The sermon from our Christmas Eve service is now available on the New Life web site.
In this sermon, which is based on Luke 2:1-20, I talk about Three Words For Christmas.
Click here to listen in your browser or to download the mp3.
Christmas Sermon
christmas
Jacob Edson: Christmas Facts and Fictions
From biblegateway.com
Christmas Facts and Fictions: Sorting Through Myth, History, and Scripture for the Real Story Behind the Season
Every year around this time the same questions arise, among both Christians and non-Christians: when and where was Jesus really born? Is Christmas secretly a pagan holiday? And what’s the deal with the chubby guy in red?
Since the biblical narrative often gets blended with extrabiblical tradition, art, and carols, I’m going to clear up the confusion with a bit of background info, a dash of mythbusting — and some surprising discoveries along the way.
What I’m not going to do is spoil anybody’s Christmas fun. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year, for a host of reasons extending from cozy family vibes to incarnational soteriology. I’m not going to tell you how you should or shouldn’t celebrate this holiday!
Instead, my goal is to add to the fun with some biblical context and historical facts that will help you understand and appreciate the “what” and “why” of many of our Christmas traditions — and make your own educated decision about which of them to include in your celebrations.
Was Jesus Actually Born on December 25?
Let’s get this one out of the way: the Bible does not give a date for Jesus’ birth — not in the prophets, not in the gospels, not in Paul’s letters. We don’t even get a season, though some scholars have tried to make guesses based on the fact that the sheep were out in the fields at the time (Luke 2:8), which possibly — though inconclusively — suggests warmer weather.
Indeed, the earliest attested dating of Jesus’ birth is given by Clement of Alexandria as May 20. But that was about 200 years after the fact, and Clement adds that it is disputed by other Christian groups.
It wasn’t until at least 300 AD that December 25 became the popular date.
Why December 25?
The most commonly repeated theory is that early Christians chose late December to replace pagan solstice festivals that happened around that time. Logically, that makes a lot of sense — after all, we do know that Christians occasionally adapted some aspects of pagan festival celebrations.
There’s just one problem: there’s no actual evidence for it among any ancient sources.
As Yale professor and Anglican priest Andrew McGowan explains, the earliest patristic sources (e.g., Tertullian and Augustine) determined that Jesus must have been conceived on the same day that he was crucified, which they calculated as March 25.
And what’s nine months after March 25?
You guessed it.
The truth is that we do not and cannot know on what day Jesus was born; Scripture is silent on the matter. But December 25 is as good a date as any to celebrate the birth of our Lord — especially with 1700 years of tradition behind it.
Read more here
Christmas Traditions
It’s that time of the year again when we hear a lot of complaints about disappearing Christmas traditions.
This year, the Martin Place Christmas Tree is bedecked with the words “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” I love it when we try to pretend that the day being celebrated has nothing to do with Christ, but a more generic “holiday.”
David Jones copped criticism because they have abandoned the traditional Christmas window displays, which many people have for generations travelled into the city with children or grandchildren in tow to view each year.
The biggest outcry was reserved for rumours that Fire and Rescue NSW are abandoning the traditional lolly run due to health and safety concerns. Rather than throwing lollies at children while on the move, fire engines will have to stop to hand out the treats. This is out of concern for children running onto roads than any fear of hitting them in the eye with a hard lolly.
It is interesting just how much people value these traditions, even people who never set foot in church to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is like the generational memory of faith in Jesus, attending church services and celebrating real Christmas and Easter festivals continues to anchor people despite our rapidly changing culture.
Christmas is a time of incredibly good news, in a time when there is such a shortage of good news. It’s more than a long weekend, a time to get together with the family, or even a special time for the kids.
Christmas is about a God who cares about people so much that He came down to earth to live with us. The baby in the shed with the animals turned out to be the creator of everything in a human form. The story reaches its climax at Easter when we recall that Jesus Christ died to cover the wrongs of every single person.
If you haven’t been to church for a while, why not start a new tradition this Christmas?
Christmas Eve
The Christmas Eve sermon is now available on the New Life web site.
In this sermon, which is based on Luke 2:1-20, I talk about “The Saviour Is Born.”
Click here to download or to listen in your browser.
Christmas Eve Sermon
The sermon from our Christmas Eve service is now available on the New Life web site.
Click here to download or listen.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Selina Maycock explains the significance of the 12 Days of Christmas
You’ll probably know the famous Christmas song already, but do you know when the 12 days of Christmas start -or what the tradition is behind the celebration?
Children have lots of questions at Christmas, including how many reindeer does Santa have – and why do we have a Christmas tree? They may also been wondering about the 12 days of Christmas.
The event, otherwise known as Twelvetide, is a Christian religious celebration that’s based around the Nativity of Jesus. Christians believe that the 12 days signify the amount of time that it took the wise men to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany after Jesus was born, when recognised him as the son of God. Keep reading to find out when the 12 days of Christmas start and what each of the gifts are…
When does the 12 days of Christmas start?
The 12 days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day, December 25, and last right through until January 6 – also known as Three Kings’ Day or Epiphany. The period has been celebrated since before the Middle Ages but was updated over time to include prominent figures in Christian history.
Most people know the 12 days of Christmas from the song- and the odd Christmas joke – that lists the different gifts. The first printed appearance of the song was in the English children’s book Mirth With-out Mischief, which was published in 1780 – though some of the lyrics were slightly different. Most historians believe the Christmas Carol started as a memory game.
What are the 12 gifts of the 12 days of Christmas?
- One partridge in a pear tree
- Two turtle doves
- Three French hens
- Four calling birds
- Five gold rings
- Six geese a-laying
- Seven swans a-swimming
- Eight maids a-milking
- Nine ladies dancing
- Ten lords a-leaping
- Eleven pipers piping
- Twelve drummers drumming
But how does the song connect to the origin of the 12 days of Christmas and Christianity? Rumour has it that the ’12 days of Christmas’ song was used by worshippers when Christians were being punished for their religion as a way to discreetly pass on the message of Christianity.
The theory is that each of the gifts symbolise a different aspect of the Christian religion with the partridge in the pear tree representing Jesus and the two turtle doves signifying the Old and New Testament. The three French hens are Faith, Hope and Charity, while the four calling birds are the four gospels. The five golden rings are reportedly the first five books of the Old Testament. The six geese represent the six days of creation. The seven swans are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, while the eight maids are the eight blessings given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. The nine ladies dancing are the nine different fruits of the Holy Spirit – the ten lords represent the Ten Commandments, the eleven pipers represent the eleven faithful apostles and finally…the twelve drummers drumming are the twelve points of the doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.
(Image credit: Alamy)
According to PNC financial services groups’ annual Christmas Prince Index, to buy all of the gifts in the song would set you back over £36,000. Or if you want to be very specific and work out the total cost of all the gifts when you count each repetition of the song – that’s 364 individual items – it would come to a huge £165,188.18 with the latest dollar to pound conversion rates. The most expensive item would be the seven swans at roughly £11,000.
What do each of the 12 days of Christmas mean?
- Day One (Christmas Day): Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
- Day Two (Boxing Day or St Stephen’s Day): Remembering the first martyr of Christianity, St Stephen.
- Day Three: Celebrates St John the Apostle who is the patron saint of love, loyalty, friendships, authors, booksellers, burn victims, poison-victims, art dealers, editors, publishers, scribes, examinations, scholars and theologians. He also wrote the Book of Revelation.
- Day Four (Feast of the Holy Innocents): The day to remember all the babies killed by King Herod in his attempt to murder baby Jesus.
- Day Five: Remembers the Archbishop of Canterbury, St Thomas Becket, who was murdered because he challenged the king’s authority over the church.
- Day Six: Celebrates St Egwin of Worcester who is known as the protector of orphans and the widowed and died in 717.
- Day Seven (New Year’s Eve): Pope Sylvester I is celebrated on this day as he saw in the beginning of the Christian Roman Empire.
- Day Eight (New Year’s Day): Celebrates Mary, the mother of Jesus.
- Day Nine: Honours two important Christians, St Basil the Great and St Gregory Nazianzen from the 4th century.
- Day Ten (Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus): This day celebrates when Jesus was named in the Jewish Temple.
- Day Eleven: Celebrates St Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint who lived during the 1700s. It also celebrates the Feast of Saint Simeon Stylites, who lived on a small platform on top of a pillar for 37 years to escape unwanted attention.
- Day Twelve (Epiphany Eve): So called because it’s January 5, the day before Epiphany.
How are the 12 days of Christmas celebrated?
Much like other seasonal traditions, such as giving chocolate eggs at Easter in the UK, the event is celebrated all around the world in many wonderfully different ways.
For example, in Italy on January 6 – one of the most important days of the celebration – markets are set up in cities around the country selling small presents, snacks, fruits and other festive foods.
In Tudor England, when the tradition first started, people would fast for the four weeks leading up to Christmas and then enjoy 12 days of religious celebrations, feasting and entertainment.
What Will You Give Jesus This Christmas?
From Crisis Magazine What Will You Get Jesus for His Birthday?
The thought that Christ wanted me at a time when I was so displeased with myself was sobering, relieving, and enough to inspire a few silent tears
Two years ago, about two weeks into Advent, I posed a question to my class of high school sophomores: What will you get Jesus for His birthday? We spend so much time thinking about what we will give our loved ones—we are intentional, searching for the thing that will demonstrate how well we know them and their desires. Weeks of shopping aim to deliver a gift that will give them that feeling of Christmas magic. The hunt is epic, the purchase triumphant, and the joy of giving is reward enough. The reason for doing all this is, of course, Jesus’ birth; though I fear we often give Him so little.
“What do you mean, Ms. Karp? What can I give Jesus?” my students responded.
We discussed different ways we can make an offering to the Lord: fasting, participating in extra service work, paying attention to areas of prayer we struggle with, being consistent in prayer, getting flowers for the Mary statue, and so on. I explained to them that Jesus’ love language is quality time, so some extra time in prayer is always a good gift.
The more contemplative students really examined their prayer lives and opted to give Jesus the things they had been holding back in prayer. Others went with more concrete offerings. Despite the reflection being one of my own creation, I had no personal answer. I did not know what I could possibly have to give Jesus that would be good enough.
The pinnacle of Christmas joy when I was a kid was Christmas 2002, when my sister and I received the ultimate gift. It was the thing we knew our parents would never buy us—something too big, too expensive and extravagant, too perfect…the Barbie Travel Train! I look back on this now with great fondness and treat it as an example of what Christ so often gives to us. He gives us things bigger than we allow ourselves to hope for. He gives us things that satisfy us so intimately. He gives us something perfect.
That Christmas two years ago, I wanted to give Jesus something that would make him “Travel-Train-happy.” My search for the perfect gift was frequently interrupted. Teaching at a new Catholic high school certainly kept me busy. I was in a new relationship at the time. And I was struggling with my health.
The fall of 2021 was the height of a long bout of what I referred to at the time as “mystery disease.” After more doctors than I care to count and a strange array of symptoms, I finally got a diagnosis, but only after my condition became severe enough to land me in the hospital. I never expected to have an autoimmune disease at twenty-five, and it certainly rocked my world. All the parts of myself that I loved were slowly slipping through my fingers. My curves melted away to reveal a skeletal frame, my long hair became half as thick, my rambunctious energy was replaced with a quivering frailty, and my spirits were at an all-time low.
Usually, I would have gone above and beyond in the gift-giving department. I would have harnessed my creativity and strong work ethic to pull off something remarkable. But at that time, I had nothing that could possibly be good enough. I had nothing left to give.
I remembered the gifts of the Magi, the dedication of the shepherds in their travels, and even the percussion solo of the drummer boy. I had little money left to give after medical bills, I could barely walk across the parking lot without feeling faint, and I was terrible at the drums. The prayers I had to offer were sad, angry, and confused; hardly the Gloria that Christ deserves.
Christmas Eve arrived, and I still had yet to answer for myself the question posed to my students: “What will you get Jesus for His birthday?” As tradition held, I would be singing in the choir with my family at Mass and acting as official page turner for my brother, the pianist. I looked out on the quiet church from the choir loft before Mass began. The strung lights illuminated the altar, and an empty manger sat quietly in front, awaiting the baby Jesus that our priest would process down with once Mass began. I saw that empty manger, and I felt my own emptiness. I wished for something good enough to give.
In answer to my silent prayer, a wave of peace washed over me, and I knew that the only thing Jesus wanted, the only thing that could make Him “Travel-Train–happy,” was me. Broken spirit, broken body, the humblest of offerings. That’s what He wanted most, if I was only willing to give.
“But it’s not good enough.” I whispered in the depths of my heart.
“But it’s all that I want.” I heard in reply.
The thought that Christ wanted me at a time when I was so displeased with myself was sobering, relieving, and enough to inspire a few silent tears. The ultimate gift is love, a full and free exchange of personhood. Mary lovingly submits her will when the angel Gabriel comes to her. She does not have to say fourteen novenas or fast for a month. She lays her life in God’s hands in loving trust. Christ gives Himself for us in the most intimate and radical way, so of course the thing He wants most is simply us in return.
I looked again at the manger and accepted that the frail and vulnerable self I had to offer was a perfect fit in that nativity scene. In a moment, I understood that even in my weakness, emotional, spiritual, and physical, I could still be pleasing to the Lord—and not just “pleasing” but, in fact, His most cherished gift.
Christmas looks very different this year. I am no longer Ms. Karp. I will be in Chicago with my husband, my first Christmas away from home. I am in clinical remission, and I praise God daily for my good health. I feel more like myself, but I still find myself asking, what does Christ desire most this Christmas?
My inclination to conjure up something grand remains. My energy and ambition have returned. I know in my heart of hearts that His request has not changed, but every year it is hard to believe. Though my imperfections are of a different variety now, they still do not deter Him. I have to remind myself of the many things I have to be thankful for and offer all that I am, all that I have, humbly at His feet.
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. —St. Ignatius of Loyola
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Katie Łastowiecka is a classical education advocate, presenter, and instructor specializing in upper level literature and drama. Currently, she is a freelance writer and teaches at Kepler Education. She holds a masters in education and a bachelors in English.
The Magi
The Magi, or Wise Men, are mysterious characters in the Christmas Story. We don’t know exactly where they came from, although Babylonia is a strong character, and we don’t know exactly how many of them there were, or even when they turned up in Bethlehem.
I was preaching abut this last Sunday as recorded in Matthew 2:1-12.
As I read the passage in church, I was struck by the NLT rendering of v. 1:
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
Over recent years, it has been common to point out that the Magi could have taken up to 2 years to come and worship Jesus. This is based on a number of factors, including the word for “child”, the fact that the family was now in a house, not a stable, and Herod’s order to kill babies under the age of 2 years. Herod was a ruthless character who was not afraid of killing potential rivals, so the age of the babies being killed would have been arbitrary.
But then the NLT says this happened “About that time” i.e. close to the time of Jesus’ birth. What’s happening here?
Short answer is it is a poor translation choice. Most of the English translations, as well as the original Greek text, do not use this. For example the NIV has “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem…”
No translation of Scripture is perfect. We are blessed to have such an abundance of translations in English, and they mostly do a good job of making the Bible accessible to people of all reading, education and cultural backgrounds. I love the NLT as an easy to understand translation, but they got this phrase wrong.
The lesson here is never build a doctrine on a single phrase, a single verse, a single translation.
David Mathis: The Most Stubborn Day Of The Year
David Mathis writes:
The Most Stubborn Day of the Year
Why the World Stops for Christmas
Article by
David Mathis
Closed for Christmas. No birth in history has changed the world like that quiet, unsuspecting night in Bethlehem. Two thousand years later, no day marks as many calendars, determines as many schedules, pauses as many businesses, and draws together as many friends and families.
No prophet’s or great teacher’s origin, no king’s or president’s birth, no other single event in the history of the world transcends tribes and nations, continents and hemispheres, epochs and ages, liberal college campuses and secular places of employment, as the birth of one Jesus of Nazareth. Even the annual calendar at Hogwarts is set in time with Christmas Day.
And this peculiar influence is no accident of history. When we pause to ponder the surprise that this “present evil age,” at least for now, nearly shuts down for Christmas, we see the wink and smile of God. Rightly has no birth story, the world over, been rehearsed even nearly as often as the day that God himself, in the person of his Son, was born among us as one of us, fully God and fully human, to save his people from their sin.
God and Man in One
Of course, to mark the birth of “God himself” is far more controversial than just “Jesus of Nazareth.” Historically, the birth of the latter is hard to deny with a level head. Yet, the heart of the Christian faith pulses with “Jesus of Nazareth” as “God himself.”
“On Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of ‘the God-man’ — man like every other, and God like no other.”
On Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of “the God-man” — man like every other, and God like no other. A long history of devout and deliberate thought and tense dialogue has taught us to call him, among countless other names, “the God-man.”
Read the full article here
New Life Narrabri 