The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-01-01
Belief In Divine
Planning Aid To
Christmas Spirit
Recognition Of Christ's Di'
vinity Keeps Event FROM
Being Pagan Holiday !

The following extracts taken
from a Christmas message ny the
Rev. James P. Burke, pastor Of
st. James Episcopal church, in
which he discussed the theme,
christmas ard Theology" are
printed here by request. /
Our Department of Religious
Education urges us to make Christ
mas theological this year. l quote
the following paragraphs from the
recent diocesan bulletin:
Christmas must be theological
or it will not be Christmas. With
out theology the Feast of the Ma
tivity becomes merely an occasion
for playfulness, romanticism, SEN
timentlaity, gluttony, and cheerful
materialism.
Christmas is celebrated wrong
ly and theology is summed both
for the same reason. There is a
lack of belief in Divine Provi-
dence and Planning. The 1ncar-
nation is the product Of Gods de-
liberate planning, for a definite,
deliberate purpose. But many
modern" folks are not very much
convinced in their minds about the
plans and purposes of God. One
most deplorable result Of this lack
of conviction is the make-shift,
ge-podge celebration of Christ
mas. Make Christmas theology
cali"
Surely, if there is any organism
on earth that knows the true
meaning of Christmas, that organ
ism is the Church of Christ. In
one form or another the Church
from the beginning has proclaim
ed to the world the fact of the
Incarnation. St. Paul's epistles
were written very early. In them,
he writes: "God was in Christ rec
onciling the world unto Himself"
Again, (Phil. q he writes that
Christ who was Of the nature OF
God emptied Himself of the glory
that was His and took upon Him
the nature of, servant. When
St. Thomas saw Christ, after the
resurrection, he, cried: my Lord,
and my God" The Fourth Cos
pei declares that the Word or
thought of God was made flesh
and dwelt among bs. Christ was
worshipped, as God, by the early
Church. To the early Christians
He was both God and man. :,
The Church has ever held these
two natures (God and man) as
separate and distinct in the one
Divine Person each having all
that was needed for it's complete
and true nature. The; Church
never departed from this. teach
ing. In its Councils it rejected
all teachings that would make its
Lord anything less than fully and
completely God as we'll as all that
would take away from His COM
plete and full humanity. 1t did
this without attempting n philo-
sophical explanation Of how this
could be. It is in trying to ex-
plain how that "moderns" be-
come confused and skeptical. To /
early Christians it was not so
much philosophical and theologi- |
cal as it was a spiritual expert
ence. To many "moderns," an at |
tempt at complete, understanding |
is substituted for faith and spir-
itual experience. Revealed reli- |
gion has always challenged and |
baffled the intellect and doubtless !
always will.
After the reason has done its ,
best and its worst, the 1ncarna-
ton remains great mystery. God
Himself, is perhaps, greater mys- /
terry. The Universe is a stupen
dous mystery. If one were to re-
ject fact because OF its mystical
nature, he would have to deny his |
own existence. One of the most ,
distinguished scientists in our time
writes large book on MAN, the
Unknown" If man is unknown,
is it reasonable to expect that God