Last year our self-proclaimed Christian President couldn’t even say the name “Jesus” in his Christmas greeting to the American people, over 85% of whom consider themselves Christian.
The prime minister of Israel, whose Christian population is under 2%, went a bit farther. How much? A distance approximately the same as that of our current government from the frugal money management of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Benjamin Netanyahu mentions Christians, Christmas or Jesus eight times, validates that Jesus lived and taught there. And he actually seems to KNOW it is important to them. Go figure.
Obama’s first Christmas message was given even prior to taking office. He devotes less than 30 seconds to the celebration of Christmas and the holidays and goes on to say something we wish we would have caught before.
Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans – that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. Now, we must all do our part to serve one another; to seek new ideas and new innovation; and to start a new chapter for our great country. That is the spirit that will guide my Administration in the New Year.
No Jesus. No thanksgiving for the Gift from God. Only a recounting of how bad it is and that everyone must be responsible for everyone else. Hmmm. At least he didn’t say he was the savior of the world.
The first Christmas IN OFFICE as President wasn’t even a video but an audio message (full audio HERE). He managed to sneak the King of Kings into one line:
But even in these tough times, there’s still so much to celebrate this Christmas. A message of peace and brotherhood that continues to inspire more than 2,000 after Jesus’ birth.
He went on to encourage people to give to the military, a noble cause. and he and Michele say Merry Christmas at beginning and end. We can only speculate if this was directly attributable to the outing from the NY Times that originally the Obama’s were planning to remove the nativity tradition in the East Room and were going to ban Jesus completely making it a “non-religious” holiday, meaning Christmas and Hanukah. I’m not sure if that wouldn’t have been better than insulting the Jewish community by rapidly lighting every candle on the menorah in one photo op so he could split town for his holiday vacation.
For Christmas of 2010, again with the audio (HERE), his message again eliminated any direct naming of the Name Above All Names and tied him to the strange theme of his first Christmas message:
THE PRESIDENT: Because this is the season when we celebrate the simplest yet most profound gift of all: the birth of a child who devoted his life to a message of peace, love, and redemption. A message that says no matter who we are, we are called to love one another – we are our brother’s keeper, we are our sister’s keeper, our separate stories in this big and busy world are really one.
Perhaps he missed that sermon from Jeremiah Wright that the whole “brother’s keeper” reference was about a jealous son of Adam who murdered his brother because “the Man” wouldn’t spread the favor around. Or then again perhaps he didn’t miss that particular sermon.
Here is one he should learn from Jesus’ own mouth:
10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
He did a lot of things wrong but declaring his love for Jesus wasn’t one of them. A reminder of George W. Bush’s last Christmas message.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Christmas 2008"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:10-12
Each year, Christmas brings together families, friends, and communities to rejoice in the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrate the wonderful gifts God has bestowed upon us. During this season, we remember Jesus' birth from the Virgin Mary, His justice and mercy that changed the world, and His ultimate sacrifice for all people. Though Jesus was born humbly in a manger, He was destined to be the Savior of the world. The light He brought into the world continues to break through darkness and change people's lives two thousand years later.
This holiday season, as you rejoice in the good news of Jesus' love, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace, I encourage you to show grace to those less fortunate, just as God showed it to us. By serving those in need and through other acts of love and compassion, we can honor God's goodness and affirm the immeasurable value God places on the sanctity of life. We remember the members of our Armed Forces serving to protect our country and secure God's gift of freedom for others around the globe. All Americans are indebted to these men and women and their families for their sacrifice, devotion to duty, and patriotism.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. May you be surrounded by loved ones and blessed by the Author of Life during this joyous holiday and throughout the New Year.
GEORGE W. BUSH
President of the United States
And in case our President has mislaid the White House archive of previous presidential Christmas messages with other –ahhemm – certain personal documents of his, Barack Obama can turn on his TV and get the message, from the great philospher, Linus.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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