December 25, 2018
Scriptures:
Matthew 2:1-2, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:9-11, After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Merry Christmas to all & to all, Merry Christmas!! I hope you’re having a great holiday week filled with love and laughter from family and friends. If not, I pray that the peace of God will fill your heart and next year will be different. I was at a beautiful Christmas Eve service last night and the pastor did a great job delving into the scriptures above. I would like to share brief notes and end this blog post with my thoughts on this holiday season.
"Brief" Sermon Summary
The Pastor stated, it’s amazing how tradition slowly creeps into our culture and we automatically assume there were “three” wise men, when in fact, the Bible doesn’t clearly define the exact amount of wise men. The reality is, we ascribe the number of men to the number of gifts given to Jesus when they arrived at Bethlehem. There could’ve been 10, 45, or even 100 wise men. These men were Persian priest astronomers that carefully examined the stars and studied patterns in the sky. One day, a star illuminated profusely, and it was impossible to ignore. Luke 2:8-10 tells us that the Magi were visited by an Angel, so it’s safe to say they had a divine intervention and learned that following the star would lead to the Savior of the world! The Magi followed the star for days, weeks, and probably months. They were focused on meeting the light of the world. They were determined to follow this light and their goal was to meet, greet, gift, and worship this person they’ve probably never heard about until the Angel visitation.
My thoughts
Although, this holiday season can be overly commercialized by the heavy shopping, gift giving, and holiday parties, we should never forget the reason for the holiday. As a seminarian, through research and study, I’ve come to the realization that December 25th is more than likely not the day Jesus was born. This stirs up the Christian community at times because some feel Christmas isn’t a “real” holiday. I would like to disagree. I think we get consumed in minute details and we overlook the big picture. The big picture is, Jesus was born into this world and he is the savior of the world. This birth establishes that Jesus was fully human AND divine in nature and that’s a cause for celebration! I now see this holiday season more of an observance of Christ’s birth because as a Christian, I celebrate Jesus daily. However, it’s also nice to set a sacred day aside to yield reverence to the birth of the savior of the world, the King of all kings, and the Lord of lords. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating and being a part of festivities/traditions if it preserves the integrity in the true meaning of Christmas.
Therefore, go celebrate Christ’s birth with family and friends. Always remember that Jesus’ birth is worth celebrating because he came so that we can have a devout relationship with God. He also came to this earth to give everlasting life to all who believe and follow him.
Be safe and have a happy holiday season!!
Until next time,
***Peace and Blessings, XOXO***