Well before the calendar flips to December, Christmas cheer begins
to bubble up in our northern town. A medical office drapes its trees
and shrubs in close-fitting strings of lights, each a different color,
illuminating a breathtaking nighttime landscape. Another business
decorates its building to look like an enormous, extravagantly wrapped
Christmas present. It’s difficult to turn anywhere without seeing
evidence of Christmas spirit—or at least seasonal marketing.
Some people love these lavish displays. Others take a more cynical view. But the crucial question isn’t how others observe Christmas. Rather, we each need to consider what the celebration means to us.
A little more than thirty years after His birth, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). They gave responses others had given: John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).
Many will celebrate Christmas without a thought about who the Baby really is. As we interact with them, we can help them consider these crucial questions: Is Christmas just a heartwarming story about a baby born in a stable? Or did our Creator visit His creation and become one of us?
Some people love these lavish displays. Others take a more cynical view. But the crucial question isn’t how others observe Christmas. Rather, we each need to consider what the celebration means to us.
A little more than thirty years after His birth, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). They gave responses others had given: John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: “Who do you say I am?” (v. 15). Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).
Many will celebrate Christmas without a thought about who the Baby really is. As we interact with them, we can help them consider these crucial questions: Is Christmas just a heartwarming story about a baby born in a stable? Or did our Creator visit His creation and become one of us?
Father in heaven, may our Christmas celebrations this year, whether lavish or small, honor the Messiah who came to redeem His creation.
INSIGHT
Who was Matthew, the writer of the gospel by the same name? Matthew (also known as Levi) was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. Prior to Jesus’s call, Matthew served as a despised tax collector (9:9). Tax collectors were particularly loathed because they exacted taxes from their own people, the Jews, to pay the Romans (the oppressive rulers of Israel). And they often collected far more than required. Matthew wrote his gospel primarily to the Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah (Savior), the eternal King. We see Matthew’s emphasis clearly in today’s passage. When Jesus asked His disciples about His identity, Peter declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:15–16).By Alyson Kieda
Thank you for sharing!!!! Christmas is about our Lord Jesus Christ and his birth, but sometimes the worldly things of Christmas can cloud the real reason we celebrate this holiday. The sights, the smells, the movies, the presents and the mentality of "WANT" can come in so strongly during this holiday season. During this season I want to try to use this opportunity to share with anyone who may not know why we celebrate Christmas. I pray we all remember the reason we celebrate this season, as well as still enjoying the fun of the seasons!
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas-time. So do my kids. They have the Christmas music ready to go within hours after Thanksgiving has passed (our house rule - hah). In the busy-ness of this season of giving, I also try to remember how Christ entered our world - quietly, without pomp or circumstance, in a humble cave-stable, greeted only by the animals who stood by, and the angels in the heavens. In thinking upon this, it helps me to re-center myself on the miracle of Jesus Christ humbling himself to become a Man, and the simple yet profound "yes" his Holy Mother uttered when the Angel visited her just a few months before. I pray I can also say "yes!" when called upon, with sincerity and faith!
ReplyDeleteChristmas can be a time of joy and celebration and also, for others, a time of sadness and loneliness. Keeping the Christ is Christmas is so important so that we do not lose its true meaning. I am thankful for this reminder and others we see on television or read in book at this time of year to help us see the bigger picture.
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