Extracted from the Chronicle, Colorado,
Celebration of Christmas
Each year, on December 25, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus
Christ. But the Christmas season begins much before that with the
celebration of Advent whereby Christians emphasize the joy that
some would compare to the months before a child is born;
excitement, wonder, joy, expectation, even exhilaration at the life
that is in their midst right now, yet also a hope and longing, and
a carefulness to get things in order. Although there is much doubt
that Jesus Christ was actually born on December 25, that is the
chosen day to celebrate his birth which took place over 2,000 years
ago. The story begins when an angel appeared to a virgin, named
Mary, who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to
a man named Joseph. An angel came to Mary and told her that she
will become pregnant and bear a son and he shall be called Jesus,
the son of God.
At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people needed
to register their names in their home towns. Joseph and a very
pregnant Mary traveled the long distance to register in Josephs
hometown of Bethlehem. Looking for a place to sleep proved
difficult, for there were was no room at any of the inns, so Joseph
and Mary found a stable to rest and soon after Mary gave birth to
Jesus Christ.
She swaddled the baby and placed him in the manger where he
peacefully slept. That night, some shepherds were in the fields
nearby watching their sheep when an angel appeared and told them of
the news. The shepherds saw Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus and thanked
God for what they saw.
Meanwhile, three wise men from the east heard that Christ, the son
of God had been born and they wanted to see and worship him
themselves. The wise men gathered gifts of gold, frankincense and
myrrh and followed the brightest star in the sky until it stopped
above the place where the child was. All rejoiced.
For Christians, Christmas is about possibility. It is a possibility
that is easily symbolized by a helpless infant that has nothing of
its own by which to survive; but an infant that, because he is
Gods son, he will forever change the world and all humanity.
Christians believe that through Jesus, God has promised to forever
be with all people.
Christmas is also about hope. It is not just hope, as if it were
wishful thinking that things will get better when they cannot, it
is hope incarnated into flesh, a hope that can be held in a
mothers arms, a hope that expresses a reality that will live
beyond endings and death itself. It is the hope, the possibility
that springs from impossible and insignificant beginnings, infused
with the power of God that will blossom into a light to the
nations. It is this possibility that is celebrated at Christmas. It
is celebrated with a confidence born, not of ones own desire for
it to be so, but from the birth of a child over 2,000 years ago, a
child who was the Son of God!
