S4 Day-5: Decoration: Hijacking Christ from Manger to Castle

Few years before when I was a student of theology my son asked me to buy him a Christmas Crib for decoration. I went around Bangalore having a 500 rupee note in my wallet and found no Christmas crib lesser than 1000 bucks. I was riding back home thinking “how costly this poor boy’s birthday has become?” When I went back home my son asked me, “Appa did you buy me a crib?” I answered, “No son we are not rich enough to celebrate Christmas like this world does.” 

This is not a usual excuse of a lazy father, but a cry of a poor Christian father who could not cope with current ideas of Christian celebration. Our decorations are becoming impelling customary ideas of celebration that not everyone can afford. Our luxurious celebration has made Christmas so costly and Christ so cheap. 

Jesus’ birth was simple, but his birthdays are over-expensive! And that burning question inside me, Is Christmas really commercialized? No, not really, our Christian faith itself is commercialized. Are we not asked to seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness by the prosperity gospel hucksters just to enable ‘add on’ option in our lives? 

Interestingly, we have the history of standing against the selling of indulgence and ended up selling everything, why should Christ’s birth be any exception? And of course, the Christmas today is a flight of a commercialized Christ from manger to castle. However, we are insensitive towards understanding the commercialization of Christmas as it has a long history in modern celebrations. 

How awkward it is to know even the popular Santa Claus’ image we have is painted by Sundblom for the Coca Cola advertisements? Let us sing… Hark! The Herod King sings “Glory to the newborn King…!” Capitalist driven commercial Christmas is not just a problem of over expenses, but it is a distraction to the real of message of Christ’s birth. 

We grew up hearing sermons based on Luke 2:7 usually about pity Jesus “…She wrapped Him in swaddling cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Oh really? what an unorganized birth of Universal Redeemer! But I see it vice versa, there was actually no room for inn or castle in the birth of Christ. 

Christ's birth in manger was not an accident. It rather was a well-planned rejection of privileged and affluent in the story of Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus Christ was a reaffirmation of God’s biased stance with the poor and needy making wise men unwise by breaking their dominant knowledge of king always being born in castle. 

I still remember the words of a lay leader from a church, “Pastor our church campus looks so perfect with this wonderful decoration, only these beggars front of campus gate, are spoiling the Christmas mood.” Woe to those who believe Christmas mood is in the glittering lights and color papers. Our commercialized Christmas celebration is nothing but hijacking Christ from manger to castle. For Christ it is more painful than being crucified in Calvary. We cannot wait for Jesus to curse the Christmas trees and even if he curses nothing will happen to fiber optic Christmas trees. It is we who must bring a change. Let us detach the celebrations from commercialization to affirm God’s stance with poor and needy. 

Prayer 

O God of Christmas celebrations help us understand that Christ’s birth is beyond decors, glitz and glamour. Open our eyes to see Christs born in every homeless family. Grant us, O God, the courage to open our church-gates to welcome the ‘poor’ man/woman in whom you reveal yourself. Amen. 

Author: Rev. Benedict Immanuel 

About the Author: Benedict is an ordained minister of the CSI Trichy-Tanjore Diocese, Tamilnadu. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity from the United Theological College, Bangalore. He served on the Communication Desk of the Student Christian Movement of India, Bangalore. Currently he and his family are ministering with the people in the diocese.