First and Second Christmas

Many people today and throughout history have refused to believe the divine intervention in the life of Jesus.  But no one can deny that Jesus was a real person.  That is an undisputed fact.  Even the most skeptical person must admit that at the very least, Jesus was a wise teacher whose radical teachings of peace and love transformed the world.  For this reason alone, Jesus’ birthday ought to be celebrated by the entire world. 

I believe the facts of the historical figure of Jesus, but I also believe in what He said.  I believe in His promises and in the spiritual aspect of His message.  I believe that Jesus is God made man, and that He came from Heaven to bring salvation to a lost world.  I celebrate His birthday because Jesus is the gift of life from heaven to mankind.

According to the Bible’s account, the birth of Jesus was filled with supernatural events.  Angels appeared to Elizabeth and Zechariah, to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds in the field…  The sky opened and the shepherds were able to see and hear the hosts of heaven singing.  A star appeared in the sky and guided the Magi.  Herod the king ordered the death of the babies.  Angels warned the Magi to leave through another route, and the angel warned Mary and Joseph to take the baby to Egypt.  After some time, again an angel advised Joseph and Mary that it was safe to return to Israel.  Jesus’ birth fulfilled several ancient prophecies.

In Christmas we celebrate when Jesus the Messiah was born in Bethlehem; but I am already celebrating the Messiah’s second coming; when He will appear again in power and splendor to once and for all end the madness of this world.

Santa vs. Jesus

Often we hear of Christmas as a day for the children, because we have adopted the tradition of bringing presents to the kids on this day. Santa Claus the big jolly guy dressed in red bringing presents on Christmas eve to the children of the world, has taken the center stage of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I do not advocate for the elimination of Santa Claus, after all it is a very nice tradition… who as a child did not love to receive gifts from Santa? The Christian world has adopted Santa Claus as part of the Christmas celebration. As a Christian, I am OK with it as long as Santa is just that, part of the celebration and does not take the first place and becomes the celebration itself. In Christmas we rejoice for the birth of the Savior of the World. We sing with the angels Glory to God in the highest! We are thankful for God’s visitation to earth. God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. We need to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas. Navidad=nacimiento / Christmas= mass for Christ. Chirstmas is the day God came to earth in His Son Jesus. It is the gift of hope, light and life to all humanity. God’s gift is free. It is given to us by His grace, just because He loved us. I give presents to my wife, children, and friends, for the relation we have.  I don’t usually give to the unknown person, but God gave Jesus to us freely, that we may be saved by believing in Him. God gave me something to believe, hope to hold on to, new meaning to my life. If I give you 100.00 and you accept it, you are 100.00 richer. When we receive the gift of Jesus, we have peace, forgiveness of sin, the Holy Spirit in us, the love of God, eternal life and we are adopted in God’s family as children of God. That is Christmas. Let Jesus be born in your heart.

Luke 2:8-20 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

John 3:16 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.

Matthew 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.