Merry Belated Christmas

 

"Now she shall be bringing forth a Son, and you shall be calling His name Jesus, for He shall be saving His people from their sins"

Matthews account 1: 21, Concordant New Testament 

Merry belated Christmas to one and all!  Yes, I know some will glance at the post date of this writing and discover that I actually wrote this on December the 24th.  This being our traditional Christmas eve, the night before Christmas day.  However, I have a Eastern orthodox co-worker who celebrates Christmas differently than we do.  For he and his family, January 7th is a special day of celebration.  This brought some confusion my way, so I decided to do some research.  It seems that the traditional reason for our December Christmas celebration has its roots in the pagan solstice festival of Sol Invictus, which was the sun god of the Roman empire.  How the birth of the Christ child came to be entangled with that of the Roman sun god is not the result of scripture, but of the traditions of men.  The more I searched, it would seem that one of the most likely times of the year for the birth of Jesus would have been in the month of September.  This bears some credence as it is based on the timeline of the birth of John the Baptist.  Of course, this in NO way takes away from the importance of the birth of Jesus.  His life, love and ministry still remain.  The fact that He gave Himself for us remains the same {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  The fact that we remain in Him today has not changed {Galatians 2:20}.  So, what we are left with is the mere fact that we celebrate the birth of the Christ child a bit later than it actually may have been.  I'm ok with that.  I continue to glorify the Lord for His birth.  It is Christ Jesus who I am one with today.  

And it occurred, as Elizabeth hears the salutation of Mary, the babe jumps in her womb, and Elizabeth is filled with the holy spirit, and she shouts with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord may be coming to me?" 

Lukes account 1: 41-43, Concordant New Testament 

Now, in my limited research, I found no mention of Santa Claus in the scriptures.  So, I am assuming that, just like our December Christmas season, that it is something devised solely by men.  Of course, I do not celebrate Christmas for the gifts, sales or dog and pony show mainstream church festivals.  It is man who finds importance in these things.  I understand that children who are yet to comprehend the importance of the birth of our Lord and Savior may find joy in the presence of gifts and Santa, but even that will soon pass.  I believe that as we get older, the true meaning of the season speaks more and more to our hearts.  This is the spirit of Christ Jesus within us gently reminding us that the Father is the reason for the season.  For it is the Father who dispatched His Son for the purpose of reconciling His children to Him {Johns account 17:21}.  The closest thing I see to men bearing gifts during the season of the birth of Jesus that is that of the men from the East journeying to present gifts to the Christ child {Matthews account 2:11}.  No Christmas trees, no stockings hung by the chimney, just men presenting gifts in honor of the Christ child.  I've often asked myself, what gift could I possibly give to Jesus to thank Him for what He has done in me?  Obviously, He has no need for money or trinkets.  So it is that I glorify the Father in me for loving me enough to send His Son to die for me.  The true reason for the season.  

~Scott~