Messages
from the Bible
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
There are a great number of words that are rarely used at any other time of the year than during the month of December. Some of these are connected with the birth story, others are secular terms. A Christmas Glossary would include such words as: carols, manger, virgin mother, nativity, mistletoe, holly, jolly, jingle, sleigh, ornaments, Santa, elves, stockings, reindeer, frosty, chestnuts, wreaths and fruitcake.
A few words in the Glossary have to do with names of people or places, and are quite well known, names such as: Jesus, the One whose birth we celebrate; and Joseph and Mary the parents of the newborn Baby. Some refer to otherwise little known places such as Bethlehem, where this all took place, and Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up – these place names have now become well known all over the world.
A lesser known “person” name is that of was Herod, who could well be called the Saddam Hussein of the first century B.C. His rule began around 40 B.C., when he talked his way into the good graces of Rome and got himself appointed as king of Judea. Using military force, Herod took control of the territory and maintained this control by brutally eliminating his opposition, including the slaughter of 45 aristocratic Sadducees. Even members of his own family were not exempt – at one point he successfully arranged the death of his 17 year old brother-in-law who had been appointed to be High Priest – the King was able to get the boy’s teenage friends to drown him in the swimming pool and make it look like an accident. Within a year after that he had his mother-in-law murdered. By the time of his own death in 4 B.C., Herod had also executed two of his ten wives, at least three of his sons and his wife’s grandfather. No wonder then, when Herod heard from the Magi that a king of the Jews had been born, he quickly slaughtered all the baby boys in Bethlehem. He may have been called “Herod the Great” due to his magnificent building projects including the Jerusalem Temple, but as one author points out, he should rather be called “Herod the Despicable.” (“Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible” by Carl G. Rasmussen)
Some of the other words in our Christmas Glossary refer to groups of people. There are Magi (Wise Men), Shepherds, and Angels.
It’s always been an interest of mine, how words are formed, how they are used, how they acquire meaning, change their meaning, and how different people understand the meaning of words differently. Allow me to give you a couple of samples:
There’s the word, “naughty,” an adjective form of the word “naught” which means “nothing.” “Naughty” then came to mean a “morally bad or wicked person.” Now it simply identifies children who misbehave.
And last, there’s “imp.” This word is a shortened form of the word “imputare” which means “to graft into,” and originally referred to the young shoot of a plant, a seedling. Later it was applied to “offspring, or child” – by the 16th century it had become “a small demon or wicked spirit,” and by the 17th century it had taken on the meaning of “a mischievous child.”
Obviously, the first part of the word refers to the fact that Christmas commemorates the coming of the Messiah to this world. “Christos” is Greek for the word “anointed” which in turn is “Messiah” in Hebrew. What many people do not know is that there is only one Greek letter for the “ch” (chai – pronounced like “key”), and it looks very much like our letter “X”. For over 500 years this abbreviation for “Christmas” has been used – “Xmas.” No this was not, as I was told as a child, an attempt of modern secularism to “X out,” or “cross out,” the Christ of Christmas. It was simply a shortened way of writing it.
The second syllable in the word “Christmas” has a long history going all the way back to St. Ambrose who lived between 339 and 397. As bishop of Milan, Ambrose first used “missa” as a term for the “Lord’s Supper” and by the end of the 6th century this term was almost exclusively used. The word came from the Greek word, “mitere”, which means “to send or dismiss.” In the in early days of the church, the “eucharistic” service was divided into two parts - those receiving instruction (catechumens) were allowed to be there during the first part, but only the faithful (those who had been baptized) could remain for the second part. Thus there were two dismissals pronounced by use of the Latin words “Ite misse est” (“Go, you are dismissed.”) So “missa” came to refer to the dismissal.
Later, when the service became connected so that there was no mid-way dismissal, the entire service was called “missa.” In Old English, that came across as “maesse,” and in Middle English it was called either “messe” or “masse.” Thus, and we may say that this is rather sad, the worship gathering became known for the ending pronouncement. It would be calling a basketball game the “Buzzer,” or a theatre play, the “Curtain.” One wonders if the service had become so dull that the most exciting part was the dismissal!
But there’s one other group of terms which must be included in our Christmas Glossary. These terms, some more familiar than others, bring to us the central meaning of what it’s all about. In one way or another these refer to the central character, Jesus. There’s “Immanuel,” meaning that Jesus is God with us; and “Incarnation,” meaning that God became flesh. He is the Son of God, heralded by the angels’ song and announcement to the shepherds – perhaps especially significant because Jesus would be known as the Good Shepherd.
However, the terms we want to use to complete our Christmas Glossary list are these: save, Savior and salvation.
Granted, these are words not as commonly used in our contemporary society. I remember a brief moment of excitement when I saw what I thought was a more wholesome scribble on the service station bathroom stall door. It said, “Jesus Saves.” My joy was short lived though when I read on. The graffiti was finished with the words, “Green Stamps.”
In the Christmas story these words are found in the following places:
“Savior” was used by the angels when they alerted the shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
And “salvation” was used by the old prophet Simeon when he recognized that the baby Jesus was in fact the Messiah. “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” (Luke 2:30)
These words are found in the English Bible nearly 500 times, with at least 150 being in NT. Here are a couple of examples which can help us understand what they mean:
When the disciples feared the storm would sink their boat, they came to the sleeping Jesus and cried out to Him “Lord, save us: we perish.” (Matthew 8:25)
On another occasion, at the invitation of Jesus, Peter climbed out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. When he began to sink, “he cried saying Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30)
When the religious leaders faulted Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath, He chided them by asking the question, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" (Mark 3:4)
Those who taunted Jesus while He hung dying on the cross also used this word. They called on Him to “save” Himself and “come down from the cross.” (Matthew 27:40)
However, the early Christians understood these words in the sense of our being saved from eternal judgment and death. The first Gospel preacher, Peter, used these words in his sermons and in his letters:
Later, when the Apostles were called in before the Sanhedrin who wanted them to cease their public preaching, Peter declared: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
And in the final word in his final letter, Peter urged the people in the church to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (II Peter 3:18)
You know about the Nativity with the Baby in the Manger, His Virgin Mother, and Herod’s slaughter of Bethlehem’s boys.
But the remaining, and most important questions are these: Do you know about being saved? Do you know that the whole reason Jesus came was to bring salvation? Do you know the Savior?
This week my daughter sent me an article she thought would be of interest. She was right. It was about the findings of a survey by George Barna concerning the state of Christianity in America.
What caught my attention was what this survey pointed out concerning a fundamental belief of Protestantism, and a belief also embraced by the Vatican in its 1999 accord with the Lutheran World Federation. Alarmingly, this survey pointed out that among America's “main line” churches (Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Presbyterians), only an average of 20% affirm the basic tenet that by good works man does not earn his way to heaven. Among Catholics in the United States, only 9 percent agree with this theological concept taught by the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 3.
The author of the study went on to point out that this applies chiefly to the historic denominations rather than the Assemblies of God, Pentecostal/Foursquare and non-denominational groups. But even here it’s somewhat alarming to learn that even among our churches little more than 60 percent remain committed to the justification by faith formula.
What this means is that the American church has lost its way, no longer emphasizing the need to be saved, the need for salvation or the need of a Savior.
It is also disconcerting to learn that among Mormon church members, a group which is considered to be a non-Christian cult, there’s a higher percentage of members who “say they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior” than among many Christian churches.
An Episcopalian pastor explained it this way: "This happened because in the last 30 years American pastors have lost their nerve to preach a theology that goes against the grain of American narcissism. What we are witnessing now is what Francis Shaeffer predicted over 20 years ago -- that the American church of the future would be dedicated solely to peace and affluence."
So, in the language style of our President, let me make this perfectly clear, and make no mistake about it – to properly celebrate Christmas we must include an acceptance, by faith, of Jesus as our Savior. I invite you to do so today.
Christmas Glossary
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Take for example the word “jovial.” According to the ancient astrology of Rome, the largest planet, Jupiter, was also known as “Jove.” To be born under the ascendance of Jupiter, was considered to be most auspicious. Therefore, “jovial” means to be “of or relating to Jupiter.” During the 17th cent, the word meant “majestic,” as in the eagle being a “jovial fowl.” Over time it has come to refer to another of Jupiter’s attributes, “good-natured” or “jolly”.
That brings us to discuss a dominant word in our glossary, the very word used to identify this holiday, “Christmas.”
“save” was used in the announcement given to Joseph. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
The words all come from the root that means “to deliver or protect” (literally or figuratively): “to heal, preserve, save, do well, be or make whole.”
Peter wrote about Noah whom God saved from the flood. (II Peter 2:50)
Notice that all of these examples have something to do with the saving of a person from certain death – death from the flood, a storm or the Cross.
On the Day of Pentecost he proclaimed, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' (Acts 2:21)
Everyone here is probably familiar with most of the words in our Christmas Glossary. You know about holly, jolly, St. Nick, mistletoe, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. You sing carols about angels, shepherds and kings, and feast on Old Scrooge’s turkey and grandma’s fruitcake.
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