This is Just What “X”-mas Means to Me

The exercise of “X”-mas which is cherished by so many evolved over time from a pagan practice as I discovered in the “X”-file. I found out that long ago when the heathens were in bloom, some disgusting behavior ruled the day. Some bizarre festivities came to be as a result of enduring those long cold months of the year. People became weary of being in the dark and soon after discovering fire the tribe began to assemble, mostly to stay warm. Eureka! It’s story time. Eventually the imagination began to gel into all kinds of superstitious rituals and one of them became known as the winter solstice celebration and December 25th became a big day in this sunny historical recipe. Primitive religion and basic violent ignorance was the mechanism of the first entertainment system. This chilly and annoying season of vacant space in the schedule became a tiresome routine, so man said, “Let there be lights,” and that was just the beginning. Eventually this pseudo enjoyable, time consuming and expensive activity was born and there were lights.

Then the church ( Roman Catholic mostly ) came up with the “X”-mass notion that if we place the baby Jesus in there somewhere, we could sanitize this void and in the mix make a few bucks; all to the glory of God of course. This salvaging operation in the festivities department soon began to inspire more ridiculous stories that gullible and illiterate Christians commenced to believe, accept and support. What began with pious superstition eventually procured additional financial momentum. This offered the possibility of holding the infant Jesus hostage for a few weeks during the coldest days of the year while negotiating terms for releasing the legends and inaccurate fables. It sounded delightful it glittered and had an aroma of its own. I have come to understand that it just smells.

There’s more. The “X”-mush is a side dish of mentally unhealthy side affects. It can be depressing to a poor man and a disappointment to a greedy or ungrateful person. It has so very little to do with Jesus anymore and more to do with the accumulation of those unnecessary items which at a reasonable time of year will end up in a garage sale. Modestly priced I might add. Don’t get me wrong, I have been both victim and perpetrator in these “X“-miss trends and habits. I too have looked at many a gift and thought, “just what were you thinking when you paid the cashier for this future white elephant?” It’s not going to bother me if you think that I’m a Scrooge. This guilt driven insult is spoken to intimidate the rational inspection of the issue. It is part and parcel to the expectations, family traditions, seasonally cloned attitudes, and the purchasing mystique. These “X”-mess absurdities just keep getting passed on to the children.

When my son was small, we showered him with gaudily wrapped prizes and read to him from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. My wife cooked and we went to the Christmas service at our church and enjoyed the truth that God became a man and lived on the earth. I have heard that if you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself. The Lord obviously agrees. But I noticed that Jesus had no festivities committee present or even a welcome wagon. There was no invitation on a flashy Hallmark card and I believe very few knew or cared that He had arrived. God was born in a barn of sorts among the farm animals with the smell of manure in His first breath. There was no pine tree cut down in the prime of its life, laden with ornaments over in the corner. None of the fancy wrapped store bought packages, the bric-a-brac of our high tech, remote controlled, return them if you don’t like them environment cluttered the stable floor. The shepherds of today refuse to spread the good news like they did 2000 and some years ago. The wise men and theologians of today don’t believe the bible and wouldn’t understand a sign from heaven if they saw one and couldn’t pour eggnog out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel. Spiritually speaking that is.

Jesus came to us not requiring that we celebrate His birth, because He has no beginning and He has no end. He did although come to present Himself as a gift and still offers Himself to anyone who will accept it. He is now mostly ignored in the “X”-must rush. For those who choose to believe, He only requires that we remember to acknowledge His commandments and promises. But we still insist on giving Him an unfair trial, if we dare to try Him at all. Think of it as a gift exchange with an unusually cruel death for Him and in return a new life for us; as in, His beating for our healing. You get the picture. It’s not as pretty as a Hollywood film, but then truth just isn’t as exciting as intoxicating visual animation.

I appeal to you to consider the resurrection in the “X”-missed it again object lesson. It’s all some of us can do to get out of bed and face another day except on “X”-mas day as we have done since we were children. Great resurrection morning! We rise up early, make a lot of noise tear open perfectly wrapped items and begin operating them with not even the benefit of reading the instructions. We will become goofy and surprised, somewhat confused and also a bit envious too, until about noon when most of the toys will loose their interest in us and remain neglected or broken already. We’ll stuff ourselves silly with white sugar, starch and cooking grease. We will consume the worse types of snack ever invented, designed or brewed and of course do all this with at best a marginal suggestion of appreciation to the One who makes it all possible. Some will say that that’s just my opinion and a very “X”-treme one at that.

I have come to believe that a resurrection happens every December 25th in most of the free world and is soon forgotten in a vapor of gluttonous spending and anxiety. In an earth that knows no peace, a day of ancient custom whose origin is found in witchcraft has no special magic for me, knowing that many will go to their grave without ever opening the gift that God gave us. Go ahead and celebrate this pagan holiday while you can because there are not many “X”-messes left until He returns. Learn to be thankful for every moment you have above ground. Without the Lord and His love for mankind, there would be no use to celebrate anything. He alone has allowed and even tolerated all of the Christmases past. This present one and any future ones however are still in question, and that’s just what “X”-mas means to me.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

　
Written by Timothy W. La Vigne
Original concepts 12/18/1999 Vancouver, WA

The Nephilim Myth

I was interested for a season in the story found in Genesis 6 about how supposedly the fallen angels came down & had sex with women. The women had giant babies that grew up to eventually annoy everyone & create speculation. I would mention right away that I’ve not researched the concept thoroughly but I have read the Forgotten Books of Eden. To be quite truthful I never found them to be anything more than a Pandora’s Box of extra Biblical hunting expeditions that in the end bag nothing but more questions. I found the Book of Enoch to be somewhat feasible; however, what one must ask is how does this relate to everyday living? I mean does knowing such mysteries really help me focus on being a better employee or treating others as I would like to be treated? Not really. Do we really need to look at a subject that many scholars are confused about but yet they effortlessly tinker with theories & manipulate many words while attempting to convince the rest of us that this is a relevant topic? We can't even agree on what is written in the Bible on a good day & in matters that are plain. How much more shall we disagree over things that the Lord has left hidden? Paul knew enough not to utter certain things. Jesus said he had things to say but his disciples were not ready. John was told in the Revelation, not to write some things but what was allowed caused enough of an interpretation faux pas. I will not cast out any brother who is curious about such things; I only dismiss most of the UFO/Angels business as being at best a fairly recent distraction & in the worst case scenario a potential heresy.

I would like to chime in on the topic only because there is now a certified ‘Nephilim Revival’ going on. Formally unknown subjects have taken the stage & of course Jesus Christ must sit this one out as His name is mentioned only briefly & often with little regard. Just for the sake of causing doubt please allow me express a few observations.

The angels in this pre-flood scenario (we must conclude) were all heterosexuals. Fallen angels & cohorts of Lucifer inspire us as humans to commit all kinds of devious sexual sins but somehow are exempt from those practices themselves. No charge of homosexuality, bestiality or pedophilia is hoisted on these fallen creatures. Sex wise they are as pure as the purpose driven snow. There are no female fallen angels mentioned. I mean there is no implication that created man had relations with created female angels & had mean ugly angelic giants as children. That might fly in Chicago but in all honesty, nowhere else. So if we imagine that only one class of angels had such power then one is left with the assumption that a miracle was possible & at the very least an immaculate conception of sorts took place; eternal beings with temporary human beings producing a questionable species. I know some will say that the DNA was different then & well, ‘whatever.’ Is anyone home here? Do these questions not come into play when one looks at this can of giant worms?

To top it all off there are those who actually think that Satan will have an offspring. Can anyone say Incubus? The imagination of fallen man is given to silly notions & I admit there is some demonic activity that certain people go through, dwell on & then write books about. These stories make the rounds in order to cause a sufficient amount of distraction & to maintain a ‘special’ insider curiosity. Occult oriented people thrive on these deceptions & even Christians are beginning to fall into the New Age trap. Anything that is not written in plain English usually instigates an investigative itch among those who can’t get enough of the unknown. If I am pressed further on this I suppose I could join this ‘bore’ hunt but let it be known that I can’t see wasting my time & energy killing another wild pig just for the satisfaction of having it’s head over my mantle. Nevertheless; let the hunt continue.

T. LaVigne

Joe the Caterpillar

Joe the Caterpillar did not make the news or meet Mr. Obama. He’s just an average guy ambling along in his own world; a little bit lonely, not much to look at and mostly overweight as a result of the daily consequences of his garden variety gluttony. He consumes anything in his path and his path is anything that is in front of him. In his selfish mindset he ruins the lives and leaves of other living things in order to fulfill his own destiny. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is likely to be a byproduct of fallen humanity at its worst. As one of God’s most unassuming inventions; Joe is of a personality that is totally unconcerned about the property of others and is in constant approval of his own importance. Everything appears to be on schedule in his privileged franchise as he is oblivious of the turn of events that is about to overtake him. One day the fat cat moves into a small studio apartment and closes himself off from the world outside and as he begins to deal with his own iniquity, something begins to happen in there. At first it is difficult to understand why God would allow this to happen to him. He was so outgoing, such an industrious consumer and a world traveler. As the troubles are embraced along with the notion that this can only get worse, a season of violent turbulence occurs and a noisome disturbance ensues inside but no one called 911. His absence is a plus for the neighborhood as property values regain an edge for a while. Joe is like a junky going cold turkey as he endures the sweats, the chills, and the pain of withdrawing from the world he once knew and loved. Although some may conclude that a testimony is being formulated, Joe the Caterpillar will be forever changed. After an intense episode the engagement reaches its zenith as the transformation surrenders to a new day and Joe approaches the way out. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9. The door to that cramped apartment opens on a bright resurrection morning as Joe the Caterpillar steps out into a new existence. This one of a kind winged creature emerges with a new attitude and a new heart along with a new look. Eventually the inside begins to look like the outside. Some say that it doesn’t matter about the haircut or the style of clothes but in fact the whole analogy proves otherwise. Since a good tree cannot bear bad fruit it goes without saying that in due time a new appearance shows in a new creature and the world takes notice. For a very short time after this metamorphosis occurs, the now above average Joe almost effortlessly floats from flower to blossom tracking the grace of God on his shoes into the lives of others. (.. your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:15 ) He now transfers life giving pollen, spreading influence and making restitution for all those plants that he once ruined with his insatiable appetites. The caterpillar formally known as Joe is to be admired by most and crushed by others. Some of Joe’s associates have found their way into the grill of an automobile or pinned to an exhibit in a collection somewhere but every moment counts and his day is almost done already. Then in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; it’s over. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. Job 14: 1-2 I suppose anyone of us who has come into an understanding about living life to the last measure can identify with Joe the Caterpillar. He was one of us, he is now one of us and all of us who endure until the end will rise above it all to meet the Lord in the air and will join a great cloud of witnesses, the winged wonders and the favored of God. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Ps 39:4
Blossoms and Blessings, T. LaVigne