I will never forget my first Christmas Eve midnight service as an ordained minister.
I was serving a rather good-sized church as an associate pastor. My boss, the senior pastor, who was 30 years my senior, was just a wonderful man. I will never forget how he nurtured a rather grumpy, sometimes silly and very green young man.
Whenever my friend became the least bit excited, for good or bad reasons, his round face turned beet red. Right from the start of our midnight Christmas Eve service, I noticed he was very flushed. Had I not known him so well, I might have worried about his heart or some other medical condition.
Near the end of the service, I finally realized that the flush had come because he was really mad about something.
It took no prompting to elicit what was the matter. As soon as we were alone, he bellowed, “Did you hear what they played as a prelude to worship on Christmas Eve?”
I knew the “they” he was referring to was a little, kind of jazzy combo we had at the church that included a bass, a drum and a guitar. They were actually pretty good. I always enjoyed their contributions.
I had not noticed what “they” had played as part of the prelude and knew better than to try to speculate. I quietly waited for him to answer his own question. I didn’t wait long.
“They played ‘Silver Bells’!”
I still didn’t get it, but even though I was green, I still knew to keep my mouth shut. I did really quickly sing the song in my head looking for something to take offense to: “Silver bells, silver bells; it’s Christmas time in the city. Hear them ring, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas day.”
Still keeping my mouth shut, my senior pastor went on a tirade about Christian hymns, what is liturgically correct, how Jesus is being taken out of Christmas, and just what he was going to do to the leader of the combo.
Last week, we heard “Silver Bells” for the 489th time this December on the car radio as we drove our 7th grade son, Matt, to school. I related the above story to him and my wife and co-pastor, Kim.
Matt, whose heart is as big as the whole outdoors, immediately came to the defense of the long-ago combo. “Well, the song was about Christmas. You can’t mention Christmas or talk about Christmas without meaning Christ. And it is Jesus Christ’s birth we celebrate.”
Of course, his theologian mom began to parse the word, Christmas. It comes from the Old English Christes mass. She explained that means the worship that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder my two sons are sometimes hesitant to bring up theological matters to their way over-thinking parents?
I agree that some Christmas songs get so far away from Jesus that it bugs me. The emphasis we encounter too much on Santa rather than Jesus is very irksome. At the same time, since even before that long-ago Christmas Eve worship, I can hardly stand it when people rant about the commercialization of Christmas and the media taking Christ out of Christmas.
As Matt so wisely said, you just can’t take Christ out of Christmas. As Kim so deftly explained, Christmas — by definition — is about Christ.
This pre-Christmas season our Presbyterian Church Board of Deacons has provided anyone who wanted one a nice-sized car magnet that depicted the Holy Family and simply said, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” We have only asked for a minimal fee to cover expenses.
“Keep Christ in Christmas.” I like it because it is so simple. Rather than rant the rest of this Holy Season, let’s imitate ol’ Matt and our Deacons to help others see Christ in Christmas. Rather than correct, let us witness.
Keep in mind that on that very first Christmas Eve, the shepherds had no idea what was happening. The Angel of the Lord did not rant or say, “Hey, wake up, you dolts — God was just born into the world. Focus on Him and not your sheep and other stuff!” The Angel of the Lord witnessed with great joy!
“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 Savior, who is Christ the Lord.“ Luke 2:10-11
May God bless your celebrations of the birth of our Savior — even if it does include “Silver Bells.”
The Rev. Steve Nofel is co-pastor of Montezuma Valley Presbyterian Church.