Christmas Lights – an enduring symbol of Christian truth

This evening my wife and I visited the BC Forest Discovery Centre with our three-year-old grandson and his family. If you follow the link, you will see that they are featuring “The Christmas Express,” a ride on their old logging train around the Discovery Centre’s property.¹ Our grandson loves trains and the evening was a big hit with him as we rode through the light displays that adorned the ancient equipment around the grounds.

As we rode, I thought about the deep hold Christianity has on Western culture. While most of the display was some version of our increasingly secularized Holiday celebrations — we saw many lighted figures of Santas, polar bears, penguins, Grinches, and other characters — nevertheless, the whole celebration remains as a remnant of an enduring culture rooted in the Christmas story.

When you think about the history of the West, it is rather remarkable how much influence the first century has on our way of life today. We pattern our governments along the lines of Roman democracy (with many adaptations, of course) and Greek thought and culture affect our educational systems profoundly. Yet even more, the religion that began in the cradle of Bethlehem came to overcome the paganism of those ancient civilizations and formed the dominant culture of the west going on almost two thousand years at this point.

The big Christmas figure, Santa Claus, is rooted in Christian tradition (though he is far, far removed from biblical Christianity by now). The symbolism of light and lighted stars trace their way back to the Light of the world coming to earth to grant the light of life to sinning men. Yes, I know that pagans, too, had light festivals. That is largely irrelevant. Our cultural expressions aren’t rooted in them, but in Christ. It is true that our cultural expressions may well be descending towards them, in an increasingly secular society, but that is another matter as well.

Despite the increase of secularism and the steady removal of overtly Christian symbols (except, perhaps for lighted stars), in our excursion this evening I found one lighted scene of Mary, Joseph, and the manger. It blessed my soul. Our Lord, increasingly ignored, still is the center of this season.

Many hearts remain in darkness, ignorant of the grace of Christ. They need the gospel. In the midst of our festive lights, they remain shrouded in darkness. I am reminded of the occasion when Jesus read these words in the synagogue at Nazareth:

^{Lk 4.18-19} “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, ¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

When he closed the book, the people of Nazareth took offence at his words. They rose up as one to cast him over the Escarpment, the steep cliff on which their city rested. Though the light of the world was in their midst, they remained in darkness.

Our duty is to proclaim him still. While our culture still has some vestiges of consciousness of our Lord as seen in our Christmas celebrations, we need to awaken them to the reality of Christ, to the light and hope that lies within Him and Him alone. May we once again resolve to be a light in the world, not only in Christmas celebration, but through the whole year to follow.

Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.

1. The BC Forest Discovery Centre is a museum about the logging industry in British Columbia, something well worth your time should you visit in the warmer months. [↩]