Mondo Gonzales, Pastor CrossRoads Community Church in New Lenox, www.ccc-nl.org
You might be thinking that since the title of this column references the repulsive side of Christmas, it’s going to highlight the shameful commercialization that our society currently indulges in. It is unfortunately true that too many people think of Santa or presents versus the story of Jesus’ birth. If you fall into this category, then the first priority should be to change your way of thinking and to put the emphasis back on the birth of Jesus as evidence of God’s great love for us.
The repulsiveness of Christmas that I am talking about takes on a greater meaning when we see the Christmas story in its original Jewish context. It’s sometimes easy to forget that an angel appeared to a young Jewish girl living in the northern countryside of the small nation of Israel. Jesus was born as Jewish boy, in a Jewish village, into a Jewish family, and most specifically into the Jewish culture.
Consulting almost any encyclopedia we learn that Jesus was certainly not born on December 25. That was a day that was chosen by the church to counter the Roman Empire’s pagan celebration of the rebirth of the Sun near the winter solstice on December 21. Is it possible to know the time of Jesus’ birth? I think that the Bible gives clues in the birth story that Jesus was born not in December, but instead in the fall before the rainy season in the land of Israel. Let’s remember that the shepherds were living in the fields at the time the angels appeared to tell them the news of Jesus’ birth. It is interesting to note that shepherds lived in the fields after the harvest season of early summer. They lived there to allow their sheep to feed off the remains of the wheat harvests. They would remain living in the fields during the dry months of summer, but left when the rains and cold began around October 1. There is not enough room for all the details (there are more), but the shepherds wouldn’t have been in the fields in cold late December!
Why is this repulsive? Let me explain. Joseph and Mary left Nazareth in northern Israel and traveled approximately 70 miles south to where Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. It is doubtful that they would have traveled this in dead of winter when records tell us they had one year to obey the census required by Rome. They did go to Bethlehem because of the census, but during this time of the year it was also the Feast of Tabernacles where they would live in little tents to celebrate the Exodus out of Egypt (Lev. 23:34-43). As they went and sought a place to stay near their relatives in the 200-person village of Bethlehem, there was no room for them in the guest room of their relatives. This is unfortunately translated as inn, but there is a different Greek for inn/motel that used in Luke 10:34. The word in the birth story is the same as that of the guest room of the last supper in Luke 22:11. What’s the point? Mary was turned away from the guest room and ended up delivering her baby in or near the stable where the animals were kept! After Jesus was born He was placed not in a cozy crib, but a watering trough or stone manger. This is what is repulsive about Christmas. Jesus was born in a stinky, dirty, place where the animals lived. We tend to change the nativity scene to make it look warm and pleasant when instead the story presents the King of Kings and Lord of Lords being born in a place where animals are born! Isn’t Jesus worth more than that? He came from heaven where He walked on streets of gold and received praise and glory (John 17:5). As we meditate on Jesus’ birth this year, let’s remember that Jesus left the glories and beauty of heaven to come and be born in a dirty, stinky stable because of His great love for us. Not only that, but Jesus walked the painful road to the Cross of Calvary 33 years later so that He could die for your sins. Have you humbled yourself, as He humbled Himself, and received Him as your savior? I pray that this Christmas we don’t miss the true meaning and realize that we have a God who provided one way for salvation through the birth of His most precious son…. in a filthy stable. Merry Christmas and may you honor God with your whole heart, soul, and mind.
Gonzales, Mondo. "The Repulsive Side of Christmas " New Lenox Patriot, 20 December 2007, Sec. B-6 & C-6