The Meaning of Christmas

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso

"...Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Matthew 2:2

 

Do you really know the day on which our Lord was born?  Most of us think its December 25.   But the early bible writers never wrote nor did not think it important to record.  Do we really know the meaning of Christmas?

We do not know why the church chose to celebrate December 25 when they did.  But they chose better than they knew, when they picked the turning of the seasons to celebrate the turning of the ages.

Winter is the season of cold despair. It is the time when darkness creeps over the earth, when hunger huddles around a dying fire, when sorrows rise and spirits fall.  It is less real today than long ago; today we can turn on a light at the flicking a switch, today we can transport  food from the warm summer on the other side of Earth.  Today, depression is more prevalent in the winter, and accidents much more frequent. Winter is the time when all the world seems harsh and cold.

It was at just such a time that our Lord and Savior entered to this world. The land in which he was born lay under the iron hand of an empire. A vicious tyrant sat on the throne in Jerusalem, and beyond Herod was the terrible strength of Caesar, then master of the world. The priests of that time, were not very compassionate nor caring. 

A winter of despair and dark clouds lay over the world.  But amid all that winter gloom, the Sun of righteousness rose up in the fullness of time to reveal Himself, and the world was changed forever.

For God became a man.  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us"...John 1:14  "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Hebrews 2:9

That is a stunning thing, when you consider the meaning of this verse. He was born to die!  The Omnipotent Most High God who has no beginning and no end should die, the Monarch subjecting himself to his own subjects, the All-Powerful making Himself powerless, the Creator of all things, consenting to be bound by the same laws He Himself had made. God would not require of His people anything that He did not also require of Himself.  He faced the same tests, hunger, challenges and dangers that they did, with no strength or support that we did not have.  He was subject to death, just as we are.

And in doing this, He showed us who He was, and what moved him to do this. Not power; he had renounced it. Not strength; he had not enough to summon and move mountains.  He came, so that He might love us, and save us. 

This is the thing we celebrate this season.  "He is the reason for the season".  When all the world is cold and love seems so far away.  We want to celebrate the power of the first words God recorded when He said: “Let there be light!” 

We have seen that light ourselves: the first light of Creation still shining between the stars.  Jesus said, "... I am the light of the world"  John 9:5 

We celebrate the Resurrection, when God showed his triumphant over death. We will celebrate the assurance that the One who left us will return to us (John 14), and His second coming will perfect and make all things new.

We might do all this , but without his birth, we might not.  For if God had not come to us, we could never have come to Him.  And would we even have want to, if we knew nothing about the Creator and Ruler of all things?

When we hear the birth-cry of the Universe, when we look upon the empty tomb, when we shall see the heavens opened and the Son of God descending — the faithful will all say,  “ ... Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for” Isaiah 25:9

Because He became one of us, we can know Him.  And because we know Him, we can love Him.

And because we can love Him, is why we celebrate this season.  God bless everyone and have a Merry Xmas.

Ia manuia,

failauga p. anoa'i

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