I don’t rant and ramble online very often. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I rant
or ramble very often at all, though my kids might disagree. You’ll have to check with them.
I’m not anti-Christmas, but for crying out loud, it’s still
a week before Thanksgiving. I don’t
usually buy a tree until almost a month from now. And I certainly don’t engage in the annual
ritual of commercial holiday-themed rioting and pillaging ironically known as
Black Friday. I’ve actually wondered how
many little plastic versions of the baby Jesus are trampled at Target and
Walmart every November.
I still insist on saying Christmas and not “the holidays”,
unless I’m referring to the period from mid-November through January 2. Christmas is the pinnacle. Other people might have other holidays occurring
this time of year. Hanukkah for
example. That one’s actually pretty
interesting. Or my son-in-law’s birthday.
But those aren’t my main focus, and they don’t define or anchor the
season for me.
For the record, I love Christmas. I’ve always loved
Christmas. But it’s getting harder to do so.
Every year is tainted by a shrill new season of competing “our rights are being violated and
we are outraged” shows. The War on
Christmas versus The Evil Domineering Christians.
Meanwhile, I’m subjected to a constant barrage of Christmas
and Holiday themed advertising carefully designed to make me believe that the
true significance of the season will be lost if I don’t buy this trinket or
take advantage of that carefully timed new and improved product rollout. If I
really love my family, how could I not buy them the opportunity to be as happy
as those happy people on the screen? What
kind of Scrooge would do that?
Even the US government gauges the economic health of the
nation by the amount of spending that takes place in the last 45 days of the
year.
It’s hard not to get sucked in. The decorations. The colors.
The lights. The music. All combine to create an atmosphere that is
magical. And it works. It makes us feel. Most of it isn’t actually about Jesus, but I
shouldn’t be surprised by that. Not in
our generic culture. But is it all
really about being festive and loving and spreading good will? Nice generic sentiments. Or is it about the
money?
When I hear people talk about putting Christ back in
Christmas, I sometimes wonder what that would look like. I wonder what the marketplace in the temple’s
outer court must have looked like around festival time, packed with travelers and
colorfully decorated for the holiday celebration just before Jesus stormed in
and cleared it of merchants and bankers.
And then I wonder why those who follow Jesus today would be crying
offense because the merchants and bankers in our marketplaces aren’t trying to
use His Name to sell their festival offerings. So…I decided to post an open
letter to Joshua Feuerstein, the guy with the anti-Starbucks coffee cup video.
Dear Guy With the Anti-Starbuck’s Coffee Cup Video:
I don’t expect that you’ll see this post or that you’ll care
if you do. But since you’ve gone public
with your rant and hold yourself out as a representative of conservative
Christianity engaging in the public square, I believe you need to be publicly
challenged. I am a conservative
Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and I am not ashamed to own that. My relationship with Him is the central
defining fact of my life. Living faithfully
and engaging thoughtfully is important to me.
And you do not represent me. You
and your approach are not representative of my faith or that of most of my
Christian friends, or the way in which we believe God would have us to interact
with people who are not yet Christians.
OK. So your video has garnered multiple millions of hits and
shares on YouTube and Facebook. The same can be said about Talking Dogs,
Sneezing Baby Pandas, and an Annoying Orange. That does not make it legitimate
evangelism. Attention and influence are
not the same thing.
You posted a follow-up saying you were feeling discouraged
by the negative blowback you’ve received.
Maybe that’s good thing. Some of
your videos show a person who truly cares and wants to bring help and healing
to a hurting world. But others have more
in common with secular shock-trolls than with the Spirit of Christ. I mean, I’m all for the second amendment, but
I don’t think that has anything to do with Christmas. And I don’t think anyone is going to come to
Christ or find the real Reason for the Season based on the fact that some guy
just flashed a Jesus cup and a pistol at them.
Instead of forcing a barista to write Merry Christmas on a
paper coffee container, perhaps your time would be better spent in leaving a
generous tip, then quietly sharing a cup of coffee with that barista, listening
to his or her heart and demonstrating the love and grace that Jesus wants
people to experience.
I love Jesus and I love Christmas. No one can take that away from me. This is a special, festive time of year, when
I and my family celebrate the Gift of God.
We celebrate that God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood and
brought Life and Light to the world, giving Himself so that peace and good will and redemption would be truly possible. We celebrate the Christ child who came and
lived and became the Lamb of God and King of Kings.
And we decorate and give gifts and eat. And cherish one
another.
I’d just like to encourage you to do the same…and forget
about the cup.
