(Today’s thoughts were stimulated by reading Sinclair Ferguson’s In Christ Alone, a wonderful and highly recommended book of short essays on our union with Christ.)
One of the laments that resounds through the Christian circles during this season is the commercialization of Christmas. There is so much marketing, so much materialism, so much in our
culture that seems to focus on ourselves and our excesses, and not upon Jesus. It is a rare year that we do not face the call to “bring Christ back into Christmas.”
This returning of Christ into Christmas is a wonderful sentiment, and a true one. We as a society are too materialistic, do focus on the self-fulfillment of gifts and buying and lights and trees. In many ways, there is little difference from how someone who does not know Jesus celebrates Christmas from someone who does.
As we look out at the Christian landscape, there is even a further concerning thought: our conception of Santa often mirrors how we think of Jesus.
Think of common Christmas songs, such as:
“He knows when you’ve been sleeping, He knows when you’re awake;
He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake”
The “he” there is Santa, but for many of us, it might as well be Jesus. Try this on for size:
“Jesus knows when you’ve been sleeping, Jesus knows when you’re awake;
Jesus knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake”
Does that seem to be your experience? Our Lord knows everything you do, so you better be good, or you won’t get any presents. If you’ve done the best you can, then perhaps Jesus will condescend to bless you with the blessing you most desire. Or perhaps He’ll overlook a few of the stumbles and sins if you make every effort for some period of time to do good, to act rightly, to be righteous.
And that last phrase is the real problem. There we go again, slipping into the “I can be good on my own” thinking that is the antithesis of the gospel. What makes me think that I have the capacity to “be good,” and that really, really trying is going to mean something? If Jesus has the characteristics of Santa, watching me to see if I deserve blessing, evaluating me to decide if I’m worth giving good things to, then I’m lost.
Sinclair Ferguson identifies Santa Christology as what it is, semi-pelagianism: “The only difference from medieval theology here is that we do not use its Latin phraseology: facere quot in se est (to do what one is capable of doing on one’s own, or, in common parlance, ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves’).”
Christ and Santa are not friends. They have wildly different worldviews, and not in the way that we commonly think. It is not only that Santa is all about presents, gifts, and flying reindeer. Even more concerning is that Santa is about evaluating the wrong goodness — ours.
Christ does no such thing. He came to earth, humbled himself as a child, conceived before wedlock, born in utter poverty, his family fleeing from an evil king. He lived a life of perfect obedience, of utmost righteousness in every attitude and thought. He out of utmost love gave up his intimate fellowship with God the Father, bearing the sin of every believer on the cross, so that we might have His righteousness by faith.
Blessing upon blessing upon blessing has been poured out on us, believer. Not because we’ve been careful to have external goodness, but because we are associated with the Son, we are “in Christ.” O may the skies proclaim it, may the earth rejoice, may our mouths open in awe and wonder and worship of the Messiah come to earth!
As God’s people, then, we should be full of wonder and adoration of what Christ has done in this season, and not simply (as heartwarming as it is) focused on family times and warm feelings in feet, toes, and heart as we fellowship around the Christmas tree. We don’t Christianize a secular holiday, but we have a whole different reason to be wondrously adoring; O look and see what has been done!
In Mary’s words (Luke 1:46-47,49):
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
There is no Santa Christ in this; only Christ, the babe come to earth… may our spirits rejoice, may we magnify the Lord this season in what the One who is mighty has done for us!
Great post, Dax! I like how you focus not on how bad Santa Claus/gift giving is but how we can focus on the wrong good (ours). Our good may be good enough for Santa Claus, if there is one (and there is!), but to Christ, our good is not only not good enough, but is an offense if we view our good as meritorious. I made up some new words to the song.
He sees you when you’re sleeping, He knows when you’re awake, He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so …. fall down on your knees and say, “Oh, my God, how then shall we be saved?”.
I can’t wait to have the kids read this! I appreciate the emphasis that exalts the grace of God in Christ rather than vilifying Santa. You can put down the man in the little red suit all day long and if you haven’t exalted Christ to His rightful place … then what’s the point? Thanks for bringing clarity to my thinking on this topic.
Thanks so much for writing with clarity about Grace-all we have in God through Christ. Keep writing! Love it.
That was great, Pastor Dax! I liked the point that Santa focuses on the wrong person’s goodness. I’d never thought of that. Can’t wait to read more!
Good stuff, Dax. At World View Academy, what they call the Santa Claus version of God is a jolly God who gives lots of presents but doesn’t have righteous anger or high standards. But as believers, I think we’re more prone to thinking of God as the stricter version of Santa that you present here — like the difficult-to-please one in Calvin & Hobbes.
Brett: you are awesome! Might want to work on the number of syllables, though — doesn’t quite blend with the rest of the song… 🙂