Mark 9:50 English Standard Version (ESV) “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

It is the season for the use of salt. Everything tastes better if salted properly. Too much salt is over seasoning and the food is ruined.

Forgive the play on words here but it should be obvious that not everyone celebrates Christmas in the same manner or for the same reasons. Some do not even use the word Christmas. More and more we see the world trying to take Christ out of Christmas. Law suits have been filed.

Law suits do not make for peace. In our opening verse it is important to note that the use of salt is meant to bring peace and harmony.

Happy holidays, season greetings, and a handful of standard greetings will be heard more and more as that day approaches. Correcting the greeting as if we are insulted for a slight does not make for peace. How we conduct ourselves in those moments should be seasoned with grace. Being gracious is not being weak. The enemy of Christ wants us to react badly. Don’t give him the satisfaction.

Romans 14:5 English Standard Version (ESV) One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Nor is it right to flaunt those opinions as an accusation at another person. Do those things which make for peace. Romans 5 warns us not to become a stumbling block or a hindrance. We make peace so that the way to acceptance of our Lord is not blocked by our own judgments, actions, or words.

May the God of mercy bless us all.

Are we Romans?

HOW THE ROMANS CELEBRATED SATURNALIA

During Saturnalia, work and business came to a halt. Schools and courts of law closed, and the normal social patterns were suspended.

People decorated their homes with wreaths and other greenery, and shed their traditional togas in favor of colorful clothes known as synthesis. Even slaves did not have to work during Saturnalia, but were allowed to participate in the festivities; in some cases, they sat at the head of the table while their masters served them.

Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia gambling, singing, playing music, feasting, socializing and giving each other gifts. Wax taper candles called cerei were common gifts during Saturnalia, to signify light returning after the solstice.

On the last day of Saturnalia celebrations, known as the Sigillaria, many Romans gave their friends and loved ones small terracotta figurines known as signillaria, which may have referred back to older celebrations involving human sacrifice.

Saturnalia was by far the jolliest Roman holiday; the Roman poet Catullus famously described it as “the best of times.” So riotous were the festivities that the Roman author Pliny reportedly built a soundproof room so that he could work during the raucous celebrations. (End Quote from History.com)

What was Saturnalia became Christmas as the early church gained more influence in the world. Adoption of those things which were important in the gospel of Luke chapter 2 diverted the focus from a pagan festival to a Christian celebration. The birth of Christ became a central point of the holiday.

The birth of Christ was not celebrated by the church in any form until 336 A.D. It did not become an official holiday in America until 1870. That is a long span of time and during those years many evolutions of the church occurred. Some might even say revolutions. Our focus should be drawn now to the comparison of the Roman Saturnalia to our present situation. Reading those things which the Romans did in celebration bears a striking resemblance to how much of the world celebrates Christmas today.

The only thing important is what is in our hearts, Christ.