If you have not seen the opening scene from the film, “Saving Private Ryan” then you have missed what many call the most realistic reenactment of the WWII event of the American forces landing at Normandy, France. While I am on a reel I will refer to one more movie: Braveheart. If you are a man and have not seen Braveheart you need to. One of my favorite scenes is when the sword of William Wallace the main character is thrown high into the air and it lands point down in the ground as a symbol that the tyranny ends “here and now.”
You can see the clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGt2SoTPc2k
It is my deep conviction that for an extremely long time we have allowed painters and holiday card makers to focus our attention on the wrong image. In fact most of what we see going on in Christendom is as weak and worthless as a manger scene. Yes I said it, as worthless as a manger scene. You would think that the coming of Jesus had more to do with livestock than it does with Redemption. Christmas is not about a baby in a hay box. It’s about the King of Glory launching his attack under the cover of humanity, poverty and obscurity.
Christmas is about the Son of God putting on the uniform of flesh to wage war against sin death hell and the grave. Christmas was Jesus landing at Normandy to take on the evil power that had taken over the world. The truth is that Jesus was born in a cow stall because the devil was so in charge of the Temple and the country that Jesus had to mount His attack on the fringe of Bethlehem. The reason the whole world can embrace the celebration of Christmas is because we have allowed the real meaning and message of Christmas to be diluted, polluted and commercialized. Face it, babies, mangers and gifts, sell. The war against the dark powers of hell is reserved for Halloween!
When Jesus landed in Bethlehem a war started. A war that saw the murder of thousands of babies in an attempt to kill the Christ Child. Not many Christmas cards with “Rachel weeping for her children” is there? Christmas is about a Warrior King who against all odds mounted a one man war against the power of Rome and the power of Hell at a “Beach” called Bethlehem.
Easter is no different. We have surrendered the celebration of the greatest battle of History to become about eggs, bunnies and candy. The Cross was Jesus jamming His cross into the ground like a Braveheart sword and declaring to the world and to the king of this dark world that it was over. Sin was being defeated, death was being conquered and Hell was being invaded. Declaring that a world of people who would have lived and died and condemned to hell, were being set free! It was a war that started in Bethlehem and was finished in Jerusalem on a hill called Calvary! And those who walk in the power of the Resurrection would be able to change the world!
How in heavens name have we allowed the two most important events in History to be hijacked? It has been hijacked because we have forgotten that Christianity is about the power and purpose of a risen King. It is because Jesus is so small and insignificant in our lives that we hand over our faith and our truth without a fight.
The Church herself has taken the horror of the wrath of God and the punishment of sin through the Flood and the Ark to become about animals. Animals! God crushes the sin of the world and redeems one family and we turn it into a children’s story that focuses on animals. We have turned Christmas into a Manger scene when it was Jesus landing at the beach of humanity ready to destroy the kingdom of Satan. We have allowed Easter to become about everything in the world except the Kingdom and the Power and the glory of Jesus Christ! The greatest tragedy of all is that we have made our holidays to be about a day in the past instead of the power and dominion of Christ to be made real in every day and every area of our current life!
When I think about how we have allowed the power and truth of King Jesus to be obscured by the commercialization of holidays, I am more convinced than ever that all we speak is porkyjesus.
