My intention in
sharing this with you today is not to attack atheists. I
believe they have an important function, but instead I want to
say that our vocation, as a Church, is just the opposite of
this. Mr. Silverman is absolutely correct when he says that
many go through the motions of Christmas without the belief. We
all know people like this. But our purpose, as a church, is to
help them "come in." This is why I get so worked up around
Christmas, and send out e-votionals like the one from last
week. Our rituals and practices matter during the Christmas
season.
How we live and how
we choose to celebrate Jesus' birth communicate to everyone what
we believe, and there are many, many people who are on the fence
regarding their beliefs. There are many who have let their
faith lapse, yet still celebrate Christmas. For them, this is
the only time of year they give Jesus a second thought. It is
incumbent upon us, his followers, to remember that we have an
opportunity. We have the opportunity to tell them why Christmas
is important to us, why it matters to us, and why the life of
Jesus Christ is worth commemorating! We believe God sent his
only Son into this world that all might be saved through him!
This is what
Christmas is about, and this is our opportunity to invite our
family and friends, the people who are the objects of Mr.
Silverman's campaign and his billboard, to come inside the life
of faith, to explore the meaning, depth and purposes of our
faith.
It is not
unreasonable to believe in God, nor is it unreasonable to seek
to worship and celebrate the God we know in our lives. What is
very unreasonable, is for those of us who have faith to
celebrate Christmas in the same manner as those who have none.
