Christmas without Jesus Christ

By Femi Aribisala
What happens when extortionists “hark the herald
angels sing;” adulterers come with “all ye faithful,”
and fraudsters proclaim the “tidings of comfort
and joy?”
Have you noticed that under certain circumstances
it is necessary to be a Christian? Many people may
not go to church all year but on Christmas day we
feel the need to do so. We might not have gone to
church for five years, but when we want to get
married we feel it is necessary to do so in a
church. We may not have been going to church at all
but now that we have a baby, we need a pastor to
officiate at the naming ceremony and baptise the
baby.
The church has become a commercial concern. When
we have just bought a car, built a house or started
a business, it is time to look for a pastor to bless
it. When we have a naming ceremony, wedding or
burial, it is time to rent a church to conduct the
proceedings. For the price of a hefty offering,
churches are open for business.
Counterfeit Christmas
Christmas is no longer about the birth of Christ.
Jesus warns that the thief has come to steal, kill
and destroy. (John 10:10). Make no mistake about
it, he has already stolen Christmas.
Many of the things now associated with Christmas
have nothing to do with Jesus Christ or with
Christianity. Indeed, there is no mention of the
celebration of Christmas in the book of Acts. The
Christmas tree is a remnant of old Teutonic nature
worship. The giving of presents is a Roman and not
a Christian practice. Santa Claus or Father
Christmas is more occultist than scriptural. He is
more in keeping with the witches and wizards of
the books of J.K. Rowling than with the word of
God. The God of the bible is definitely not a
Father Christmas.
Christmas is now about glittering street and home
decorations; giving and receiving presents; getting
a new set of clothes; shooting bangers and
fireworks; and sitting down to a sumptuous meal at
lavish family dinner parties. It is the time when we
go to church in our latest designer clothes and
when we go back home to the village to declare a
surplus and make a big impression.
It means if we don’t have any money, Christmas is
a time of glum and gloom. At Christmastime, we are
now forced to take stock of our financial situation
and determine our life by what we have made in the
preceding twelve months. This is contrary to the
doctrine of Christ who says: “A man’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his
possessions.” (Luke12:15). If we are short of cash,
Christmas becomes a dry season which brings few
tidings of comfort and joy.
First Christmas
But in the beginning it was not so. In the
beginning, Christmas was celebrated in a manger
and not in a palace. The sign the angels gave for
identifying the Messiah was not silks and satin, but
swaddling clothes. Mary and Joseph were so poor;
they could not even afford a lamb for the sacrifice
on behalf of their new child, according to the Law
of Moses. (Leviticus 12:8). Therefore, they had to
make do with turtledoves and pigeons. (Luke 2:24).
At the first Christmas, the shepherds brought no
gifts. There is actually no biblical record of three
kings of the Orient. The bible does not say there
were only three wise men; neither does it say they
were kings. When they came from the east
toJerusalem, they did not come at Christmas. They
came some two years after Jesus was born.
(Matthew 2:16). The bible confirms that Jesus was
then a young child and not a baby. (Matthew 2:11).
Neither did they come bearing gifts for Mary and
Joseph; they only brought gifts for the young
Jesus.
The message of the birth of Christ was first
brought to lowly shepherds, sleeping out of doors.
The angel said to them: “Do not be afraid, for
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which
will be to all people. For there is born to you this
day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ
the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11). However, Christmas is no
longer good news for all people. It is now
essentially good news for the rich.
Mercantile Christmas
Christmas is now a time of high commerce. It is the
time to spend and spend, and also to sell and sell.
Printers make brisk business selling greeting cards.
Toy-makers have a field day. Others make a
fortune selling Christmas lights and decorations. If
our house is not lit up, we feel left out.
Clothes sellers raise their prices. Tailors smile all
the way to the bank. Rice, turkeys and chickens
flood the market. Mountains of flour disappear in
ovens as we bake and consume cakes and puddings.
Musicians release new songs, eager to capitalise on
the lucrative Christmas market.
Policemen mount roadblocks to collect offerings.
Kidnappers collect tithes. Armed robbers collect
first-fruits. Booze is consumed to drunkenness.
Illicit sexual dalliances gather pace. Road accidents
reach new peak. The season is crowned with human
sacrifices in pagan shrines. Where exactly is Christ
now in all this?
Christmas roadblocks
I was once stopped at a check-point around
Christmas-time in Lagos. The policeman was pleased
to find a video camera in my boot. “Where,” he
asked, “is the receipt for this? How do I know it is
not stolen?”
I stood there by the roadside not knowing exactly
what to do. The policeman left to confer with his
colleagues. After a while, another policeman came
to see me. “Why are you wasting so much time?” he
demanded. “I am sure you know what you have to
do.”
“What do I have to do?” I asked sheepishly. The man
was blunt and to the point. “You have to give us
some money,” he said. “I’m afraid I cannot do
that,” I replied. “Why not?” asked the policeman,
somewhat taken aback. “You see,” I appealed to him,
“I happen to be a Christian.”
The policeman burst out laughing. “My oga must
hear this,” he said; hurrying away. Soon, the man
who had earlier interrogated me returned. “What
did you say to the officer?” he asked, frowning.
“Please sir, don’t be offended,” I pleaded. “I told
him I am a Christian, so I cannot pay any bribe.” “I
am a Christian too,” said the officer unabashedly.
“What has that got to do with it?”
Christian fraudsters
Christians are now a motley group of very strange
bedfellows. We are those who go to church on
Sundays but also beat our wives on Mondays. We
are those who go to prayer-meetings but also go
to cult meetings. Today, virtually anybody can claim
to be a Christian, and all of us celebrate
Christmas.
But who exactly is a Christian when liars, cheats,
fornicators, armed robbers and “pen-robbers” all
claim to be Christians? What happens when
extortionists “hark the herald angels sing;”
adulterers come with “all ye faithful,” and
fraudsters proclaim the “tidings of comfort and
joy?”
Jesus warns: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he
who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).