The title of this article is Hidden Christmas. If anything sounds contradictory in our contemporary exhibitionist culture, it is the idea that Christmas could, in any way, be hidden. In fact, the opposite seems true—Christmas is front and center: exposed, promoted, celebrated, and permeating every corner of society. There is hardly a sliver of our culture untouched by it—even atheists celebrate Christmas!
You might say, “Sure, the world celebrates Christmas, but they don’t celebrate its true meaning.” That may be true, but let me suggest something: perhaps the reason so many in our overstimulated culture miss the essence of Christmas is that we, the church, have hidden it—not because we fail to proclaim its message; we do. Through our Christmas programs, sermon emphases, music, Advent readings, Christmas Eve services, and more, we faithfully present the message. All these things are good and necessary—we should continue doing them. But my concern is that our expression of Christmas often lacks the spirit, posture, and force of that first “hidden Christmas.”
That first Christmas was, in many ways, hidden—underexposed, unassuming, non-pretentious, and bathed in subtlety. Christ entered the world through the womb of a poor virgin, from an insignificant village, born into an ordinary family, delivered without fanfare in a barn, and soon exiled to another country. Nothing about that first Advent was intended for mass exposure. In contemporary terms, social media would have missed it entirely. Yet the very manner of His coming paved the way for the power of His life and message—power that turned the world upside down and continues to transform lives across the globe.
My thesis is this: many in the modern church are skilled at promoting Christmas but not at living in the spirit of that first Advent. Instead of positioning ourselves in humility, we often become proud, boastful, pretentious—even keeping score against perceived “enemies” in the world. Tragically, parts of the contemporary American church have adopted the spirit of our age: arrogance, self-righteousness, and callousness—all cloaked in a robe of spiritual superiority that claims we are the uncompromising ones, battling the forces of evil and standing for truth.
Jesus did not position Himself this way. Yes, He never compromised, He confronted evil, and He stood unflinchingly for truth—but He did so from a posture of humility. Jesus did not need to “win.” Humiliating His enemies was not His goal. Expanding His reign by any means necessary was not His method. His ministry followed the path of His entry into the world: humility, dependence, and a small, hidden seed growing into something vast, strong, and all-encompassing. His greatest loss—the Cross—from the world’s perspective, was in fact our greatest victory.
Christmas should remind us that we win by losing, live by dying, and display His beauty through humility. We spread His Kingdom by grasping His Cross, not by grasping for worldly power. His manner of entering our world shows us the path of lasting impact—eternal and heart-transforming. This is not the way of passive indifference or cultural withdrawal, but of aggressive humility, militant compassion, and unreserved dependence. It is the small shoot that grows into a magnificent, sheltering tree for all. When we embrace the manner of that first hidden Christmas, the Church becomes powerful and transformative in the lives of the people around us.
May the churches of the CBA radiate the beauty of Christ and be clothed with His power as we embody the manner of that first Advent.
Paula and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
In His Service,
Dr. Wes Rankin
Association Mission Strategist