December 13 is Taylor Swift’s birthday. I hate that I know that.
Last year on December 13, I noticed a disturbing trend: evangelical pastors and professors simping for Tay Tay. On the surface, that almost seems understandable. Swift has made a global impact and changed the music industry. Swift has been on the same tier as Beyonce ever since Ye interrupted her 2009 MTV VMA award speech. Swift’s Eras tour brought in over $2 billion dollars in gross profits, allowing her to pay $197 million in bonuses for her employees. So yeah, she’s a big deal.
But what is weird is the seemingly lack of discernment and the abject worship from evangelicals. Swift is a serial dater, feminist, mocks and blasphemes God in her lyrics, and uses occultic imagery in her performances. It seems absurd to me that some Christians would pay $2000 for a ticket to be a part of that, because it sounds an awful lot like Israel worshiping at the Asherah pole and turning to false gods. It is one more thing contributing to my beef with the evangelical church at large, their dismissal of confessions and doctrine in favor of cultural relevancy.
OK, enough about Taylor. I argued in my Instagram post on this subject, that these Reformed evangelicals who have rejected the feast days to saints in church history have simply replaced them with feast days to cultural saints. It’s fine if protestant evangelicals (such as myself) don’t want to honor a saint. I’m not advocating for Catholicism. However, it is not fine to pretend you are against observing feast days for saints, but then make a celebrity-saint cupcakes for their birthday. That’s hypocrisy.
There is an Alternative
Therefore, I propose a common sense alternative. Reformed Protestants need not eschew the church calendar just because we are Protestant. All of time and space belongs to God, not the Pope. God owns the calendar. So don’t lose your head over it. I’m not proposing we start praying to saints and leave them food offerings, I’m saying we don’t need to be afraid to honor those who have gone before us and remember them on certain days of the year.
Here are three examples for December:
December 6, Saint Nicholas’s Day
Yes, that St. Nick. He was a real person. Legend says Nicholas of Myra threw bags of money into a father’s house to prevent his daughters from being forced into slavery because he couldn’t afford dowries. He also may have punched a heretic in the face at the council of Nicaea (even though most think it didn’t happen, I believe). He was imprisoned and tortured by Diocletian, and later released by Constantine.
Nicholas shows us what compassion and serving looks like, as well as doctrinal fidelity. Make December 6 an excuse to read the Nicene Creed as a family.
December 13, Saint Lucy’s Day
Lucia of Syracuse, or St. Lucy, was a young lady who was martyred in 304. Her name comes from the Latin word lux meaning “light.” Legend has it that she was a virgin maiden who smuggled food to persecuted Christians during the reign of emperor Diocletian, navigating tunnels and catacombs with a wreath of candles upon her head. She was martyred after a spurned suitor sold her out to the authorities.
Lucy is a great example of what it means to give as Christ gave, generously and freely, despite the threat of death. No one forced her into the tunnels. She was not coerced into helping refugees. She was a cheerful giver and gave what she could for the persecuted church. I’d much rather celebrate her on the 13th. Danielle Hitchen in Sacred Seasons: A Family Guide to Center Your Year Around Jesus, says that her feast day is usually celebrated with a pastry called lussekatter, but since we don’t do saffron buns in America, feel free to substitute it for a cinnamon roll.
December 26, Saint Stephen’s Day
Stephen was the first martyr. In Acts 6 and 7, we read about how he was arrested by the Jewish leaders and tried for blasphemy for proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah. At his hearing, Stephen took the opportunity to teach the court biblical theology and testified to the truth about Jesus the Son of God. His life was at stake, and yet he couldn’t do anything but praise God. He was summarily executed, and while they threw rocks at him until he died, he looked up in heaven and saw Jesus standing in his Father’s court:
But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ Acts 7:55-56 ESV
Tim Keller said Jesus is normally seated at the right hand of God in Scripture, in the Apostles Creed, etc., because it shows his atoning work is done. However, Stephen sees Jesus standing before the throne, which means he is advocating, appealing, and arguing for him. He was testifying for Stephen in heaven while Stephen was testifying for Jesus on earth. Stephen saw Jesus, and he could do nothing but worship him.
Are these not better examples of people for us to honor than any modern day celebrity? Their lives can teach us and our children how to love and honor God far more than any worldly person can. I’m not saying don’t listen to secular music or go to concerts or anything like that. I saw Creed this year and they were awesome. But you’d have to admit if I baked a cake for Scott Stapp’s birthday that would be a little much.
Awake! Put on strength! 