There is an old adage which says that when you’re in polite company there are two subjects which should be avoided at all costs – religion and politics. The reason for this are obvious – religion and politics are the two topics which touch upon our deepest beliefs, desires and emotions. When we talk about religion or politics, we’re engaging the most fundamental questions of human existence. Who are we? What is our purpose? What’s wrong with the world? What’s the solution? How ought we to organize our lives and our society? Undoubtedly, religion and politics are a potential tinderbox.
This Christmas season countless families, friends and neighbors will gather together. If you invite enough people, there will inevitably be some who offer up very different answers to these fundamental questions – questions we might call worldview questions. When differing worldviews collide with one another, Christmas dinner can suddenly become a very unpleasant affair. One sharp little comment can act like a spark. Before you know it, the tinderbox has burst into flames and is threatening to scorch everyone around. This ugly dynamic has been repeated countless times over the years, which is precisely why the old adage persists; why ruin Christmas by dragging either your religion or your politics into the conversation?
Now I certainly hope that your Christmas is full of peace and harmony, free of rancor and division. And I would heartily agree that if you’re celebrating Christmas with those who don’t share your worldview, it would be wise to tread lightly. (After all, didn’t the heavenly host announce “peace on earth, goodwill to men”?) Nevertheless, those who truly understand the story of the scriptures recognize that Christmas is inextricably intertwined with both religion and politics. In fact, if you take either religion or politics out of Christmas, you won’t have any Christmas left to celebrate.
Let’s start by simply examining the word “Christmas” itself. Of course, Christmas incorporates the key term “Christ.” But when it comes to the word Christ, there is a lot of fuzzy thinking in the church. The church speaks all the time about Jesus Christ, but what exactly do we mean by that? For lots of folks, the term Christ has been reduced to a proper name – just another way of referring to Jesus himself. By their very nature, names get used over and over again. Indeed, Jesus was a very common name in Israel at the turn of the era. So when we use the term Christ, we’re making it clear that we’re specifically denoting the Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, whose mother was Mary and who announced to Israel the impending arrival of the God’s Kingdom. Now, there is nothing necessarily wrong with this usage, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to explaining the rich meaning of the term Christ.
The New Testament was written in Greek. Our English Bibles are the product of scholars who have worked very diligently to translate the original Greek into English. Strange as it might seem, however, the Greek word Christos was not translated into English, but transliterated. A transliteration is a fancy term which indicates that a word was more-or-less imported directly from one language to another in the same or very similar form. Thus, the Greek Christos has leapt into our English Bibles as Christ. The problem is that the Greek word Christos carried a very clear meaning for 1st century Jews, yet that meaning has been completely lost to many Christians today.
If we wanted to actually translate the Greek word Christos, it would come out in English as “Messiah.” This is a step in the right direction, but still leaves many people in a muddle. Instead of puzzling over the term Christ, they are now equally puzzled about the word Messiah. I can guarantee that if you ask people in your church what Messiah means you will get all kinds of answers. Some will say “the chosen one.” While this answer contains a grain of truth, it is hopelessly incomplete. It leaves you asking what precisely he was chosen for? Others think the term Messiah (or Christ) is a reference to Jesus’ divinity. Now it is quite true that orthodox Christians affirm that Jesus is the incarnation of the one true God. However, that is not at all what the ancient Jews meant when they spoke of the Messiah. Finally, some people might say that the term Messiah means something like savior, rescuer, or deliverer; again, these would all be partially true but still miss the primary meaning.
The term Messiah is derived from the Hebrew mashiach which literally means “anointed one.” In order to fully comprehend this world of thought, we must dive into the history of Israel – the time of Samuel the prophet. In I Samuel 16, God commands Samuel, “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” In obedience to God’s command, Samuel does indeed visit the family of Jesse. Now Jesse had seven sons who came before Samuel, yet none of them were chosen as king. Finally, Jesse called for his youngest son David who was out in the field tending the sheep. When David presented himself before the prophet, the LORD tells Samuel, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” So Samuel takes out his horn of oil and pours it upon David’s head, “and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.”
Here at last we arrive at the core meaning of Messiah – the man chosen by God to be king over his people Israel. According to tradition, the prophet – acting as a spokesperson on behalf of God – would pour oil upon the head of the man chosen as king over Israel. The oil was a sign of blessing and more specifically a sign that God would pour out his Spirit upon the king, giving the king the wisdom and strength that he would need in order to lead God’s people and save them from their enemies. So when we encounter the term Christ, or Messiah, we should immediately think “king of Israel.”
It’s crucial to recognize that the term Messiah is a title, not a name. Some years ago, a Jewish newspaper editor objected to referring to Jesus as “Christ,” arguing that this designation essentially makes an editorial claim about Jesus and thus violates objective journalistic standards. While Christians would insist that Jesus is indeed “the Christ,” we should agree that this editor had the right idea. When we call Jesus “the Christ,” we’re making a very specific and controversial claim about him.
What should be readily apparent is that anointing someone as king is the most explicitly political act imaginable. In the ancient world, supreme power and authority were invested in the king. Samuel himself had anointed Saul as the very first king over Israel. Yet because of Saul’s disobedience, God ultimately rejected him as king. Yet when God tells Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king over Israel, Samuel was understandably alarmed. The prophet asks, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” Samuel fully realized that pouring oil upon the head of David was far more than a quaint religious blessing; in the eyes of Saul, this was flagrant insurrection! Anointing David was an act of rebellion, aimed at stripping ruling power from Saul and transferring that sovereignty to David. No wonder that Samuel feared for his life! Likewise, when Saul realized that David was indeed the man that God had chosen to replace him as king, he tried again and again to hunt down David and kill him.
So we see that right from the beginning, the term Messiah – the anointed one – was an overtly political designation. It was an explosive claim to royal authority which was certain to incite dramatic and often violent reaction.
With this in mind, let’s check out one of the most beloved Christmas passages – Isaiah chapter 9. The context here is that the nation of Israel has fallen far from the glory days when David and Solomon ruled over the united kingdom of Israel. God has allowed disobedient Israel to suffer at the hands of the surrounding pagan nations. Yet the prophet foresees a time when a great king will restore Israel. Isaiah describes the coming king in this way: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”
Once again we must realize that this entire passage is about politics! The prophet is here clearly speaking about the Messiah – the coming king who will reign upon David’s throne. Twice the prophet refers to “the government.” First, the governing power shall rest upon the shoulders of this great king. Second, the governing authority of the king shall relentlessly increase until he rules over all the earth. And what a reign it will be! Unlike other rulers who promise much and fail to deliver, this king will be the real deal. The wickedness which pervades our world will be destroyed. Justice and righteousness shall prevail. This king’s reign will bring peace, security, joy and flourishing.
This is what Christmas is ultimately all about: the long-awaited king has been born into the world. It’s an explosive political and religious claim that Jesus of Nazareth is the world’s rightful Lord and that the rule and reign of God has indeed begun.
