PART TWO:
The Christmas Controversy
Time passed. Larry returned from Vietnam. Alive! He met, fell in love with, and married a beautiful Mexican girl, who you know as Lita. And they started a family. Four children came. I was the second.
Larry continued to serve his country in the Marine corps. And Larry, unlike so many soldiers who forget the promises they made on the battlefield to God, always remembered his. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Somehow Larry knew that this meant so much more than just the “ten commandments” that he had heard all his life. So, Larry, who had been a very “bad” student in school, became a very good student of the Bible, on his own. He wanted to know what God had meant by “keep my commandments.” He read and read the Bible, searching and searching to understand it. He listened to priests and preachers, hungry to understand God. He even studied other religions and religious leaders… And he began to learn and to understand… and then he began to notice that those who told him to read and believe the bible, also told him things that were not “in” the Bible. Sometimes they told him to do the exact opposite of what it said to do, in the Bible. He began to ask questions about the contradictions and found that, while priests loved to answer questions when he was completely ignorant, they did not like to answer questions when he wanted to know why their instructions didn’t match the Bible. He was told he shouldn’t ask “those” questions.
Larry took his family and went from church to church, searching for a place that could answer his questions. Again and again he was told that he should not question those in charge of the Church. His questions were not welcome. And soon, he and his family were not welcome.
And then… the question of Christmas changed everything.
Larry had four children, and he loved playing with them, telling them stories, and thrilling them with magic and surprises. He loved the stories of Santa Clause, and Christmas carols and lights and decorations… Christmas trees… and snowmen… All of it. Larry loved Christmas… but as he studied the Bible, he started to realize that Christmas didn’t really make sense for the story of the birth of baby Jesus. Winter is very cold-- even in Israel. Why were there shepherds out in the fields watching their sheep all night? Jesus was placed in a manger, in a barn… Why would God have his son born in a place where it would be too cold for a baby? The season seemed a very odd choice for God. With a little more research, Larry discovered that Jesus’s birthday was the exact same day as a very old “Pagan” holiday called “Saturnalia.” and that evergreen trees were part of those “Pagan” holidays. You can “google” search all of this, if you want to learn more, but the point is… Larry discovered that Christmas was not really the birth of Christ at all. It was something else, and much, much older…. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
Not only that, but Larry began to see how much greed came out of people at Christmas. The commercials on TV told people how much they needed to buy to have a good Christmas. “Dad wants a new car with a big red bow…” “a diamond pendant necklace is what mom really wants…” And the kids…. “Toys toys toys!!!” Everyone was asking Santa for “stuff” at Christmas… Give me… Give me… Give me… I want… I want… I want!!!... What happened to “baby Jesus?”
So, he asked the Preacher of the Church we were attending. How did this all come to be… Christmas. And, when was Jesus really born?
Not only did the Preacher get angry that my Dad had asked those questions, but he told my Dad that if he really didn’t believe what the Church was telling him about Christmas and the birth of Jesus, then he shouldn’t celebrate Christmas at all…. Because if he did…. That would make him… A HYPOCRITE!
Larry was stunned… This made him feel very angry… and then very sad. Larry loved Christmas, but more than that, he loved his four children. And like all little children, his children loved Santa Clause. How could he take Santa and Christmas away from his children?...
Larry tried to think of ways to celebrate Christmas but still keep his promise to God… to keep God’s commandments. Larry was certain that Celebrating the birth of the Messiah on a pagan holiday was NOT “keeping his commandments.” Was he a hypocrite for doing something he knew was wrong? And to continue telling something that he knew was a lie?!
Larry began to realize that the world was filled with hypocrites. Priests and Preachers, Politicians, Presidents, Lawyers, Judges, Police officers, teachers…. Neighbors… Friends…. And even family members. Not all of them, of course, but he realized that people can’t be trusted just because of the title they wear. Especially people in positions of power… Larry realized that People would tell lies-- things they knew to be lies-- to manipulate, cheat, and control others. It all disgusted him, but what disgusted him most, were those hypocrites who lied to control others, in the name of God. Larry finally understood what the words God had told him meant. He had to follow God, even if no one else did. Even if the leaders of the Church told him to follow them instead. It’s easy to do what everyone else does. It takes courage and conviction to do what’s right, when no one else will. Larry had to find an honest Church. And…
Larry had to let Christmas go.
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