There is a fascinating discussion taking place among Christians about the choice of several churches to cancel their Christmas Day services. There have been articles in the secular press (The Chicago Tribune & The Lexington Herald Leader) and Christianity Today's Weblog. The issue relates directly to what we studied last week in Paul's discussion of meat sacrificed to idols. In Romans 14 Paul called that issue a "disputable matter" and then gave another issue that Christians can rightly have varying opinions about: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday alike." (v.5)

Is there something special in God's mind about Dec.25? Is it any different from any other Sunday? Is it different from any other day of the year?

Why did these churches cancel the service? One spokeswoman for Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area said: "It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy." Another Willow Creek staff member explained that they "see it as not having church on Christmas. We se it as decentralizing the church on Christmas -- hundreds of thousands of experiences going on around Christmas trees. The best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for families to have a more personal experience on that day."

But if it is good to have "a more personal experience" then "why not decentralize the church every week?" -- as Christianity Today writers asked.

Fuller Seminary professor, Robert Johnston, didn't like the emphasis on individual family worship: "What's going on here is a redefinition of Christmas as a time of family celebration rather than as a time of the community faithful celebrating the birth of the Savior. There is a risk that we will lose one more of our Christian rituals, one that's at the heart of our faith."

Similarly, Father Tom Shaughnessy of the Lexington Catholic diocese said that Christmas day is "a holy day of obligation, which means for the faithful, Mass attendance is required."

Follow the links to these articles and look over Rom.14 & I Cor.8. We should have a lively discussion about Christian freedom on December 18. (We will decide then whether to meet as a class on Christmas Day!)


New Year's Eve: Bernie & Cathy Schock's home. 371-1889. RSVP.