No church worship on Christmas?

I dunno, I am not one to criticize the way others worship, but this seems strange to me – I don’t understand this whole idea of not having Christmas Day services simply because the day falls on a Sunday.

Some of the nation’s most prominent megachurches have decided not to hold worship services on the Sunday that coincides with Christmas Day, a move that is generating controversy among evangelical Christians at a time when many conservative groups are battling to “put the Christ back in Christmas.”

Megachurch leaders say that the decision is in keeping with their innovative and “family friendly” approach and that they are compensating in other ways. Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., always a pacesetter among megachurches, is handing out a DVD it produced for the occasion that features a heartwarming contemporary Christmas tale.

“What we’re encouraging people to do is take that DVD and in the comfort of their living room, with friends and family, pop it into the player and hopefully hear a different and more personal and maybe more intimate Christmas message, that God is with us wherever we are,” said Cally Parkinson, communications director at Willow Creek, which draws 20,000 people on a typical Sunday.

I’m sorry, but this would not do it for me. I know, I know, “God is everywhere and we don’t need to be in a church to worship Him…” gotcha. But we’re supposed to be not simply “believers” but a “community” of believers, a “church.” To suggest that shoving a DVD into a machine and gathering ’round the television is a proper substitute for getting out there for worship and fellowship among the brethren…well, I don’t get it. And what difference does it make whether Christmas falls on a Sunday or not? If community worship and fellowship is important enough to get you attending church all those other Sunday’s why isn’t it moreso, rather than less so, on Christmas Day?

How about making a Christmas Eve worship that takes place after sundown, as a vigil, so to speak – candles and lessons and carols to replace lights and well-rehearsed performances – just folks gathering and watching as the Shepherds and kings watched the skies in expectation.

Maybe it’s being a Catholic that’s making it so hard for me to “get” this. Fully lapsed Catholics aside, even the laziest of us manage to get to mass for Christmas and Easter. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the gathering, the singing of joyful and comforting hymns, the readings and – most emphatically – the Eucharist, the opportunity to welcome Christ all over again, up close and personal, so to speak.

Easter also falls on a Sunday, but these megachurches manage to open for that. Why not Christmas…it’s the celebration of the Incarnation, without which there would be no Resurrection.

As Bertie Wooster would say, “well alright if you like it…” but this decision by the megachurches seems very strange to me, and you will note it gives those who dislike Evangelicals, or any Christians a Hammer of “Hypocrisy” to swing around, which is ot helpful to any of us.

I hope the “megachurches” change their minds, and the folks who attend them make an all-out effort to NOT worship-by-DVD, but to rouse themselves to gather together and sing “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come, let earth receive her king!” It’s a prayer and a praise, not simply a little ditty.

Or to worship on Christmas Eve, holy, awestruck, reverent and hushed…

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times did’st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
an ensign of thy people be;
before thee rulers silent fall;
all peoples on thy mercy call. Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind;
bid thou our sad divisions cease,
and be thyself our King of Peace. Refrain

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear. Refrain

There is an antiphon we pray on certain Monday’s in the Liturgy of the Hours, during Vespers: Yours is more than mortal beauty; every word you speak is full of grace.

The readings and hymns of Christmas so embody that, as we reach out to each other, as Christ deigns to reach out to us. Gather. Reach out. Good heavens, even a recluse like ME understands how important it is! :-)

UPDATE: Aside from the eye-rolling swipe at the president in this article (now the White House is responsible for “Winter Holiday” programs, because of this year’s card? Puh-leease! Only in the land of eternally adolescent reporters with axes to grind, but I digress…) – this sort of politically correct nonsense over Christmas is what angers so many…and, yes…when the people who are fervently working against it can’t even be bothered with public worship on Christmas Day…it DOES send all sorts of bad messages! C’mon my big-churched Evangelical friends! Deck those halls and ring them bells, and gather on Christmas Day!

Amy Welborn has been discussing this issue for a little while and has a thoughtful post here.