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I found this article to be somewhat humorous yet at the same time a very serious subject.


"Merry Christmas" May Not Be Enough

By Mark Gauvreau Judge

December 15, 2005

There’s only one response to the war against saying “Merry Christmas”: We need to add another Christian greeting to the American lexicon. We need to meet secular force not with equal force, but with overwhelming counter-force.

It’s easier than you think. Last spring I was visiting a little religious icon store near Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The store is run by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is slightly different from my folks, the Catholics. I realized this when I entered the store and a middle-aged man looked up at me and said:

“Christ is risen!”

I stood there, not knowing what to do. If this was a homeless guy, he was a spirited and happy one. I mumbled something about, “Yeah, great ain’t it?” and scuttled away.

Then it happened again. I was leaving the store right as another man was coming in.

“Christ is Risen!”

Before I could speak, the original guy responded.

“Indeed He is Risen!”

Ok, now it was clear that there was some kind of club operating out of the store that I was not a part of. A quick inquiry explained things. It was a few days after Easter. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, during the time from Easter to the Ascension, members great each other with “Christ is Risen!” And then the reply: “Indeed He is Risen!”

I say that in the wake of banned nativity scenes, “Happy Holidays” greetings, and solstice celebrations with “winter trees,” we add to the misery of the ACLU and the secular left. I think it’s high time we took the Orthodox Easter greeting and imported it to America.

Actually, this is a good idea for deeper reasons than you might imagine. To be sure, watching anti-Christmas jackboots implode at the prospect of not only losing the war on Christmas but helping midwife an entirely new Christian catchphrase is worth the price of admission. But it would also go a ways toward correcting the sometimes unseemly emphasis on Christmas in America.

Despite the theologians who remind us that Christ was born in the shadow of the cross—who ever gets to the third verse of “We Three Kings,” which refers to Christ as “child and king and sacrifice”?—the commercialization of the holiday has largely overwhelmed it’s religious intent, a fact recently noted by Pope Benedict. Easter, which is supposedly the time of the greatest miracle and cause for the profoundest joy, suffers by comparison. A recent encyclical from the Eastern Orthodox Church, delivered this past Easter, eloquently says as much:

    Christ is risen, shaking the earth,
    Removing sadness and bringing joy.

With these words of the Holy Bishop Nicholai, we announce the most joyous of all days—the day when life manifested itself to the world, when death was defeated, when the doors to Hades were destroyed, the all-joyous day the day of Resurrection.

The resurrection is the greatest event in our human history, our Divine-human eternity. It is the day that delivers us out of all the worldly days and nights of this life and brings us into the day without evening, the eternal day of God's Kingdom. “Pascha is the Feast of all feasts and Celebration of all celebrations, which surpasses all other feasts and celebrations just as the sun surpasses the stars,” said St. Gregory the Theologian.
 
Imagine the sea change that could occur if we adopt the simply orthodox call and response. To be sure, there would be a significant breaking in period. I learned this the other day when I tried out the greeting while Christmas shopping at the mall. I tried it at three stores. At the first, a nice young lady rang up my purchase, some clothes.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Christ is Risen!” I shouted.

“Thank you,” she said, backing away.

“Indeed He is Risen” I said, furnishing my own reply. She seemed relieved when I made for the exit.

The second store, a record shop, was more of the same, except this time is was a male teen-age clerk.

“Christ is Risen!”

“Um...I don’t think we have that.”

“Indeed He is Risen.”

“You may wanna check our Christian rock section...” He reached for the phone. I think he was about to buzz the manager. I beat it for the front door.

The third time was the charm. It was a middle-aged African-American man. He had an accent that I guessed was from Nigeria, and an inquiry proved me right. Christianity is booming in Africa, and it shows.

“Christ is Risen!”

 “Amen!” he shot back with a laugh.

I told him the proper response. He nodded but didn’t repeat it. All he said was, “I believe it.” Then, like a member of a dissident underground, he leaned forward and whispered “Merry Christmas.”

I considered that the baptism of a new movement. For a few years we can look forward to baffled looks from friends—even fellow Christians—store clerks, even clergy. But the key is in making oneself as obnoxiously ubiquitous about it as ACLU lawyers are whenever a creche appears in the public square. Say it to your mailman. Greet store clerks with “C is R!” Put it on t-shirts. If we wanted, we could even take things further. How about, “Grand Annunciation!” Or “Brilliant Immaculate Conception!”

If we put our minds to it, we could have some kind of Christian greeting for almost every day of the year. Of course, in these times of aggrieved oversensitivity, some will be offended and things could get ugly, perhaps even winding up in court. But that would be worth it just to see where the ACLU ends up—defending free speech of the anti-Christian minority.

On second thought, maybe a tsunami of greeting is not a good idea—its ubiquity may take away its punch and even lapse into farce. Best to stick with the assault twice a year.

“Christ is Risen!”

All together now.


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

PRAISE GOD FROM THE DEPTH OF MY SOUL

CHRIST IS RISEN!!

AMEN PASTOR ROGER! HE IS RISEN INDEED! :)

Now, I love this article, absolutely love it. But I can also see one potential problem arising from the adoption of this phrase, in that it would be seen as an attempt by Christians to force our beliefs down the throats of others. That is not what it is. We have as much right to proclaim Christ as a Buhddist has to proclaim Buhdda, as much as a muslim has the right to proclaim Allah... In this country, that is what protected by freedoms of religion and speech.

The idea of this article, I love. However, I think we as Christians need to be careful about how we go about it, as we may end up driving away more people than we bring into the kingdom.

If they get offended that badly with the simple yet powerful words of Christ is Risen they will be offended with any attempt to witness to them at all and would consider it as shoving it down their throats. This is the idea behind some people wanting to get "under God", "In God We Trust" and any other semblance of God removed from public, because it offends them.

Fear of not being politically correct and thereby driving people away has stopped many Christians from proclaiming the word of God.


Mat 10:27  What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
 

Mat 10:32  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.


Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.


Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.


Mar 4:21  And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

*chuckle* Don't get me wrong, Pastor Roger. I'm all for wiping PC from the face of the earth (as is obvious by some statements I've made elsewhere. :P). I'm simply saying that this should not be a greeting used in response to the world's secularizing of the holidays. It needs to be an expression of our own heart, with its purpose being simply to glorify our Savior. :)

Amen. Anytime we speak of the Lord it should be of the heart.

I love it!!!!


I actually had this same idea, just not as straight forward.   When greeted or parted with the politically correct "Happy Holidays!", I like to say...."what holiday?"    ;D   "Oh, you mean Christmas? well, Merry Christmas to you too!!!"   :D

Christ IS Risen!   He is the reason for the season!   Unto us a Child is born!   Maranatha!   What Holiday?  ;D   Oh yeah....Merry Christmas to you too!

Just about any of these would do the trick.

Merry Christmas guys!

Whenever anyone says 'Happy Holidays' to me I just smile at them and say and a very 'Merry Christmas to all'. I take daily walks all around my neighborhood going in different directions each time, (there are many different little subdivisions) and I smile and say Merry Christmas to all the other walkers, joggers, bikers, etc. as I encounter them. Many say Merry Christmas back others just smile, but I know that a lot of people are afraid of being heard saying Merry Christmas. I fear God above anything, after all what can men do to me.

AMEN to Timothy and Air. :)

Incidentally, we do the same thing. If someone offers us 'happy holidays', we turn to them and say, "And you have a Merry Christmas." offering them a genuine smile.