Have A Righteous Christmas

The word “righteous” has slipped out of our vocabulary. It appears around 500 times in our Bibles, and we will sing the word in a hymn, but we don’t talk about aspiring to become righteous people. We will eschew becoming “self-righteous” and some theologically informed friend will warn us against “works righteousness,” but becoming truly righteous is not on the Christmas list of anyone I know. Being righteous isn’t cool. 

It seems the concept is missing just when we need it most. Watching the headlines this past year, it was a constant tumble of fractious #MeToo reports of sexual harassment and abuse. The church seems no better. #ChurchToo has its own long list of sad reports, including Bill Hybels, whom many Reformed congregations looked to for a vision of a seeker-sensitive church. We are sensitive but not righteous. No one is righteous. No, not one.

When reading the Christmas story, however, we are told that Joseph was a “righteous man,” alternately translated in some versions as “noble,” “faithful to the law,” “just” or “a man of stern principle” (Matt. 1:19). The story goes that he was betrothed to Mary, arranged probably by parents, and this agreement was binding. But when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant with an illegitimate child, he sought to divorce her quietly. It could be a matter of integrity, but it could also include a layer of self-preservation, as Deuteronomy 22:23 prescribes stoning for fornicating couples. He could be implicated, or at least besmirched by the gossip.

There is no one who is righteous. Not Joseph, and not St. Nicholas, either, I’m sure of it. No, not one.

The peace kiss
Righteousness in the Bible, however, is not only a private pursuit. It’s tied to shalom, as in Psalm 85:10 we read that deliverance happens when “righteousness and peace kiss each other.” Just as we cannot be truly healthy apart from a healthy environment, so we cannot be truly righteous in a community where violence prevails and fellow creatures of God remain subject to mistreatment and abuse.

In our New Testament, the Greek word dikaiosune can be translated as righteousness and/or justice. Some say Christians have over-emphasized the personal piety of “righteousness” and ought to turn more attention to more structural “justice” terminology. But justice is a word that appears frequently in our vocabulary, and it has been taken up by activists, media and state agencies. “Justice” prevails, in the language of dominant culture, at least.

Theologian Thomas Yoder Neufeld writes: “Justice has replaced righteousness, serving to distinguish peace as social justice and active peacemaking from ‘spiritual rapprochement’ between the individual and God.” In the same way that righteousness without justice lacks a generous shalom, so justice without righteousness lacks full integrity. Without a heart connection to God, we miss a tether to the ultimate standard and the ultimate restorer of true justice and peace.

Do what’s right
I know many people today still hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice, and I hope they will be blessed for it, even if “righteousness” has fallen out of linguistic favour. What if we used the language of “doing what’s right” or “making things right” instead? In a world where doing what is expedient, self-promoting or self-indulgent is the path of least resistance, “do what’s right” sounds somewhat familiar to Biblical ears but not too preachy or legalistic. 

How can we do what’s right this Christmas? Our world seems topsy-turvy with lies, toxic relationships and political turmoil. Start small: tell the truth to a friend, give generously of yourself to your church, help a neighbour in their need, feed a stranger at your table, speak up in the face of a wrong, and write something that calls for positive change. Resist cynicism and nurture hope as you do what’s right.

This is not to assume we are totally righteous in ourselves, but because Jesus Christ came 2,000 years ago to occupied territory, in the midst of political chaos and violence initiated by an insecure potentate, to become our righteousness from God (2 Cor. 5:21). This is the paradox of Christmas, that Joseph’s illegitimate son was righteous, and that his prosecution as a criminal would take away our guilt for our unrighteousness, and begin to make the whole world right again. Joy to the world! Celebrate heartily this good news for all with the best food you can scrounge up. May you have a righteous Christmas.