On Tuesday, a United Church of Christ reverend received backlash after suggesting that Christmas is ultimately about a message of feminist empowerment over the traditional Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
“Christmas season is about God choosing a woman to lead a revolution of re-organizing the structures of societal power by her leadership, tenderness, and faith,” Rev. Jes Kast claimed on Twitter.
Christmas season is about God choosing a woman to lead a revolution of re-organizing the structures of societal power by her leadership, tenderness, and faith.
— Rev. Jes Kast (@RevJesKast) December 1, 2020
According to The Blaze, Kast’s post sparked a barrage of criticism as commentators believed that she was undermining the sovereignty of God by focusing more on Mary instead of Jesus Christ.
"Not about her son, then?" one commenter asked.
“Read Luke 1. It begins with the 'yes' from Mary. Without her, there would be no savior,” Katz argued in response. “It begins with Mary and the Holy Spirit."
“Apparently gender-identity politics > Scripture,” another user quipped.
Katz contended, “Read Luke 1. It begins with the “yes” from Mary. Without her, there would be no savior. It begins with Mary and the Holy Spirit.”
“In all seriousness, readers, this is a dangerous blasphemy on the sovereignty of God and the singularity of Christ as Savior,” one user cautioned. “Even Mary called herself the servant of the Lord.”
Founded in 1957, the United Church of Christ is a progressive mainline denomination that affirms beliefs held outside traditional Christianity.
In 1972, The UCC's Golden Gate Association ordained “the first openly gay person as a minister in a historic Protestant denomination: the Rev. William R. Johnson,” the denomination’s website reads.
The UCC later affirmed same-sex equality after the general synod passed a resolution in 2005.
Abortion and reproductive justice is also a point of contention for the denomination.
In 2011, a UCC spokesman told The Gospel Coalition that the church has resolved to "using inclusive and expansive imagery for God" and that they "no longer use exclusively male language to refer to God.”
“United in Spirit and inspired by God's grace, we accept all, love all, and seek justice for all. We are the United Church of Christ," UCC’s Twitter bio reads.
On Wednesday, Kast rebuked all who criticized her on her initial post as she continued to stand by her remarks.
“Mary needed to say "yes" before Jesus could be born,” she reiterated. “Gospel of Luke tells us this. The vitriol provoked by this response (yesterday) illustrates a pervasive lack of respect of opinions and bodies of women. We need to unlearn broken patterns of thinking.”
Christians have long celebrated Christmas in commemoration of the grace of God in sending His Son to earth to redeem sinners. While Mary’s faith was integral in giving birth to Christ, she was still a sinner in need of a Savior.
During one of his teachings, Jesus stressed that obedience to God’s Word was more important than praising the woman who gave birth to Him.
“As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it,” (Luke 11:27-28).
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/Simon Lehmann
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
