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By John T. Crestwell, Jr.
December 26, 2004
The word “Pagan” is/was seen
as anything that is not Christian in origin. In the Hebrew Bible we
read stories about the God of Israel versus the “god” (small g) of
the Pagans. The implication is clear: that which is Pagan is heathen
and bad. The problem with language is we don’t get the root or heart
of words, Fortunately, the vernacular prevails and we use
words out of their original context. Actually, Pagan comes from the
Latin “Paganus” meaning "rustic," "hick," or "country” and was the
word Latin scholars used in the Old Testament to describe those in
opposition to Yahweh. In the Roman Empire after Emperor Constantine
established Christianity in the 300’s CE, those in the country were
much slower in adopting the new state religion than were the city
folks. They continued to follow the Greco/Roman faith, Mithraism
along with various mystery religions long after those in urban areas
had converted to Christianity. And so, Pagan, for me, means the
customs and teachings of those original tribal religions before the
establishment of Christianity.
With that said, I was reading the Maryland Journal newspaper this
week and there was an article on page four titled, “Don’t Deny the
Importance of Christmas” written by Rich Tucker a columnist for a
conservative website who was able to get his article published with
the Journal. Anyhow, in the article he said, and I quote: “When it
is all said and done, we can’t afford to lose Christmas to the
secular world. It’s a traditional Christian holiday, and it should
remain critical to us—the second holiest day of the year.” (Easter
is the first).
As I read the article, I said to myself, “Man, do people really
believe that Christmas, translated the festival of Christ, is a
traditionally Christian holiday? What would happen if people knew
that Christmastide, this celebration, this feast, is steeped in the
pagan mystery religions. What if Christians knew that the ancient
Egyptians cut down palm trees and decorated their homes during the
Solstice? And that this palm tree represented rebirth or
resurrection and was related to a celebration of the “sun of god”
(that’s S.U.N.) and this worship was done thousands of years before
Christianity. What if those who say Christmas is Christian only knew
that the “pagan” Romans decorated their trees with bits of metal and
replicas of their god, Bacchus [a fertility god]? They also placed
12 candles on the tree in honor of their sun god. What about the
European Druids who tied fruit and attached candles to evergreen
tree branches, in honor of their god Woden. This is the deity after
which Wednesday was named. And that holly, mistletoe, and the Yule
log are all pagan symbols that predate Christianity. What would
happen if this Gentlemen who wrote the aforementioned article, knew
his history or just did a simple internet search. Would there be any
meaning in the Christmas story for him and others with similar
beliefs? Or would Christmas instantly become unimportant and
meaningless? What about the meaning and purpose of Christmas for
those of us who call ourselves Unitarian Universalists? Does this
holiday inspire anything in you? Does it call us to anything
significant? I would like to establish three thoughts...
First, there is no original, authentic religion - all religion is
syncretistic (shared beliefs) and evolves with the people, the place
and the particular need of those people. Therefore, Christmas is a
shared inclusive holiday not an exclusive celebration.
Second, the birth of every child is special and there is greatness
within every human being on earth!
Third, Christmas DOES have meaning if we believe that all religions,
pagan, orthodox and unorthodox, whatever you call them, move and
inspire us to look and act beyond the exclusive, toward the common
good, which asks us to give, share and love more and more each day.
Regarding my first point, the origin of Christmas, I’d like to share
with you the findings of Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy who wrote the
book The Jesus Mysteries… It’s quite provocative! (Read from this
link. I read from the book during the sermon)
Some of what I read may have been startling to you but the point is
the original story of Christ’s birth is steeped in mythology and
pagan symbolism but for me, this is no big deal. If we comprehend
that through Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Israel, Greece and Rome we have
a long tradition about life, death and rebirth and the importance of
respecting the circle of life, that is the point. And so, this time
of the year is for everyone. We are all a part of a shared religious
history.
Also, another fact which moves me to point number two is that the
story of the birth of the son of God is a story about greatness
springing forth from the womb. Yes, there is that potential for
human greatness in all human souls in every child that is born; a
greatness that moves people like Ghandi and Rabbi Abraham Heschel
and Mother Teresa and others like them to sacrifice their lives for,
what we call principle #2, justice, equity and compassion in human
relations… It is important, this Christmas, and as we move into the
New Year, to remember that it is vital that we invest in our
children. We must, as parents and citizens, agitate within public
and private systems, and demand that our children be afforded the
opportunity to be the best that they can be. This is one of my
commitments for the New Year. There is still a large disparity
within varying educational systems in urban and suburban areas. If
you look at the numbers, the schools in the ghetto still produce
second and third class citizens perpetuating a reality of “haves”
and “have-nots”. But let us see that greatness is not in one
particular human birth, not in any special race, not in any
particular gender, but greatness is possible in every human born on
earth who has the capacity to be compassionate and loving and true
to the cause of justice for all people. My Christmas hope is that
every child will be afforded the opportunity to be all they can
truly be!
Lastly, regarding the meaning of Christmas for Unitarian
Universalists, I don’t think I can say it better than one of our
very fine late ministers, Rev. Lawrence E. McGinty, who said,
“Christmas is a celebration of hope, of life, of renewal. A UU
celebrates Christmas because he or she is a human being and
Christmas is a great cultural human festival which has meaning and
benefit beyond any particular theology or religious tradition.
Christmas is a light that shines in the darkness, in the darkness of
our hearts and minds, showing us the good within us that can be, a
light that has been shining through the centuries, illuminating the
lives of human beings.”
Yes, this is why I celebrate Christmas. It is a time to celebrate
all that life is and all that life can be. It is a time to be
thankful for life and all the things that make it possible for us to
live. Jean McCarty came up to me after our wonderful Christmas Eve
service and she said to me that she was moved deeply by the music. I
concurred. She then said, “You know, this is why I come to church.
It’s being together, celebrating together. I just feel better when I
come to church”. I could say the same thing about why we UU’s
celebrate Christmas. It’s a time to be together, to celebrate
together and even though it’s a pain to make the time and to get to
where we’re going, when it’s all said and done we feel better about
the experience; the time is quite meaningful. It is a mass, a great
feast into all that it means to be human. Yes, when we love and
share and laugh and play, this is Christmas, this is an experience
of the divine. And when we cry and mourn, as long as we have each
other, this is Christmas too.
That’s all I have to say…
I’m going to get home and play with the kids’ toys some more… But as
I close, hear more words from the late Rev. McGinty: “ Christmas
is for everyone, everyone who can affirm joyously the meanings to be
found in abundance in this life and on this earth: the wonder and
promise of birth, the magnetic, ancient dream of peace among men and
women, the discovery that wonderful things DO happen, that the good
in people can come to the surface, the joy of sharing, of giving and
receiving, of expressing awe and friendship, of dedication to the
highest ideals. All these meanings and others are in Christmas, the
season of light and hope.” Christmas is indeed a celebration of
life. Merry Christmas! Amen.
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