And the threat is more real than I ever imagined. No, it isn't those secular humanists, it is the big evangelical churches that are the real threat. This year, a number of large, visible, evangelical churches around the US are shutting down for Christmas because it happens on a Sunday. Their reason? so that people can spend time with their families.
Do you see it? They have turned Christmas from a holy day that is central to the church year into a family holiday. They have turned it from a celebration of the birth of Jesus into a celebration of giving stuff to the people closest to us. They are taking Christ out of Christmas and cancelling the mass part (that is where the word came from you know... the mass that celebrates the birth of Christ). They have made this, one of the holiest days of the year, into a secular holiday.
Of all days of the year, that is one when we ought to have church. If folk complain that they want to be with their families, they should be encouraged to worship together. If their family members won't go to church, what better way to bear witness than to tell them that the true meaning of Christmas is about the birth of Jesus... and church is where we'll be.
For those of you believers who belong to a church that is shutting down... I hope that you will go somewhere else and tell the leaders of your church that they blew it bigtime.
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3 comments:
What about the fact that we should celebrate our faith every day? I am not sure I disagree with churches who are canceling "church" on Christmas day. I think it challenges people to think about why they go to church only during the Christmas season and not for the rest of the year. It makes me wonder what those people "seasonal" attenders are thinking. Will they feel guilty if their local church is closed?
btw Merry Christmas!!! :)
Angela,
Merry Christmas to you too! Do you really think that folk who only attend worship on Christmas will think twice about why they are no there other Sundays?
Yes... we should celebrate our faith everyday, but there is a rhythm to life that calls us to mark some times - could you imagine cancelling Easter worship services? I can't. So why Christmas?
No I can't imagine canceling Easter. However, I recall a year when both Rob and I were sick and unable to attend Easter and didn't feel like I wasn't praising God for sending His son. I know that a lot of my argument is pure speculation and it really relies on individuals who feel the same as I do, which is not reality.
To be honest, sadly, I am not sure what people who don't attend church on a regular basis think. I would hope that they would reconsider why things are different this year more than ever. I think the fact of the matter is that "seasonal" attenders will be happy for the chance to skip church.
My local NPR station had a segment about this very issue
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=5053846
I appreciate you and your willingness to talk about with this me. In my life I am still trying to figure things out - asking questions sometimes helps. :)
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