The Danger of Mixing Santa and Jesus at Christmas


My wife and I went looking at Christmas lights last Christmas. We saw the usual carolers, snowmen, nutcrackers, reindeers, sleighs and so forth. At one particular house, we saw two things I'll never forget.

The first was a birthday cake covered in white lights. Green lettering spelled out "Happy Birthday Jesus."

The theologian in me cringed for fear of the message being sent with this cake, but all in all I thought it was a cute gesture.

Jesus did have a birthday, and whether it was during the winter solstice is probably irrelevant. I still hesitate, though, representing Jesus' birth so casually.

What got me more than the birthday cake – what set me off as a theologian and still more as a Christian – was that standing beside the cake was a white baby Jesus lying in a manger with St. Nick overlooking him.

The image was irresponsible, unbiblical and an unfortunate step backward for all the churches trying to separate the enmeshed imagery of Santa and the elves with God and the heavenly hosts.

This image broadcasts (whether intended or not) that Santa is somehow equivalent to God.

Together, God and St. Nick overlook the baby in swaddling clothes and declare that the birth of Jesus is profoundly "good."

I understand the opposing view: that Santa is not overlooking the baby as a co-creator but rather as someone showing reverence. All people, even Santa and other fictional characters, bow before baby Jesus.

The biggest problem here (for either interpretation) is that one part of this image is make-believe and the other part is very real. Mixing these images for children is dangerous and borderline unethical.
Christians must be more careful. Christianity must be more deliberate.

What message are we sending the world when we advertise Santa's picture next to baby Jesus? Is this the message you want your children getting in Sunday school? Is this the message you want from your pastor on Christmas Eve?

Christmas is supposed to be about the moment when Jesus breaks into a world of sin, doubt, hurt and guilt to declare with his presence that God is and forever will be among us.

What Christmas is not about is Santa Claus bringing gifts to good little boys and girls – and it is most definitely not a mixture of the two.

The Christmas story must be about the incarnation of Jesus – not Santa. This story must be good enough for the church to tell society on its own instead of clouding it with unhelpful, make-believe imagery.

The Christmas story has the power to change lives. It tells people that heaven is breaking in to earth and isn't leaving. It says the inauguration of God's kingdom is at hand, and our lives, through the face of Jesus, are being redeemed.

The biblical Christmas message is powerful – especially in an age of world poverty, ecological degradation, human depression and war.

If Christianity wants to continue being a viable option for people, then churches need to get Santa out of the Nativity and start talking about how the birth of Jesus offers hope in an age of hunger.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Most Difficult Parable Ever

Image
Theologian N.T. Wright finds the parable of the fig tree to be quite strange.  He says, “Jesus' warning in Luke 13 is at once amplified by this almost humorous, yet in fact quite sinister, parable of the fig tree in the vineyard.” And it is sinister.  It’s a hard pill to take.  Jesus' parable goes like this: A man has as fig tree planted in his vineyard.  One day he comes out looking for fruit on it, but there are no figs.  He says to the vineyard keeper, “Look at this tree.  For three years, I've come hoping to find some fresh figs, but what do I find? Nothing.  So just go ahead and cut it down.  Why waste the space with a fruitless tree?” The vineyard keeper replies, “Give it another chance, sir.  Give me one more years working with it.  I’ll cultivate the soil and heap on some manure to fertilize it.  If it surprises us and bears fruit next year, that will be great, but if not, then we’ll cut it down.”  (Luke 13:5-9, The Voice) But how is it sinister?
Read more

The Bird of Dawning Singeth All Night Long

Image
This Christmas I was moved by the words of Frederick Buechner.  For my last blog of the year I offer to you his wisdom rather than my own ramblings.  I hope it does for you what it continues to do for me. Frederick Buechner says in his book The Faces of Jesus: On the dark bulwark of Elsinore, Shakespeare has Marcellus and Haratio reflecting on Christ in the opening scene of Hamlet: Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, No fairly takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallowed and so gracious is the time These lines from the first scene of Hamlet in a sense say it all.  We tend to think time is just progression . . . as moment following moment, day following day, in relentless flow, the kind of time a clock or calendar measures.  But we experience time als
Read more

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Image
In the late 1300s Geoffrey Chaucer coined the phrase, “All good things must come to an end.” This phrase means more to me right now than it ever has before. This week is my last week as pastor at Union Baptist Church in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Out of all my accomplishments, opportunities, and memories, pastoring UBC has been one of, if not, the best. For three years I have traveled alongside this community of grace through celebrations such as birthday parties, weddings, worship services, homecomings, Fall Festivals, baptisms, and so much more. I have also traveled alongside more sincere moments of pain, tragedy, and anguish; for I have counseled families through deaths, hardships, work-related problems, spirit-related inquiries, sadness, depression, anger, surgeries, confusion, and even wonderment. Collectively, these shared stories, these real and emotionally significant memories, have shaped who I am and how I see myself in the world. This decision to leave UBC do
Read more