliches--have heard them so many times that they inspire about the same amount of meditation and reflection as "I'll Be Home for Christmas".

For instance, "Keep Christ in Christmas". This is a very well-meaning phrase that sprang up first in reaction to stores writing "Xmas" on their windows, and which has continued as a reaction to the "Happy Holidays" trend of our own time. There is a very nice and elderly sign to this effect in our neighborhood, presumably dating from the Xmas era. The folks who say this wish to counteract the secular holiday and promote the Christian one.

The thing is, pushing that everybody call what they're celebrating "Christmas" might accomplish just the opposite. It's my conviction that you ought to be able to look at a group of people celebrating Christmas and tell whether or not they're Christians. In this way, there might be three versions of "Christmas," two of which should not be called Christmas at all.

The first version is the one that most folks think of when they think of "false" Christmas-- the commercial extravaganza that involves fancy parties, decorating, and many shiny objects you can't afford. (And possibly getting mildly sloshed.) If anything this version is Solstice, but it's not celebrated that way by anyone except Druids and probably it should be called Winter Holiday and should get the same amount of attention from Christians as President's Day. Even secular people, however, understand they are supposed to act as though there is a deeper meaning to all of this, which brings us to the second version.

The second false version is what you might call Modern Pagan Christmas-- exemplified by "A Christmas Carol". Here, as C.S. Lewis pointed out, is a Christmas story that has nothing whatever to do with Christ. This is what most people have in mind when they talk about "the true meaning of Christmas"; a vague idea that you should be nicer to people at this time of year and more generous, that everything this time of year should be designed to provide a sentimental uplift before the grimness of facing the new year of work and worry.

The second false version of Christmas is by far the deadlier, for the simple reason that when secular people hear Christians talking about the meaning of Christmas, they assume that what we say is to be taken the same way as Scrooge buying a turkey for the Cratchits or the sacred duty of everyone to sit through children's singing programs and nibble at indifferent sweets. Very nice, makes one feel good, but does not affect one's life for the rest of the year.

The third version of Christmas is the real one-- the Christian feast that celebrates the invasion of humanity by God, the life-changing idea that being nice is not enough to gain God's approval... the revalation that, in fact, we are not nice, even at Christmas, when we think we are at our nicest. The Christian feast of Christmas is one more time during the year when we are reminded of our sinfulness and God's grace; that our reaction, upon the birth of the Divine Christ, was largely "eh."

In short, Christmas should be a prime opportunity for sharing the gospel, which brings this back to my fuss about Christian cliches. They can become seasonal cliches, and in allowing people to categorize them as recognizable cliches, they can blur the difference between Christian Christmas and Dickensian Christmas.

So I say, down with the buttons and rhyming phrases. Allow store clerks to wish you Happy Holidays-- how do you know which season they're celebrating otherwise? In the same way that only Muslims fast during Ramadan, if it became known that real Christians are the only ones who say "Merry Christmas", people might begin to wonder what it is about the grace of God that makes Christians truly merry. Instead of automatically saying "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" this year, why not try explaining to someone what He's done for you?

To the other versions of Christmas I say, "bah, humbug",

Breanna