Advent and Christmas
Any Christian discussion of holidays must begin with the recognition that we observe them in the absence of any biblical requirement. Does this mean that it is wrong to celebrate holidays? Not as long as the holiday is simply a focused instance of something that Christians have a biblical obligation to do anyway. Christians ought to ponder the incarnation, so it is not wrong to have a day or even a season regularly set aside for that purpose. Christians ought to exult in Jesus’ resurrection, so it is not wrong to set aside a day to focus especially on that event. Observances such as Easter and Christmas are allowable as matters of circumstance, but they must never be treated as required elements of our worship.
What complicates the discussion is the large number of cultural and commercial accretions that tend to attach themselves to the holidays. Holidays can even become occasions of vice. Something like this has happened within American Christianity. Evidently, the liturgical calendar of modern America includes seven principal holidays, each of which is devoted to the pursuit of a deadly sin: Thanksgiving (gluttony), Christmas (greed), Valentine’s Day (lust), Easter (envy), Independence Day (pride), Labor Day (sloth), and Halloween (vengeance).
To be clear, I do not believe that every cultural addition to the holidays is necessarily evil—just as long as we are careful to distinguish the Christian holy day from the cultural festivities. Plenty of enjoyment can be found in Christmas trees, eggnog, and tinsel, but they should be kept in our homes, not brought into our churches. Still, these cultural observances are the very things that get exploited by the hucksters who wish to commercialize Christmas. In this respect, we may discover that the growth of secularism works to the advantage of biblical Christianity. The cultural and commercial celebration of “Christmas” is dropping the façade of having anything to do with Christ. It is rapidly becoming simply the “Happy Holidays” or the “Winter Celebration.” Since the Lord Jesus was never the object of the buying and selling, separating the commercial and cultural festivities from the Christian observance may actually help to clarify what Christmas—the real Christmas—is about.
What American evangelicals think of as “the Christmas season” used to be divided between two distinct observances. The first was Advent, which began four Sundays before Christmas. The second was Christmas, which was not just a day, but a festival of at least twelve days. Each observance had its own emphasis.
Advent anticipated the entrance of the Savior into the world. It focused upon the reason for which God needed to send a Savior—namely, human sin. It was an occasion for pondering the darkness of the world into which God sent the true Light. Consequently, Advent was a season for affliction of soul rather than festivity, a time to consider one’s own contribution to the weight of guilt that the Savior would have to bear. The sensibility of Advent is nicely captured in the most famous of the Advent hymns:
O come, O come Emanuel, And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
Just as Advent represents the anticipation of Christ’s coming in the incarnation, it also represents the anticipation of the Second Coming. The two comings are analogous in certain ways: as the world groaned under the guilt of sin until the Savior came to provide forgiveness, now the Lord’s people groan under the combined weight of depravity, mortality, and oppression until Jesus appears to bring deliverance. One of the important themes in the counterpoint of Advent is yearning for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In spite of its afflictions and ponderings, however, Advent is hardly a season of unrelieved gloom. The element of hope, of anticipation, is always present. Advent ends with Christmas, and for that reason, the blessing and joy of the incarnation, while subdued, are constantly bursting in. It is no accident that the hymn repeats the refrain,
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Because Advent combines elements of sorrow for sin with elements of anticipation, it is an appropriate season to consider those who were longing for the first coming of the Savior. Figures such as Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna provide models of the viewpoint of Advent. Above all, Mary typifies the spirit of one who anticipates the arrival of her Savior. Since Christians can learn from their godly example, we should give attention to these saints.
Whatever its secondary emphases, the primary message of Advent remains, “the Savior is coming.” The entire atmosphere changes with the arrival of Christmas itself, when the message becomes, “the Savior has arrived,” or, to put it in biblical terms, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” Anticipation bursts into celebration and affliction into exultation as the season takes on the aspect of unmitigated joy.
Traditionally, the preparations for Christmas take place after mid-day on Christmas Eve. Decorating and baking form the immediate prelude to the celebration that begins at midnight. Furthermore, when Christmas day is over, Christmas itself has just begun. The celebration extends through the next twelve days, ending with a commemoration of the arrival of the Magi on what is sometimes called Epiphany (January 6).
While none of these observances is obligatory, they can be done so that they honor the Scriptures and communicate genuine spiritual values. If we are going to do them rightly, however, then we need to become genuinely counter-cultural. If we are going to celebrate Christmas, it needs to be the Christian Christmas, not simply the commercial or cultural Christmases. The advertisers want us to begin to celebrate on the day after Halloween, and they want us to celebrate mainly by using our credit cards. One very good way of both resisting the commercial Christmas and keeping the cultural Christmas in its place would be to reinstate the historic distinction between anticipation and realization, between Advent and Christmas. Perhaps we should make the attempt.
Thus Angels Sung
verse 1: George Wither (1588-1667); verses 2-7: anon.
Thus angels sung, and thus sing we;
‘To God on high all glorie bee!
Let him on earth his peace bestow
And unto men his favours show.’
If angels sung on Jesus’ birth
Then we have greater cause for mirth,
For it was all for our poor sake
He did our human nature take.
Dear Christ, thou didst thyself abase
Thus to descend to human race
And leave thy Father’s throne above:
Lord, what could move thee to such love?
Man, that was made out of the dust,
He found a paradise at first:
But see! The God of heav’n and earth,
Laid in a manger at his birth.
Surely the manger where he lies
Doth figure forth his sacrifice;
And, by his birth, may all men see
A pattern of humility.
Stupendous Babe, my God and King!
Thy praises will I ever sing,
In joyful accents raise my voice,
And in the praise of God rejoice.
My soul, learn by thy Saviour’s birth
For to abase thyself on earth,
That I may bee exalted high
To live with him eternally.
Kevin T. Bauder Bio
This essay is by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, who serves as Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). Not every professor, student, or alumnus of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
- 20 views
I think this is an appropriate place to mention a concern that I have felt for several years now – moving the midweek service to Tuesday night during the week before Thanksgiving.
Is this not an accommodation to the culture? I grew up attending church on Thanksgiving morning. Now we have to be done with the “churchly” aspects of Thanksgiving by Tuesday??
I’m always astounded when Baptist churches, which have the practice of holding midweek services on Wednesday night all year, switch it to Tuesday the one week of the year when going to church on Wednesday night might actually carry spiritual weight. Is this essentially different than moving a Sunday night service so people can enjoy the Super Bowl? I think not.
By the way, how successful is this move anyway? I know it helps the travelers (at least half of them – the ones who are leaving), but it certainly doesn’t help the masses who are trying to cram a five-day work week into three days. Have you noticed that our mainline counterparts often hold services on Thanksgiving Eve before full houses of worship??
Some turkey and dressing for thought :)
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Are Dr. Bauder’s earlier articles archived in some public place online? He has many more very good articles dating back farther than the ones currently archived after seminary web redesign.
The article you provide with this thread’s article are great together.
Thanks again for finding the older article and providing the link!
For the Shepherd and His sheep, Kevin Grateful husband of a Proverbs 31 wife, and the father of 15 blessings. http://captive-thinker.blogspot.com
I think you’ll find the archived articles here:
http://seminary.wcts1030.com/resources/nick-of-time/132-nick-archives
Dr. Bauder has somewhat misrepresented the regulative principle of worship, at least as it has been expressed in history by its proponents.
The Regulative Principle is the point of my opening paragraph. Because Advent and Christmas are not required by Scripture, they must not be imposed as an element of worship.
The part above is correct.
There is a difference between what we are not required to observe and what we are required not to observe. Holidays like Christmas and seasons like Advent belong to the former category.
The part above is incorrect, at least as an expression of the regulative principle. The entire point of the regulative principle is that whatever is not commanded is forbidden. As far as elements go, there is no adiaphora, no middle ground. The realm of adiaphora lies entirely within circumstances of worship, not elements. Religious holidays such as Advent and Christmas were in fact some of the primary targets of the Puritans who advocated the RPW.
Here is more than you probably want to know about the RPW and Christmas: http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/xmas.htm
My Blog: http://dearreaderblog.com
Cor meum tibi offero Domine prompte et sincere. ~ John Calvin
Thanks again, Brenda!
For the Shepherd and His sheep, Kevin Grateful husband of a Proverbs 31 wife, and the father of 15 blessings. http://captive-thinker.blogspot.com
[Paul J. Scharf]I think this is an appropriate place to mention a concern that I have felt for several years now – moving the midweek service to Tuesday night during the week before Thanksgiving.
Is this not an accommodation to the culture? I grew up attending church on Thanksgiving morning. Now we have to be done with the “churchly” aspects of Thanksgiving by Tuesday??
I’m always astounded when Baptist churches, which have the practice of holding midweek services on Wednesday night all year, switch it to Tuesday the one week of the year when going to church on Wednesday night might actually carry spiritual weight. Is this essentially different than moving a Sunday night service so people can enjoy the Super Bowl? I think not.
By the way, how successful is this move anyway? I know it helps the travelers (at least half of them – the ones who are leaving), but it certainly doesn’t help the masses who are trying to cram a five-day work week into three days. Have you noticed that our mainline counterparts often hold services on Thanksgiving Eve before full houses of worship??
Some turkey and dressing for thought :)
Our church was one of those that moved the service. Why? Well, because a number of our families were traveling to visit relatives, others were meeting/picking up relatives coming into town, and we could easily accommodate that by moving the service. That allowed us to have more people present, and to concentrate on prayer and testimony to remind us to have the right emphasis during Thanksgiving. Quite a bit different than moving a service to allow easier Super Bowl watching (that service has never been moved since I’ve been attending this church).
I fail to see how moving the day is anything more than “one esteemeth one day above another, and another esteemeth every day alike.”
I would also be a fan of having a short break/snacks after the Sunday morning service, and then continuing with the “evening” service rather than returning at night. We keep more of our folks on the days we do do that (about 4 times a year), and the older people who do not like to drive at night can just stay on. I suppose that would also be seen as compromise “to allow more TV watching at night.” I’ve also attended other churches where this is the regular practice and the number of people in the 2nd service is almost as many as in the morning service, and people really have time to fellowship a bit between services rather than run off to eat and come back just in time for the evening service.
Do I understand that your main complaint is that some want to work late on Tuesday night and then can’t? Wow.
Dave Barnhart
Thanks for the info. I was still thinking through this last night and had not resolved everything yet.
I have no problem with having church on a different night of the week – nor with having a creative schedule on Sunday, even Super Bowl Sunday.
Personally, I just do not like the Tuesday night Thanksgiving service thing and don’t think it serves people well.
In the larger picture, it certainly seems like an accommodation to “the culture” – as much as any I see in Fundamentalism – that we don’t have time for Thanksgiving after Tuesday night. Maybe it’s a cultural thing; some folks don’t like having church on Christmas Eve or Good Friday, either. I’ve known Fundamentalists who seem to think that having those services are almost marks of apostasy. Personally, I take a different approach.
I was speaking somewhat tongue-in-cheek to say that it’s ironic that IFB churches that promote Wednesday night services all year long don’t have time for it on the night before Thanksgiving.
And, by the way, not everyone who works late on Tuesday night is doing it because they want to. That night has no meaning at all in the secular culture, and lots of things are scheduled for that evening before people wind down for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Eve does have religious significance in the culture, at least where I live, and lots of people are going to church that night. So I don’t think I’m just sucking this out of my thumb, as they say. :)
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Charlie,
Misrepresentation? I hope not! There have been plenty of people (Reformed and Baptist) who have articulated the Regulative principle as I did above.
You are correct that there are no adiaphora in the elements of worship. But I have not treated Christmas (or Advent) as elements of worship. In fact, I have specifically stated that they must not be imposed as elements. In this case, the element, or actually the content of the element, would be something like “reflection on the incarnation.” Days like Advent and Christmas would simply be the circumstance. Perfectly permissible, as the majority of those who accept the RPW acknowledge.
Remember that Puritanism flourished within living memory of an imposed Romanism. That location does much to explain the vigor of the Puritan objections to Christmas. Under Romanism, both fasts and festivals were elements of worship, matters of faith, and mandatory observances. The Elizabethan settlement continued to perpetuate these mandates to some degree. The Puritans were reacting, not so much against the suggestion of taking a day or even a season to ponder a biblical truth corporately, but to the mandating of invented elements. I would share that objection.
The heirs of the Puritans have, to a very large degree, abandoned the prejudice against Christmas. Even its supposed (and unproven) association with ancient paganism doesn’t bother some of them too much. See, for instance Steve Hays over at Reformation 21 and Triablogue.
God rest thee merry.
[Kevin T. Bauder] Days like Advent and Christmas would simply be the circumstance. Perfectly permissible, as the majority of those who accept the RPW acknowledge.
I guess I’m still having trouble reconciling this particularly. I think it would be hard to categorize Advent and Christmas as a circumstance, which, in anything I’ve read on the RPW, includes the incidentals of where/when/etc the elements are conducted but doesn’t includes the content. Reflection on the incarnation is, of course, positively unobjectionable and would be a natural component of a sermon based on many, many texts, John 1:1ff, for instance. And a sermon on such a text preached during December would likely also be unobjectionable.
But depending on how formally such a season or day is observed, I think a line may be crossed. If Romans 14, one of the foundational passages of the RPW, expressly addresses esteeming one day above another, I don’t see how a pastor could say of a Dec 23 service, “This is a day we set aside for the commemoration and celebration of the birth of our Lord …” without violating Romans 14.
Especially in light of this description of the liturgical year:
In the context of the liturgical year the term “ordinary” does not mean “usual or average.” Ordinary here means “not seasonal.” Ordinary Time is that part of the Liturgical Year that lies outside the seasons of Lent-Easter and Advent-Christmas. In Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ not in one specific aspect but in all its aspects.
(from http://www.cyberfaith.com/calendar/ordinary.html)
Since the full mystery of Christ and the Gospel may be contemplated/celebrated year round in response to their particulars as found in the passage at hand for the week, wouldn’t imposing a season of anticipation followed by some weeks of celebration of a specific aspect essentially impose a differentiation of the days?
I understand I’m construing according to the strictest reading of the passages/application of the RPW, but I think it is helpful to “test the boundaries” and see how these things hold up.
Jim,
I think I was probably writing to Jim, and not to you. But either way, I was happy for the interaction.
If you see Jim, tell him I said “hi.”
Kevin
PS When I was a kid, I was the only person I new named Kevin. I didn’t know any adults with the name. So I just assumed that kids named Kevin had their names changed a some point. I used to wonder what they’d call me when I grew up. I was hoping that maybe it would be Jim.
David,
That’s just the point. The content of Christmas (e.g.) is not the circumstance. It is an element, or (better) the content of other elements, that are biblically prescribed. Preaching, praying, singing are prescribed elements. We could in principle use them to focus upon the Incarnation at any time.
The only thing that sets Christmas apart is the “when.” We simply purpose to do things at this particular time that we could equally well do at any time. We do not impose this choice upon others, any more than we are imposing something on others when we decide that our church will meet at 10:00 on Sunday morning. It is no more an imposition than having the selection of hymns and the sermon prepared in advance of the service.
We have no right to impose an element, but we do have a right to agree upon a circumstance. When a church agrees upon a circumstance, it is not an imposition. In the case of Christmas, I think that there are good reasons for us to agree (circumstantially) that the best time for this focus is around midwinter.
As for the introduction of the liturgical calendar and the distinction involving ordinary time: it is probably extraneous to this discussion. You don’t have to keep a full church year in order to observe a few holidays (though, again, as a matter of circumstance I believe that it would be permissible to observe the full calendar). Even the Reformed, however, retain at least a vestigial awareness of the distinction between sacred and profane. There is, or ought to be, something different about the time that we spend in corporate worship as opposed to the time that we spend in vocation and recreation. But that’s another subject.
What we must NOT do is to confuse the Christmas of Dickens and Thomas Nast with the Christian observance.
Bah! Humbug!
—>[Kevin T. Bauder] As for the introduction of the liturgical calendar and the distinction involving ordinary time: it is probably extraneous to this discussion. You don’t have to keep a full church year in order to observe a few holidays (though, again, as a matter of circumstance I believe that it would be permissible to observe the full calendar). Even the Reformed, however, retain at least a vestigial awareness of the distinction between sacred and profane. There is, or ought to be, something different about the time that we spend in corporate worship as opposed to the time that we spend in vocation and recreation. But that’s another subject.What we must NOT do is to confuse the Christmas of Dickens and Thomas Nast with the Christian observance.
Bah! Humbug
Hi Dr. Bauder,
My only purpose in referencing the commentary on the liturgical calendar was in highlighting the potential for such assignment of days and seasons to attain “esteeming-one-day-above-another” status. I understand that you are asserting that saying, “We’ll specifically purpose to remember the incarnation each Sunday beginning in late November and finishing up in January,” is no different from saying, “We’ll meet for worship at 10:00 am each Sunday.”
Thanks for your time in clarifying. And of course I agree with your statement on celebrating the proper Christmas (if one is going to celebrate it.)
Thanks again.
David.
Should you desire to read a bit more on the Regulative Principle, I found Iain Murray’s “Scripture and Things Indifferent” to be helpful. You can find in it Puritan Papers 1963-1964 (3:21-50) available here.
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