Making the Christmas
story real in our lives
Thursday, December 20, 2001
By GREGORY RUMMO
Several years ago, I wrote a column defending the
Chris tian community's constitutional right to display
Nativity scenes in the public square. A few days later,
I received a letter decrying Christians who are more
concerned with making a public show of their faith than
with their own personal testimonies.
"When we moved into our home, not once did a
Christian knock on my door to invite me to church,"
the writer said. "And in your zeal to defend
Nativity scenes in public places, I'll bet you don't
even have a creche in your own front yard."
He was right. I didn't.
Like other Christians, I should abhor hypocrisy. When
I find it in my own life, it's especially unsettling.
The next day, I bought lumber and plastic Nativity
figures. On a blustery afternoon in early December, as
the sky spit snow flurries, I built a small creche. I
constructed the roof out of old cedar shingles donated
by my next-door neighbor. Though I had to replace the
creche last year, the lesson I learned will never be
forgotten.
Whenever secular political forces clash with
Christianity in a public venue, secularism almost always
wins. While it may not always have been this way in the
United States, we now live in a post-Christian era. But
the political elite's antipathy toward the Babe of
Bethlehem has roots dating back to the first century.
When Jesus came into this world, it was not with a
public display of pomp and circumstance. No human
fanfare accompanied his birth in Bethlehem, despite the
Christ child's royal heritage, recorded in genealogies
in both Matthew's and Luke's gospels, confirming that he
was a direct descendant of David and the rightful heir
to Israel's throne.
This was anticipated by the prophet Micah: "But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the
clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will
be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times" (Micah 5:2).
For a while, it appeared that first-century politics
would trump biblical promises. Herod the Great took
advantage of a long history of the corruption of
Israel's high priests and kings caused by party strife,
worldliness, ambition, corruption, and Hellenism. Using
gold, he bribed his way to the throne of Judea, which he
assumed in 40 B.C. under the consent of Octavian (later
known as the Emperor Augustus), and a decree issued by
the Roman Senate.
Jesus' Nativity stood in stark contrast to such
corruption. He was not a political figure as some have
argued. His was a birth steeped in meekness and
humility, innocence and purity. He was born in a stable
to the sounds and the smells of the barnyard. His tiny
body was cradled in a feeding trough for the animals.
Jesus' and Herod's paths crossed after the king met
with the Wise Men, who had followed a star
predicting the birth of a Messiah. The men from the East
arrived at Herod's court to worship the new king. On
hearing the news, Herod ordered the slaughter of all
2-year-old boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity in an
attempt to kill his potential rival (Matthew 2:16).
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream,
warning him to "take the child and his mother and
escape to Egypt" (Matthew 2:13). Jesus' life was
preserved. God again demonstrated that his will was able
to prevail over the political agenda of powerful men who
would attempt to silence the voice of God.
Jesus grew into manhood, beginning his public
ministry at the age of 30. But he wasn't just an
ordinary man. He was the sinless Son of God who claimed
on several occasions to be God incarnate -- the same
"I AM" who appeared to Moses in the form of a
burning bush in the book of Exodus. (Compare Exodus 3:14
with John 8:58.)
The religious leaders of Jesus' day saw this claim as
blasphemy. They recognized the remedy Mosaic law
prescribed. When hearing this, "they picked up
stones to stone him" (John 8:59). This clash of
ideologies ultimately proved to be too much and Jesus
was crucified. Once again, it appeared that politics had
triumphed. But that victory was short-lived: Three days
later, Jesus rose from the dead.
The right to display the external signs of the
Christmas season pales in comparison to the privilege we
Christians have as vessels through which God can
exercise his will. When Christians concentrate on
personal sanctification, they become conduits for the
power of God in their lives and can influence the
culture in ways far superior to that resulting from any
right endowed by human governments.
"It is the great fact of the manifestation of
Christ -- not its outward surroundings, however precious
or touching they might be in connection with any
ordinary earthly being -- to which our gaze must be
directed," writes Alfred Edersheim in "The
Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" (Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976).
Oswald Chambers in "My Utmost for His
Highest" (Discovery House Publishers, 1992),
writes: "Have I allowed my personal human life to
become a 'Bethlehem' for the Son of God? The evidence of
the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to
God that 'Christ is formed' in me. And once 'Christ is
formed' in me, his nature immediately begins to work
through me."
This Christmas season, let the secularists rage.
Frankly, it really doesn't matter. God is above the
political fray and his sovereignty will ultimately
prevail. Let us make sure that Christ's Nativity has
been firmly rooted in our hearts.
Gregory Rummo is a business executive who belongs to
Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson, where he also
serves as choir director. You may e-mail him at GregoryJRummo@aol.com
You can e-mail his
editor, Lisa Haddock at Haddock@northjersey.com
You can also send a letter to the editor at LettersToTheEditor@northjersey.com
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