Most Christians are really atheists who feel trapped in their family’s religion. They need not be Christian to enjoy the holiday season.
This cynical explanation is how David Silverman, president of American Atheists, rationalized the giant billboard in Times Square. Images of Santa and Jesus encourage the huge crowd of shoppers to “Keep the Merry!” (Santa) and “Dump the Myth!” (Jesus).
Are you a Christian on the surface but an atheist at your core, trapped in your family’s religious culture? Do you attend services and adhere to family customs because of habit, because you are expected to do so?
Jesus is the answer
If so, then you are missing the second point: Jesus is the answer.
No, you need not be a Christian to enjoy the season, in a secular way. Santa Claus inspires the Spirit of Giving – and the spirit of spending, as the retailers well know! He brings excitement into the season. But the Santa Claus magic doesn’t last. The gifts and trappings of Christmas give you temporary joy, but a January letdown.
During a family celebration many years ago, our Christmas dessert was a birthday cake for Baby Jesus. The rich Indian Earth cake was baked in a Bundt pan, which has a large opening in the center. I sprinkled the cake with powdered sugar, placed a small manger scene over the opening with a candle behind it, and lit the candle.
As the children gathered to sing “Happy Birthday,” one relative asked, “Whose birthday is it?” This relative loved Christmas celebrating, eating, caroling and especially opening gifts. It was an emotional high for her. But a few days later she was back to dull normal. Her Christmas memory bank was updated with this year’s event just before it faded into a collage of Christmases past, leaving her heart and her life unchanged.
Santa Clauss season
You need not be a Christian to enjoy the Santa Clauss season. But it’s a very short season compared to what Jesus brought us for the rest of the year and into eternity. Christians celebrate the miracle of the Incarnation in which Christ comes among us. He is born in our hearts as our Savior.
Christians possess the Spirit behind all the food, gifts, caroling, family time and partying. The Holy Spirit of Christmas in their hearts isn’t limited to one week of surface revelry. Like the powdered sugar on the Indian Earth cake, it will all melt into the background of a photo on a Facebook page.
The Holy Spirit of Christmas
The Holy Spirit of Christmas is all around us. It’s waiting for us to invite Our Savior into our lives. Not just into our family room, but our office party, and our caroling service. He’s waiting to come fully into our hearts so that we don’t pack away the Holy Spirit of Christmas along with the tree and the lights.
We don’t throw the Holy Spirit of Christmas out with the wrapping paper and ribbon. We keep it in our hearts. And we nurture it by protecting it from secular assaults that declare it a myth. It shines from within us the other 51 weeks of the year.
Don’t be trapped by your family’s expectations. Make the Holy Spirit of Christmas your own heart-deep year-round celebration of God’s unrelenting love for you. He sacrificed his Son to give you love, salvation and life everlasting. Rejoice! For yours is the kingdom of God!
How will you celebrate the birth of your Saviour deep in your heart so it will last?
© 2012, revised 2017 Nancy HC Ward
Nancy Ward
Nancy HC Ward, author of Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story, was once a shy convert. She has spent decades writing about conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith. After earning a journalism degree, she worked for many years for the Texas Catholic (newspaper of the Diocese of Dallas) and the Archbishop Sheen Center for Evangelization, and later began her own editing service. An active member of the Catholic Writers Guild and a regular contributor to a number of high-profile Catholic publications online, she also has a busy blog on spirituality called Joy Alive.net. She’s a contributing author to The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion. Now, through her Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story workshops, retreats, book, and DVD, she shares her conversion story at Catholic parishes and conferences, equipping others to share their own stories.
One response to “Atheists and the Holy Spirit of Christmas”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] Featured on NewEvangelizers.com […]