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"Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"?

 Many people are upset at making a basic Christian holiday into a generic one.  I have some sympathy with them but I think there is a different starting place.

The starting place for honoring and keeping Christ in our lives and alive in our communities is not properly naming a day.  It is in worship and service of him.  This basic start we do not do.  If everyone who claimed to be a member of a church showed up to worship, Our worship spaces would be overwhelmed.  (Our congregation is fairly typical in that at its fullest capacity, our sanctuary can not hold half the members on our rolls.)   That witness would say something even more loudly and clearly than "Merry Christmas".

Do remember the birth of God in our midst.  Go ahead and recognize Christmas in this connection and wish people the joy of God in the greeting.  But just remember, whatever we call it, it only remains a holiday until we participate in the worship (the "mass" part of "Christmas") of the Christ child.  Only then can we claim the truth in the word "Christmas".

Martin Horn