(0511) I was going to save this for Thursday but then thought why not now? Is there some Law which says it cannot be now? (0526)
The whole Christmas festivity
Finally coming to the “bah humbug” scrooges, they keep repeating the phrase, I’m assuming they mean the time of year, the anachronisms, the commercialism, the stables versus a room in the inn, the santa thing and reindeer and I throw in another …
… the sabbath was made for Man, not Man for the sabbath:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” is a famous quote from Jesus in the Bible (Mark 2:27) that means rules, including religious ones, should serve human well-being, not become burdens; it emphasizes compassion, rest, and flexibility over rigid, harmful legalism, highlighting that the Sabbath is a gift for human flourishing, rest, and connecting with God, not just a set of strict prohibitions. Jesus used this to justify acts like healing on the Sabbath, showing that serving people’s needs is more important than strict, rule-bound interpretations of the law.
That also touches on:
“Whited sepulchres” (or whitewashed tombs) is a biblical metaphor from Jesus’s teachings (Matthew 23:27) describing hypocrites: people who appear outwardly righteous, beautiful, or holy but are inwardly full of spiritual corruption, deadness, and moral decay, like tombs painted white to look clean but containing filth. It signifies a focus on external show rather than inner truth, criticizing religious figures who seem pious but lack genuine virtue.
And that gets onto pomposity and regalia, incense, much speaking, vain repetitions, like chants, as the thing worshipped rather than the Logos or Word itself. And the Word is Jesus and the sacrifice is Himself, from my reading.
Do we drop resting on the seventh day? No … Man needs it. And because we can’t identify the exact day in the year to commemorate the birth, do we therefore not bother marking the event happening at least sometime in the year, by definition? Do we just not bother at all?
And what if someone in the west says … let’s do it on December 25th. Or in the east … let’s do it on January 6th/7th. Will the two “sides” start a war over that? Slaughtering millions?
Or will we symbolically remember on a day we’ve come to do that … may as well be done then. And what of the three days between death and resurrection? Do we observe that principle or do we fight over precisely at what time it starts and finishes, to the minute?
So, in going with the December 25th or the January 6th, depending where it is in the world, or even late September (which I personally think might be more the case, from my reading) … what do I say to the January 6thers? I say let it be so, as long as all the key elements are covered, e.g. the Last Supper sometime part way into the year.
Wise men? Magi? Shepherds? Why not? But what about the Nativity scene with wise men or three kings of the Orient in it? Anachronistic, though symbolic. I’m thinking … let it be so, as long as the key elements are covered and especially if it defines “the west”. But “the east” is also important … so why would they go to war because the WEFers and EU say so? Just who are they anyway?
Finally in this rant … why have all these carols? Or not … let’s forget all about it? I say no, don’t forget them, let them run, let it be so. The infant at a school nativity play singing, “Blessed Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head …” … why not? Did He never lay down His head? How did He sleep then? Was He not the Son of Man?
