This past Sunday was the first day of the Christian season known as Advent. Advent is technically a season of penitence, or acknowledgement of and sorrow for sin, but it is defined by our expectation of the birth of the One who came to be save us from the guilt and corruption of our sin. Had you asked me about Advent 10 years ago, I would most likely have responded in arrogant ignorance. I imagine myself making a snide remark about Christians copying pagan holidays or something like that. That definitely sounds like me at 20. Now, here I am at 30, not only looking forward to celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday (a holy day on the Christian calendar), but actually observing the season of Advent itself. 2020 certainly has been full of the unexpected!
For many Christians, observing Christian holidays is a way of expressing and experiencing our Faith. The Church Calendar is a tool we use to deepen our personal faith by drawing us closer to God and to our fellow believers. It is a way of integrating the Gospel into our lives, or, more accurately, of rearranging our year to make the Gospel the focal point of our lives.
For other Christians, the Church Calendar smacks of Papacy and/or paganism. They view it as not only unnecessary, but actually harmful and idolatrous. God, they say, has forbidden us to worship Him in any way that He hasn't explicitly commanded, and Christian holidays, not being found in the Bible, fall into this category of man-made innovations. Celebrating Christmas or Easter, they insist, is to revert to the superstition of medieval Roman Catholicism. This is a minority viewpoint, but there are several Christian traditions that follow this line of reasoning.
When discussing (or, more often, arguing about) this issue, it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. There is a logical argument that can be made against man-made Christian holidays by collecting several passages from the Bible, but it is important for us to ask if the Church of Jesus Christ has interpreted the Bible this way throughout her history. The Scriptures are our basis for faith and practice, but we must read them in conversation with the generations of the Church that have gone before us. I would not claim to be a historian, but my cursory reading seems to indicate that the Church has not traditionally interpreted the Scriptures in a way that supports this disdain for Christian holidays.
When an issue is as complex as this one, it can often be helpful to simplify it as much as possible. I believe that human beings respond to significant events in their lives by creating commemorative celebrations. When a child is born, we begin to celebrate his birthday. When someone gets married, that date is remembered as their wedding anniversary. Even mundane things like starting a new job can become important dates that we commemorate annually or at other intervals in the future. I believe this practice is a natural and Biblical response to important events in our lives.
I believe that this practice is actually a reflection of God's image in us. Both at Creation and throughout the history of Redemption we see God setting apart days for special observance. The weekly Sabbath is prescribed on the basis of both Creation and the Exodus from Egypt. Passover becomes the beginning of the Hebrew year as a reminder of God sparing the firstborn children of the Israelites. Numerous other festivals and holidays form Israel's calendar, hallmarking the many deliverances God had worked on their behalf. The Bible even documents the creation of a man-made holiday. In the book of Esther, a book that is noteworthy for the absence of the name of God, we see the origins of Purim, a holiday that continues to be celebrated to this day as a remembrance of God's deliverance of the Jews from annihilation.
As we study the history of the Church, it should be no surprise that we find the early Christians creating holidays to commemorate the person and work of our Savior. Quite predictably, we see holidays like The Lord's Day and Easter develop before the Apostles deaths, and within the first few hundred years of Church history other traditions and holidays followed. Based on the Biblical precedent, it is difficult to assert that there is anything abnormal, or immoral, about this process. In fact, when we examine the history of mankind, including that of God's covenant people, it would be surprising if the most important chain of events in the history of the world failed to inspire a single holiday!
The Bible, both the Old Testament and the New, is full of the command to remember. Moses commands the Israelites to remember what God had done for them in Egypt and in the Wilderness. The book of Psalms exhorts us to remember and to celebrate the works of God in our lives. The authors of the New Testament continually call us to remember who we are as a result of what God has done through Jesus Christ. Observing Christian holidays, as part of the Christian Calendar, is one practical way that we can obey this command to remember.
It is certainly true that Christian holidays have been abused. We all probably know people who are Easter and Christmas Christians, and this least common denominator Christianity is certainly not the Christian life set forth in Scripture. Moreover, Christian holidays should never become a matter of Faith or Fellowship. As certainly as no one should feel guilty for celebrating Christmas or Easter, so, too, no one should feel that they have to celebrate Christian holidays. Observing Christian holidays offers us an opportunity for spiritual benefits, but, as with any extrabiblical Christian tradition, it should never become a way to earn or to lose our salvation. I believe that those who reject Christian holidays are missing out, depriving themselves of opportunities for joy and blessing, but Paul makes it clear (in a context that is directly applicable to this issue) that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, so I would hardly want my brethren to violate their conscience on this issue.
It's a shame that this issue divides us. Holidays are supposed to be a time of unity, despite our many differences, so it's particularly unfortunate when Christians divide over this issue. As I have made the journey into Anglicanism, I have come to appreciate the connectedness it has offered. I feel more connected now to the communion of the saints, both the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant. The Church Calendar has played a significant role for me in this, and I look forward to celebrating the holy days of the Church for many years to come.
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