Christmas in Truth

We tend to celebrate Christmas as a day to give presents to our loved ones. In this deteriorating economy, it might be wise to hold back on the insane spending sprees of gifts that seem to mark an occasion to give to one another gifts that are costly. We, as a society, often forget the true meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many religious groups gather and hold special sermons and sing of praise to the Lord. Do they truly mean what they say? Are they going through the motions to make themselves feel better? I wonder if this is the case. Christ’s birthday, while we are not really sure of the exact day, should be celebrated for him and not for gift giving that often makes no sense. We are so wrapped up in giving to others, which is a meaningful experience to some and not so meaningful to others, that we forget the true experience of the holiday.

We all know the story of Christ’s birth in a manger and the wise men that followed the star. We all know the story of Joseph and Mary and their quest to find safe haven for their forthcoming child. But do we really appreciate what they went through to have this birth come forth for us? When Mary was given the child by the Holy Spirit, how do you think Joseph felt? His first response was to hide her away, lest he be shamed. An angel came to him and told him this child was from God. Can you imagine the faith it took to for him to believe?

When Herod heard of this, he gathered all his cohorts and demanded to know where this child would be born. They told him, according to the prophets that the place would be Bethlehem. Herod sent the wise men that followed the star to find the birth place of Jesus and bring the baby to him. When they arrived, they fell down and worshiped him. They were warned by God in a dream not to return the child to Herod. They told Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt, for they knew Herod would destroy the child. When Herod found out the wise men did not follow his orders, he went to Bethlehem and killed all the children two years and younger. Herod finally died and an angel told Joseph that all was safe and that he should go to Israel. But Joseph was afraid and instead went to Nazareth.

It is hard for us to imagine the terror and the hardships that Joseph and Mary and the young Jesus went through in those days. Would you have had the faith to believe in the angels? Would you have gone through all that this family did to preserve this child, just for the reason of faith? I wonder. We should celebrate what it took for this miracle to happen, instead of squandering our hard earned money on ridiculous gifts that usually are not thought of as a way of honoring the birth of Jesus.

I am not telling you that Christmas trees and lights and gift giving is wrong. I am just asking you to think about what the day of Jesus’ birth really means to us. It is fine to gather together as families and friends and have special meals and enjoy the day, but remember what this day truly means to us.