THAT CULTURALLY SUBVERSIVE PHRASE

This Sunday marks the start of the pre-Christmas preparation time known in the church as Advent. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in His first coming, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His second coming.

It’s at this time that we properly commence saying things like “Merry Christmas!” But, this year, you better watch out, because that phrase is at the center of controversy as school boards, municipal governments, and even shopping malls become arenas for battle in one of the most active fronts in the culture war.

Yes, Virginia, there is a war on Christmas.

I recently checked the web-site of one well-known national retailer that has instructed its employees to cease greeting customers with “Merry Christmas.” Sure enough, the word “Christmas” is almost completely expunged from the web-site: they’re even selling “Holiday Trees”! However, there are loads of references to Hannukah and Qwaanza! I guess when it comes to religious holidays, everything’s okay but the Christian one.

Why is the culture okay with a secularized, watered-down version of Christmas, but seems increasingly alarmed about the genuine article?

A couple of obvious reasons come to mind.

The first reason goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly-common misinterpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights currently making headway in our culture. There are some who think that the Founders dreamed of a nation where each individual would never be offended. I’ve read the Constitution and its amendments, and while they guarantee us many rights, nowhere are we assured the right to never have to hear words that offend us.

The second reason is more far-reaching. The fact is, the true message of Christmas poses a menace to anyone and anything prone to worship itself. Every Herod in every age, reigning with usurped power, loathes the Advent of the real King. What Christmas says is that God has invaded planet earth in His Son, intending to establish His Kingdom in our hearts. This is a real threat to the world’s system of self-enthronement.

The bottom line? Christmas has become politically incorrect precisely because the season is inevitably and irreducibly connected with Jesus Christ: it’s the day for celebrating His birthday, after all! Those who demand the right never to be confronted with Christian truth, can’t stand at this season to hear "Merry Christmas”! How long will it be until "Merry Christmas" is labeled as "hate speech?"

We Christians cannot take this sitting down!

So, please enlist with me for the next few weeks in a not-so-subtle army of cultural subversives, spreading Christmas blessings even to those who expect the tolerance police to show up at any minute. And when people say, “Happy holidays!” let’s reply, “And a merry Christmas to you!” For every “Season’s Greetings!” you hear, say “May God bless you with a merry Christmas too!”