2013 Christmas Message
Christmas is a wondrous time of the year. We all get caught up in the excitement and adventure of the season we call Christmas. It can mean so many different things, to us and to different folks.
But as followers of Christ we know deep with-in our hearts that Christmas is not about Santa Claus, or Winter Holidays or a Festive Season. We know that the Christmas Season is about the birth of Jesus Christ. Truly “Jesus is the Reason for the Season!” He is the true meaning of Christmas. He is what Christmas is all about. Isaiah 9: 6 declares “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.” Truly He is the real meaning and purpose of Christmas.
The real Meaning of Christmas is Jesus Christ. “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation!” (Romans 1:16). Jesus Christ came as Bethlehem’s Baby that first Christmas and that is the true meaning of Christmas.
On that First Christmas God was enacting out to the world a visual objective lesson. God was demonstrating the fact that He loved humanity. He was identifying with us. He was willing to become one of us. He was born to be Immanuel, God with us in all of life. He was demonstrating His love for humanity. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Saint Paul in Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” In the first letter of Saint John 4:9 we read: “In this the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.“
God loves us so much that He gave us the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul expresses it “Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15) The real meaning of Christmas is Love.
The season of Advent is over and the period of anticipation & expectation is complete. Now it is time that we celebrate with great joy, the real meaning of Christmas, commemorating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, which occurred about two millennium ago. Now is the time to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas: the awesome love of God that we experience everyday as Christ followers.
The Christmas event is one of the most important events in the history of humankind, an event when God takes the human form in the person of Christ Jesus and comes into the world to save humankind from sin and death. Today, Jesus wants to be reborn in our lives. Do we have a place for him in our hearts?
Today Christ is born, Today our Saviour has appeared, Today the righteous may rejoice, Today you should know that our Lord is coming to save us, Today Emmanuel is born for us! The Christmas Liturgies give us an urgent reminder that God is with us here and now and today.
Let us be open to receive and be touched by this Christmas message of incredible love which we experience in Jesus Christ and his Church.
