LET’S TALK THEOLOGY 012 — JESUS: THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
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Introduction
Who is the reason for celebrating Christmas? I imagine you would say, Jesus. And, of course, it is Jesus Christ. He is the reason we rejoice. God Himself has come to become flesh to save His creation from destruction. As such, we rejoice, for our Saviour has come into the world.
Why reiterate the obvious?
You may say to yourself, “Yeah yeah, we know Jesus is the reason for the season”. The whole Jesus is the reason for the season mantra is so popular nowadays that even non-Christians know it.
And now, there are two major problems I have seen from this popularisation of the phrase.
Problem I: It does not mean what it should
As with most popular one-liners, people get lost in the rhymes and don’t get the actual message or, as in this case, the meaning becomes gradually lost with time.
The very reason Jesus has to come into the world is because of our sinfulness. Oh, what joy that God Himself comes to reconcile us to Himself by Himself.
In the words of John Piper, “Meditate on the fact that we need a Saviour. Christmas is an indictment before it becomes a delight”.
Problem II: Christians are getting tired of it
This is also a prevalent problem with rhymey one-liners — people soon get tired of it and try to turn it into a new and more interesting line.
I have heard a few Christians say that We are the reason for the season, with we referring to Christians. On the surface, this makes sense because Jesus came, but He came for us. Therefore, we are the reason for the readings.
However, this is a classic example of narcigesis. Narcigesis is gotten by combining the words: narcissistic and eisegesis. What it means from an overall perspective is, we tend to make the Bible about us and not about who it is about — God.
Although, in this case, we are not dealing with a text from Scripture, it shows how we make ourselves the center of everything relating to the Christian faith.
On the contrary, dear friends, Christmas is not about us; it is about God coming in human flesh to save sinners deserving of death as punishment for their sins.
Meditate on the fact that we need a Saviour. Christmas is an indictment before it becomes a delight
-John Piper
Conclusion
I urge you, dear brethren in Christ, to not get tired in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the reason for our celebrations. He is our Saviour. Our King. Our Redeemer. The One who will, in time, surrender his life so that we might be reconciled to God and have peace with him.
Dear friends, this season is not about us — we are sinful and deserving of punishment. It is about God coming into his creation to save them from their sins.
Merry Christmas, and happy new year in advance.
Yours in insight,
Oluwadara, OLOYE.
