The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
We are celebrating Christmas. One more time, we prepare to enjoy the holiday. In the middle of all this frenzy, hectic, and (many times) stressful time of the year, I find myself pondering about the following questions: what is this season about? What are we really celebrating? Is it the birth of Christ, or is it the same old, much awaited break-of-the-year in our monotonous way of life? How many of us stop to think about the true reason for the season? How many of us really grasp the true meaning of Christmas? How many of us meditate on the fact that if we take “Christ,” there would be no “Christmas”? How many of us know that there is a lot more to this season than frantic last-minute shopping, overspending, anxiety attacks, depression and other no so pleasant, but common side-effects of the season?
“This is the season to be jolly,” is one of the lines from the song “Deck the Halls.” If we look at the lyrics to this carol more closely, it is clear that this carol owes more to pagan observances of the winter solstice than to the birth of Jesus. Why does this carol extol us to be jolly? What are we jolly about? The carol suggests it is because we put on fancy clothing, greet the youthful unmarried men and women, and adorn the walls with evergreen foliage. This carol is about fertility rituals and the cycles of nature; “Deck the Halls” is about the pagan veneration of the material world.
Other carols speak of love, joy and happiness. What is this “love, joy and happiness” season all about? Is our joy, happiness and contentment directly related to these short days in the calendar, or perhaps is it the instant “rush” we feel as we go in circles with usual activities of this time? Is it the momentary gratification of gift giving and receiving that gives us “joy,” or it is something deeper?
I like to think that it is possible for us as a community to realize that there is something more, much more, underneath all the activities we engage in almost automatically. Could it be that this celebration is meant to remind us of something so real, that even the most skeptical of historians dare not deny it: the true story of Jesus of Nazareth and the reason He came into this world?
Could it be that in reality this most precious gift, given to us over two thousand years ago by our Heavenly Father, is to this day the only thing that actually brings true joy to the heart of the man He so lovingly created? To me it is all so clear: Jesus is the only reason for this season! Everything else could be easily considered either commercialism or traditional rituals.
Without Jesus, what on earth are we celebrating? I don’t believe it takes a rocket scientist to figure this one out. His everlasting and supreme love for us is the only thing that can actually fill our hearts with TRUE JOY. Only when we decide to accept Him as part of our lives can we actually feel and share the true “joy of the season.” The joy is Jesus in our hearts…the most delicious awareness that we are not alone at all, the awareness that there is a precious Presence living inside of us.
Nothing bought in the stores, or acquired with human effort, could ever compare with this inner, quiet contentment and tranquility that we call peace. Not just any peace. It is a state one He clearly defines as not being peace (an absence of war), but rather a peace that “surpasses all understanding” independent of outer circumstances. It survives in the middle of the storm, and does not depend on happenings around us, no matter how catastrophic things might appear.
Our modern life is full of nasty, scary and shocking surprises. We see it and hear it continuously in the media. Sometimes I think the stations work overtime trying to outdo each other with the most revolting news they can find. Not wonder the sales of calming remedies and sleep-inducing pills increase at this time of the year. They often fail in their promises of delivering “peaceful rest.” Maybe that is why depression (a second-cousin to fear) often increases during this season we described as “Jolly.”
Could it be that our soul, made in the image of our Heavenly Father, desperately craves something the world cannot deliver? What we crave is our manna from heaven: the Living Word of God! We seem to do our best to feed our senses just about everything we want this season. But what about feeding our soul the only thing it needs? The only thing that can satisfy us is the essence of the Almighty Living God, whose image dwells within us since the time of creation.
The Word says that Jesus was full of grace and truth and “went about doing good” while He was on this earth. The Word also says that he came to us for certain specific purpose: to offer salvation to a lost world, to save man from eternal death, and to show us the way. Jesus himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” According to this statement by our Lord, anyone who thinks he can reach the Father by any other way is deceived. That is the reason Jesus came into this world, the reason the Word became flesh: to declare that we can all obtain salvation, become His children, and live truly “happily ever after” in a kingdom that will have no end!
All that is required to receive this formidable inheritance is that we believe! For the Word says clearly in Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” I don’t know about you, but the Word is clear enough for me to confess with my mouth and believe in my heart!
Many of us, however, are so busy with “life” that we totally forget our divine origin and allow the world to draw us into a blind frenzy. Harried activities rob us of the “real thing.” Harried activities deprive our Lord and Savior of the pleasure of watching us, His children, grow into his likeness. Harried activities also deprive us of all the gifts and rewards that He has reserved for all who obey Him by keeping Him first in our lives. In others words, we are allowing the enemy to rob us of our eternal inheritance. It is precisely for this purpose that the Father sent Jesus, literally, to buy heaven for us. He was sent to pay the debt we could not pay, to purchase heaven for us and an eternity in our Loving God’s presence.
This year, let us stop. Let us deliberately halt our super-busy lives to meditate on the real meaning of “Christmas” and rejoice. Christmas simply means Emmanuel, “God is with us!” Jesus physically lived among us over 2000 years ago and He is also present in we who have chosen to believe Him. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “…and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” To me this is the meaning of Christmas: Jesus loved me so much he was born in a humble manger, dwelt among us, died on the cross to pay for my debt in obedience to the Father, and rose again.
I sometimes imagine a conversation between God the Father and Jesus, “Son, the man we created in our image has fallen so low, only We can rescue him and prepare him to inherit this beautiful, perfect place.” I imagine Jesus replying, “It’s OK Daddy. Send me, I will do it.” Then I imagine the Father smiling, “Thanks Son. Upon your return I shall give you the throne, and a name which will be above all names, a name to whom all knees will bow and all tongues will confess: “Christ is Lord” to My glory.” To this beautiful revelation, I can only say: AMEN!
