“The Message of Christmas”
I don’t remember when I first learned about Christmas, do you? My family was already talking about Christmas before I was born, so I don’t think I’ve ever NOT KNOWN about Christmas. What about you? Do you remember your first Christmas?
Believe it or not, there was a time in history when people didn’t know about Christmas. Christmas, as we know and recognize it, wasn’t added to the official Roman calendar until 354AD, after church leaders convened a meeting and approved it. Though Rome and some other countries had been celebrating Christmas for 20-30 years under Emperor Constantine’s authority, it wasn’t until then that the Western Church finally agreed to recognize Christmas as its own special day. The Eastern Church, however, celebrates Christmas on January 6.
Yes, it took a while before everybody got the message. Without the internet, printing press, or even reliable means of transportation, it took a long time for people to transmit the message of Christmas. Can you imagine what it must have been like to learn about Christmas for the first time? Lots of adults learned of Christmas from another person. Maybe they heard it from a child. Perhaps they heard the message of Christmas from a missionary or clergyperson.
Google says that the Message of Christmas is about Celebration, Reflection, Gratitude, Unconditional Love, Salvation, and Hope. Assuming that’s correct, we can definitely assume that the Message of Christmas became much bigger than the original church leaders ever thought. People didn’t yet know about Santa, Rudolph, or Charlie Brown, nor did the church leaders who finally approved it.
As Christians, we often talk (among each other) about the Message of Easter. We are correct in doing that because Easter points us directly towards Eternal Life with our LORD. Christmas, too, is a big deal, because it represents the beginning of something much bigger that we can see, smell, hear, or purchase.
Christmas represents what God chose to do for us. Our LORD chose to become completely vulnerable to whatever the world would (and could) do. That couldn’t have been an easy choice for God. God saw the suffering of the world, and rather than waving His hands to fix it, He came down and lived right among us. We needed more than just an instant fix. We needed someone to show us what to do over the course of a lifetime. We needed a real-life example to guide us.
It’s Christmas Eve. Experience Christmas today or tonight. Read the story. Better yet, read it with someone or experience it at any of the many local churches around you. Everyone needs to experience the Message of Christmas!
“Joseph went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.” (Luke 1:5-6, NRSV)
I hope to see you soon, in person or online, at the Chapel!
God Bless, Brock.
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