On this Christmas Eve as I sit looking out the window in Ames, Iowa, in the background the song, “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” is playing. From time to time this song makes me think of loneliness for the past tradition, rituals, along with a feeling of spiritual emptiness. Fortunately, God knew it would happen and has given me/us a lot of helpful advice in His Word. I begin to ruminate and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with so much zeal, believing that, in Christ, God entered the human race and so deserves the title Immanuel or “God With Us” (Matthew 1:23). But before the worship of self-subsides, I say, You think our world is messed up now, I wondered what the Roman world was like that first Christmas Eve for Christians?
Rome was not a good place to be a Christian prior to Constantine the Great’s conversion. Christians were routinely rounded up, arrested, tortured and then murdered in a variety of creatively grisly fashions. Rome knew how to turn pain, fear and death into a spectacle that simultaneously entertained a bloodthirsty populace and cowed them into submission. As such, Christians had to be careful how and when they worshiped. For much of its early life, the Christian religion essentially existed underground.
But the Romans celebrated “Saturnalia” a week-long Roman festival honoring the god Saturn; since it started on December 17 apart from some magical powers there was little to distinguish them from their human worshipers, it fell within what we now call the Christmas season. Interestingly, historical accounts differ about whether Saturnalia celebrations were examples of debauchery or charity. Yet, for most of history, debauchery seems to dominate celebrations of the holiday. As they ate drank, loved, envied, cheated, lied and otherwise set morally unedifying example you see they didn’t care about those who worshiped them. All they wanted was to be appeased as they shouted, “Io Saturnalia” the way we might greet people with ‘Merry Christmas or Happy New Year!’
As Christ entered into a culture in which the gods of that age were not worthy of worship, our little gods are as much like Rome’s. Sounds like idol worship much the same as self-worship which can be a lonely activity.
“The Gods we worship write their names on our faces; be sure of that. And a man will worship something ... That which dominates will determine his life and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today’s gods are far from anonymous, and the question comes to those without a friend. This fact I know, Jesus is a friend of sinners. This means that He is our friend and is waiting for us to acknowledge His presence and availability. God’s love for us is almost beyond imagining. When we consider Jesus’ Incarnation J—His leaving heaven to be born as a helpless human infant in order to grow and experience life among us—we begin to get a glimmer of the depth of that love.
Self-worship can be lonely, so take your hands off me misery. What warms a heart outside in? God says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it”? Jeremiah 17:9 Rather than trust our hearts. We are to commit or hearts to God: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6
As we prepare to gather with our friends and family to exchange the gift of Love and celebrate the light of Christ coming into this world Jesus also taught instead of having this feeling on Christmas Eve of being surrounded by the stranger of “lonely”, we as Christians are to be surrounded by “brothers and sisters in Christ.” This is a heartbeat within a place that when the hard times come as inevitably, they will during those lonely times, remember you are surrounded by those who care; that’s our distinct responsibility a better way of being human than anything currently in our world’s society.
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) Jesus is truly the Friend who sticks closer than a brother and blessed are those who have Him as their Friend.
God Bless You and This Ministry!
Merry Christmas Happy New Year
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