Because the World is Broken

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.

Christmas only makes sense when we start where the Bible starts—with a good world that became broken.

The Christmas Culture War and Our Cultural Vertigo

One of the battles in American culture over the last decade has centered around the Christmas season, particularly the saying of "Merry Christmas." We live in a very pluralistic and multicultural society, and some leaders—especially business leaders—fear that saying "Merry Christmas" might offend people who don't celebrate it or don't believe in Christ. So instead of "Merry Christmas," the move has been to say "Happy Holidays." There's been a backlash, with boycotts of businesses that remove Christmas from their advertising. It's no longer Christmas break but winter break; not a Christmas tree but a holiday tree.

Frankly, I think some of this is overblown, though I can empathize with the concern. The reaction concerns people because we generally don't like change—and in the last 20 to 25 years, change has come at a very fast pace. When change is that fast, people can feel a kind of cultural vertigo. Back in 1970, a futurist named Alvin Toffler wrote a book called Future Shock, describing the destabilization that comes with rapid technological advancement and cultures influencing one another. Many of us have experienced a little of that.

Most People Don't Know Why

Here's the thing, though. This shift from "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays" might shock the Christian community, but the average American who isn't very religious doesn't find it shocking at all. They might be more shocked by our shock. Quite honestly, a lot of people who don't go to church don't even know the reason for this season.

I know that's the case because just a couple of weeks ago, on Black Friday, Pastor Nick and I went out to a retail establishment—we got kicked out of Walmart, so we went to Target instead. I had a pocketful of $5 Starbucks gift cards and offered them in exchange for five minutes of people's time. Almost everyone said they were doing Christmas shopping. When I asked, "So you celebrate Christmas—why?" they'd give me a blank stare. When I asked if they could summarize the Christmas story, most couldn't. My favorite answer, "You mean the 'you'll shoot your eye out, kid' one?"—and yes, that movie is called A Christmas Story, so I understand the confusion.

In 45 minutes I talked with 15 people, and only two had a good answer—one of whom was a pastor, so that doesn't count. That's about 87 percent who didn't know why we celebrate Christmas. Many of the people you work with, live near, or are related to don't know why we celebrate this holiday. That's why we do this series here at Cross Connection. People may know the "Jesus is the reason for the season" saying, but they don't have an adequate answer for why.

The Why Is More Important Than the What

Point number one: the why of Christmas is more important than the what. Even in this room there are many different Christmas traditions—the "whats." Most people celebrate on December 25th; some focus on Christmas Eve; in other parts of the world they celebrate January 6th; some celebrate all twelve days in between (that's where the twelve days of Christmas came from). Some exchange gifts and some don't; some decorate a tree and some don't; some like eggnog and some think it's disgusting—like me.

The point is that the "whats" of Christmas differ from family to family, and when we see someone else's tradition we tend to think, "That's not how it's done." But the important thing is the why: why do we celebrate Christmas, and why is it important? To answer that, we need to start all the way back at the beginning—the beginning of your Bible.

In the Beginning Everything Was Really Good

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Thus opens the greatest book ever written, copied more than any other book in history. As chapter 1 unfolds, the Creator God gives life to everything that is, creating it all out of nothing—what we call ex nihilo. He speaks it into existence, even the things we cannot see with the naked eye.

At the end of each of the six days of creation, God looks at what He has made and says the same thing: "it is good." Seven times in the opening of the Bible we read this, and the very last verse, Genesis 1:31, says, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Everything was very good—abundantly, perfectly, excellently good.

That's point number two: in the beginning, everything was really good. But here's the problem. Sitting here today, looking at the world we live in—although there are many good things—we would all recognize that this world is far from very good. There is a desire in every one of us, and in everyone you meet, for this world to be restored back to that place of being very good. It started off good, but unfortunately it didn't stay that way.

God Created Us to Live in Connection

At Genesis 1:31 the story actually gets even better. Chapter 2 is basically a restatement of chapter 1 from a slightly different perspective. The life-giving God forms man from the ground and breathes into him the breath of life. Then, in Genesis 2:16–17, He commands the man to eat freely of every tree in the garden, "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

The life-giving God is also the gift-giving God. He places man in the midst of this beautiful garden and essentially says, "This whole thing is for you—a gift." Every tree is yours except one. There's a little foreshadowing of something not good coming in chapter 3.

But look at the next verse, Genesis 2:18: "And the Lord God said, it is not good"—the first negative of the story. Everything was really good, but now God says, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." That's point number three: God created us to live life in connection. That's our vision and mission here at Cross Connection—life in connection with God, with one another, and with the world through Jesus.

The Completion of Creation

"Not good" here doesn't mean evil; it means incomplete. The creation wasn't yet ready for God to say, "It is finished." God knew it was incomplete, but Adam did not yet know it. So out of the ground God formed every beast and bird and brought them to Adam to name them. As Adam named the animals, he saw that there was part and counterpart in creation—lion and lioness, stallion and mare, bull and cow—but for Adam there was found no helper comparable to him. Now Adam became aware of what God already knew: he was incomplete.

So in Genesis 2:21, God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took from his side, and made a woman, bringing her to the man. The life-giving, creative, gift-giving God completes His creation. When Adam sees her, he says, "Whoa, man"—and that's why she's called woman. It always gets a laugh, so I'll keep saying it. He recognizes, "This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." From one, God made two, for the purpose of joining them as one. The last verse of chapter 2 says the two were naked and were not ashamed—nothing dividing them, completely connected as one, just as God designed.

Disobedience and Rebellion Brought Brokenness

But remember verse 17: "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 3:1 says, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field." He asks the woman, "Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" She replies that they may eat of every tree except the one in the midst, or they will die. The serpent says, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The seed the serpent planted germinated into the question: Is God really interested in my good? God is holding you back. Many a path toward sin has begun with that very thought. Notice that nearly every tree in the garden was already pleasant to the eyes and good for food, but the serpent introduced a new lure—this fruit will make you wise. So Eve went down the well-worn path of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. She took, she ate, and she gave to her husband, and he ate.

That's point number four: disobedience and rebellion brought brokenness into God's creation. Their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together. Before, they were naked and unashamed—that was their state when living in connection as God designed. Now that oneness is broken; they feel shame and fear. And when God came walking in the garden, they hid from His presence. The brokenness was not only between Adam and Eve, but between them and God.

Christmas Is Essential Because the World Is Broken

This is why we need Christmas. The reason for Christ's coming is that this world is broken. That's point number five: Christmas is essential because the world is broken. The celebration of Christmas doesn't fully make sense without this starting point. You might know the details about Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the manger, and Bethlehem—but why did this little baby need to be born? Because the world is broken.

We all know this brokenness intuitively. Every one of us is bombarded by it daily. You may even remember the moment as a child when you first encountered it—the death of someone in your family, breaking your arm, something that made you realize this world is not the way it should be. And inside every one of us is a desire for the world as it once was.

Genesis 3:9 says, "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, where are you?" Adam answers that he was afraid because he was naked, and he hid. God asks, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat?" And the man says, "The woman whom You gave me to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Classic sinner—the implication is, "It's Your fault, God; You gave me the woman."

The Missionary God

The life-giving, gift-giving God is also the missionary God. He sought out hiding, lost, sinful, scared, ashamed humanity. "Where are you?" God's response to the brokenness of this world was not to start over. This was very early in the story—He could have said, "Let's do Earth 2.0." But He didn't, because He is the missionary God. His response to this fallen world is to step into the brokenness, to seek out the lost, to step into darkness with light.

Cookies, bells, presents, lights, candles, decorations, trees, wreaths, carols, and eggnog are good cultural trappings for 21st-century Americans, but they are not the why of Christmas. If we're not careful, these things become enjoyable distractions from the brokenness of the world. Many people celebrate Christmas precisely because it's a few weeks where they can put the brokenness out of their minds. But we need to encounter the brokenness and be reminded why we need Christ.

Redeem the Opportunity

This is why it bothers me when some Christians want to boycott Christmas, saying it's all about consumerism, there are no Christmas trees in the Bible, and Jesus probably wasn't born on December 25th. I understand those things—there are cultural trappings that have nothing to do with Jesus. But we can either reject this whole thing called Christmas, or we can look for the opportunity to redeem it. Our missionary God, who is all about redemption, would rather we use this as an on-ramp to reach people with the greatest gift: Jesus.

All of us have family members and friends who don't know Jesus, but this time of year they're a tiny bit more open. With all the stresses—traffic, bills, engagements; don't even try Costco right now—there's still a little warmth and awareness, because His name is in the name of the holiday. It's a redemptive opportunity to ask, "Do you celebrate Christmas? Why? Do you know anything about the Christmas story?"

When I married my wife, I was brought into a family that wasn't church-going. They'd say, "I'm happy you do that church thing—some people really need that." Yet every year, the whole family gathers on the Saturday before Christmas, and from the youngest to the oldest they read through the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew out of an old, tattered booklet that grandpa left behind. They know the what, but they need to know the why. And the why has to do with the brokenness of this world.

God wants to heal that brokenness—that's good news. That's what Christmas is about: God coming into this world to heal brokenness. The Scriptures give us beautiful prophecies that a day is coming when all things will be restored, better than they were. Right now there's brokenness, but we've been given the healing words through the gospel. I hope and pray we won't miss the opportunity to share about Christ, whose coming was to heal the broken.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You that You loved this broken world so much that You, the gift-giving God, would give Your Son, Your only begotten Son, for us, that we could experience the healing of His gift and His sacrifice. Jesus, we thank You that You loved us so much that You gave Your body and demonstrated Your love toward us, that while we were still sinners You died for us. We thank You for the gift of Your grace and salvation. I pray that among all the gifts we give and receive this season, Lord, would be the gift of sharing the good news of Your grace with neighbors, co-workers, family members, and friends who know the brokenness but don't know the Healer. We thank You that You are the gift-giving God. Pour out upon Your church Your blessing and Your Spirit, that we would have boldness to share that truth as we celebrate this year. We praise You and thank You for Your grace. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, and all those that agree said, "Amen."