Christian Viewpoint: Finding the true value of X in Xmas
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X is for Xmas. A word you sometimes see in adverts and cards at this time of year.
“It’s taking the Christ out of Christmas,” my parents said when I was a child.
Even in the 1950s there were some who wanted to enjoy the winter celebrations without reference to Jesus.
X is for the unknown, for the X factor.
I remember algebra at secondary school: Calculate x in x=17-y where y is 12. A simple calculation would reveal that x=5.
I remember writing an essay in my philosophy class at university trying to prove that behind the cosmos there was an unexplained mystery.
I imagine I used facts like the existence of beauty, joy and love, and the fact that the whole cosmos dances to mathematical rules which we can discover and understand. I tried to prove the existence of a God-shaped X-factor.
But we question this neat equation as we struggle with the pain and challenge of life. We wonder whether it’s all a cruel joke, whether there is any meaning other than what we create for ourselves with our poor flickering love.
X is for hidden treasure. The X-marked spot on the map in my childhood copy of Treasure Island.
Imagine a chart of the whole universe. There is an X on one galaxy, one solar system, one planet, one small town, one stable, a bright star above it.
There, Christians believe, lies the treasure, God come among us, into the pain and glory of life.
Treasure hidden in plain sight, vulnerable. A man who lived and worked in the Middle East two millennia back, truly recognised only by those with open hearts.
A man whose teaching and example shapes western history and culture.
And yet, that X for hidden treasure lies across the whole cosmos, for nowhere is Jesus not present. And it lies across our own hearts if only we will open our eyes to see it.
X is for kisses in the Valentine card I sent Lesley BM Jesson when I was 15.
And the coming of Jesus is, Christians believe, a God-given sign to humanity and to each one of us: “I love you.”
X is for the cross, where God entered into our sorrow and death, standing in solidarity with us, inviting us to be part of a great victory over darkness.
X is for Christ!
In Greek, X is the letter chi with which the word Christ begins, and it represents the whole word.
When Christians in the past used the abbreviation Xmas they pronounced it Christmas.
We have a choice. Is there no ultimate meaning to the universe? Or could this story of love coming down at Christmas actually be true? X? Or Christ?
