As you can tell from my blog, I’m of the opinion that Christians undervalue the importance of celebration, feasting and holidays – not the least of which is Christian holidays (formerly thought of as holy-days). Along with the proper concern and criticism of “commercialism,” Christians need to embrace the good that in Christian Christmas celebrations, including the purchasing and giving of gifts.
Stev Wilkins has written a delightful piece on Christmas giving that I am pleased to pass on: Shopping and the true meaning of Christmas
Doug Wilson posted his recent sermon on the subject of the Theology of Christmas Gifts, and I have included the video and the text (for those that do not have the time or patience to watch or listen to it, although there is more material in the actual sermon).
Doug Wilson’s INTRODUCTION:
One of the most obvious features of our Christmas celebrations is the gift-giving. How are we to understand this as Christians? What are the pitfalls? Are all the pitfalls obvious? Because our lives are to be lives of grace, and because charis means grace or gift, this is something we have to understand throughout the course of our lives, and not just at Christmas. But it has to be said that the machinery of our consumer racket does throw the question into high relief for us at this time of year.
THE TEXT:
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Mt 2:11).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:
The first Christmas gifts were given by the magi to the young child Jesus. This happened sometime within the Lord’s first two years of life. Because three kinds of treasures are mentioned—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—it is often inferred that there were three wise men. There may have been, but we don’t know. What we do know is that the gifts were very costly. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas, Doug Wilson, Gifts
