Who Doesn't Love Santa Claus?

About Christmas in our secular world. 

Which is where it all happened in the first place.

In the commonest of places.  A dirty barn here on earth.  Jesus was born right here in the middle of all the human things.  

And he is here to stay.

                                               Thanks be to God!

I was driving through a small town yesterday; and there was one of those plastic images of Santa Claus on a front lawn.  The sight put a smile on my face.  And quickly my mind began to wonder: Is it really true the Santa took Christmas away from Christ?

Now I know that, several decades ago, people use to use Xmas instead of writing out the entire word Christmas.  And soon there was this little blue and silver sign appearing on lawn that said: “Put Christ Back in Christmas.”  And about that same time there was this rumbling among “church-goers” about Santa being the focus of Christmas.  Which was, and I quote: “just wrong!”  

Now there is nothing in me that would ever replace Christ — nothing.  

And as a child it never occurred to me that Santa Claus, in any way, removed the importance of Jesus’ birth.  If anything, it was an additions to the Christmas event that included another visible enjoyment of the secular world.  

I have taught every confirmation student, i’ve been privileged to have in class, that there is nothing in our daily living that is separate, or can ever remove, Jesus from the secular realm.  

There is nothing, in our living here on earth, that is not influenced by our faith in Jesus and what he came to teach us.  Nothing.

Jesus made it clear that our faith was to be lived out, and acted upon, within this physical world.  In my simple mind every breathe we take, movement we make and all our decisions are connected to our faith in Jesus the Christ. 

Santa is very much apart of the world around us at this time of the year.  People love Santa Claus.  And so do I.  He makes me smile when I see him.  He offers me a moment of Christmas in the rush here and there.  

He is exciting, and yes a bit scary sometimes, to little children.  They may love him, they may want to go see him, but they sure-as-heck won’t sit on his lap.

Santa Claus, like Jesus, teaches us the joy of giving.

Christ, for those who care, has never gone out of Christmas.