“It’s the Celebration Season” from the lesson series Music of Christmas, December 2021

our Scripture

The Lord said to Moses,2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

3 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times (Leviticus 23:1-4 NIV):

Leviticus 23:1-4 NASB Leviticus 23:1-4 NET Leviticus 23:1-4 NLT Leviticus 23:1-4 NCV Leviticus 23:1-4 MESSAGE
Leviticus 23:1-4 KJV
 Leviticus 23:1-4 NRSV Leviticus 23:1-4 HCSB
 Leviticus 23:1-4 ESV
 Leviticus 23:1-4 RVA60

 

our Lesson

The holiday season is upon us. With the start of November, we begin the annual two-month journey through the grandest of seasons. Our days and weeks slowly meander through rituals of decorations, apparel, food and gifts. Parades and promotions watch with anticipation as the temperatures systematically march by on their way to freezing. We are working our way to Christmas!

 

The time before the holiday helps us prepare for the celebration of the event. Shopping, music, baking and parties get our hearts and spirits ready for the festive day. Has our celebration become too secular, too commercial? Should a Christian take part in enjoying the festivities of Santa and the holidays?

 

There are several principles believers should remember.

 

Celebrations have always been an integral part of the life of people of faith. The Jewish faith celebrated several annual feasts and festivals. The major festivals were Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). Three of these feasts were pilgrimage, when the entire nation was to return to the Temple. After the exile, Israel added Purim and Hanukkah, as well as a memorial for the fall of Jerusalem. The feasts and festivals of the Jewish people were times when Israel could remember the magnificent ways that the Lord redeemed His people.

 

In addition to the annual festivals, the people were required to hold a weekly feast – a Shabbat – to observe God’s rest.

OT Feasts and Celebration

Leviticus 23 describes the seven appointed feasts, four held in the spring and three in the fall. There are three phrases in this short passage that we need to consider. The first is the phrase, “These are my appointed festivals.” When we think about celebrations, including our Christmas time, we usually think that these are our times to remember God – specifically the coming of His Son. But God says these celebrations are appointed by Him. His blessing is upon our time and our remembrance. This is not just something we are pondering on our own.

The second phrase is “proclaim.” When we hold celebrations like this, we are proclaiming several things to an unbelieving world. We are declaring the mighty acts of God, and how those acts touch our lives. But we are also proclaiming our allegiance and service to the Lord.

 

Finally, we need to look at the words, “sacred assembly.” When we gather to celebrate and remember, the time we spend is sacred. We are worshiping God when we sing our songs, when we enjoy our food, and when we give our gifts. This is a time when we understand the holiness of God.

 

Through the feasts, the people of God celebrated their history, their faith and the blessings which God had provided for them. Each feast looked forward to the coming Messiah, and the hope found in His person and work.

Celebration of Christmas

So let’s turn our thoughts to the Christmas story and our celebration of the season. Please look at a verse in Matthew’s gospel.

 

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about (Matthew 1:18a):

 

In that tiny passage, we are reminded that the birth of Jesus was a part of a much larger plan put together by God. Since the fall in the garden, God had been orchestrating the development of a plan of salvation through which not only the Jewish people, but all men could be saved.

 

Paul realizes God’s involvement in this plan and writes, “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5 NASB).

 

John crystalizes it this way, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NASB).

 

Some Truths for Today

So can a Christian celebrate the season of Christmas in the way that Christmas has evolved today? Yes, but there are a few principles that we must always remember that harken back to the lessons from Leviticus:

 

  • First, the celebration is appointed by the Lord. The season and its special nature is not ours, but the Lord’s. Tinsel and trees and presents and legends are nothing more than ornaments adorning the real reason we celebrate. If we let our festivities become “the other way around,” we have fallen to the temptation to idolatry. The Christmas party at the office does not have to begin with prayer, but you should probably pray before you go. Keep things in their proper perspective.

 

  • Second, the way we celebrate makes a statement, a proclamation to the unbelieving world. How do you prepare for Christmas? How much of your celebration is spent at church and with Christians? What and to whom do you give gifts? How do you celebrate on Christmas Day? At the heart of our celebration is the remembrance of God’s ultimate gift of His Son to the world. The gift was given to those of us who were alienated from Him, strangers to His way. The gift was given to those who could not offer anything back to God in return. Do people around you see that you understand what the celebration is all about?

 

  • Finally, our celebration is sacred. In a real sense, we worship God throughout the season – by the movies we attend, by the parties we enjoy, by the places we go and by the people with whom we celebrate.

 

How do we worship in a culture that is so far away from the sacred in how it enjoys the season?

 

Do you remember Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians? It seems that the Corinthians faced the very same problem that we face. How do you weave being Christian into a very non-Christian, non-religious culture? When the Corinthians tried to combine the two, the result was drunkenness and gluttony at fellowship dinners and during times of remembering the Lord’s Supper.

 

How do you celebrate this season? How do you weave your faith into the culture? How do you wait in line at the store? Are you the first in line when alcohol is served at the party? Do you take your slice of cake and two pieces of pie as well? How much of your food is thrown away? Are your gifts only given to people who can give back to you?

 

How we celebrate the season proclaims who we celebrate this season. The time is appointed by the Lord.

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.