Reformed theologian and Presbyterian pastor Dr. John H. Leith (1919-2002) wrote these Christmas greetings to his former seminary students in 1990, 6 years after I graduated from the seminary where I appreciated his classes and conversations:
Christmas greetings are profound in their significance.
Enduring human relations are sustained by a shared loyalty that transcends who we are and what we share on the horizontal level. This shared loyalty makes it possible to survive as friends amid the changing conditions of life.
Those who receive this greeting share three common commitments. (1) “We believe in order to understand” (Augustine); (2) “Faith seeks understanding (intelligibility)” (Anselm); (3) Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, God in his self-expression embodied in a human life.
Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is not a meaningful symbol or a manner of speaking. For Christians, he is the truth, an event in our history.
Leith went on to say that secular, pluralistic influences of our society, especially in the elite media and the secular universities, have undermined much of our Christian witness to the truth that Jesus was the Word, born unto us, God-with-us (Immanuel) in the flesh. Leith saw movements like communism as a judgment on Christian lethargy; and the rise of Islam as judgment on the anemic faith of Christians who in a secular, pluralistic context forget that the faith is true. The Word did in actual fact become flesh. That’s the game changer, if you will. It changes our view of life and the world and eternity.
Maybe this is why some have boldly declared we must not sacrifice “Merry Christmas” during the holidays. For Christians, this greeting unites us in common commitment to the truth about God made known in Jesus Christ – a truth that must not be sacrificed to political correctness or reduced to mere symbolism or sentimentalism. I am not suggesting we be insensitive to others who may not share our faith, but we should insist that tolerance be mutual in fact and not in words only.
So, Merry Christmas! May Christmas bring a greater understanding to faith as faith seeks understanding, and best of all, God be with you!