The real meaning of Christmas

 This year I've felt a little bit like Charlie Brown, I have wondered, what is the meaning of Christmas?

 As I went through the fall and noticed Christmas decor on the store shelves before Halloween, as I noted that stores were open on Thanksgiving now in order to get great Christmas deals I wondered...what is Christmas all about? Being a Christian, I KNOW what Christmas is all about the  birth of Jesus who is our Messiah and Saviour, I know that, but where is he? I see lights, presents and carolers. I put on concerts, bake cookies, shop for gifts etc., but where is Jesus? Is he in the Christmas lists of presents we ask our families for? Is he in the line at the mall to see Santa? Is he at Church or maybe only at church? Is he is the adopt-a-family or at the soup kitchen? I began to think about all of the things that make up Christmas and began to wonder how they add up to Jesus. Most years all of the wonder of the Christmas season points me to Jesus but this year it has distracted me. I have been focusing on the presents I wish I could give to people or wishing my current life place felt more secure. I have been dreading the surgery that looms for my daughter when the Christmas season is over and wishing with all of my heart I could see all of my loved ones to celebrate. As I have been wading through the emotional mess of this year I was reminded by God that these things I am wrestling with are exactly why I celebrate Christmas. God did not come only to stay a baby, he came to grow into a man, to minister to the broken and eventually die for the sins of the world. He came to save and redeem me. He came to be Lord over all. He gave so that I might give. He died so that I might live. He wants to be Lord over everything, my sadness, my joy, my brokenness, my celebrations, everything. He wants to be there in the beauty of the music my students make. He wants to be there in the kindness we share with one another. He want to be in our hearts as we choose gifts to give to those around us how much we love them. He wants us to have joy and wonder, he wants to be Our King of Kings, Immanuel the prince of peace.

This Sunday, the pastor of Cape Bible Chapel presented a message about Christmas and being in the holiday spirit. He reminded the congregation that the birth of Jesus is miraculous. Not only is this unfathomable that a virgin could conceive and bear a child, a child that would be the son of God but that that son would actually be God. The whole thing is mind blowing. The God of the Universe sets aside his glory to grow inside a young girls womb for 9 months. The creator and sustain of life is now a helpless baby. The God of the universe has to rely on people to care for his needs, let that sink in a minute. As I pondered these truths I was transported back in time to past Christmas'. As a young girl I understood the mysterious truth of the birth of Christ. I imagined what it must have been like for Mary to be told that she was with child and that that child was God's own son. What Joseph must have felt when his intended bride that he had not yet slept with was found to be with child. How he must have felt relieved but also afraid when the angel told him that the child inside of Mary's womb  was God. I imagine that might be a bit intimidating to a young man. I imagined what obstacles two young people in their situation must have faced. I used to listen to carols like Angels We Have Heard on High and imagine what the shepherds must have been thinking when they saw the angel announce the birth of Christ. What would it have been like to visit the Savior of the world as an infant and play a drum like the Carol of the little drummer boy? I do not think that carol has any true historical reference but the thought of having nothing to bring the newborn king but yourself makes me smile.

Jesus came to be the Messiah but he came as a baby. He came in human flesh to walk as we walk, to live as we live. He came to be fully God and fully man. Eventually the baby born in a manger would die for you and for I. He would pay the penalty for sin, not so that we can be better people, or do good deeds, or got to church on holidays or feel good about ourselves. He came and died for our sin that we might be saved from death and live in everlasting glory. He came to transform our lives and make us into His image more and more each day. He came to dwell in us with His Holy Spirit so that we might honor and bless him with our lives. He came to radically transform our lives and change history. Mysterious and wonderful. That is much more wondrous than a strand of LED lights, a fat man with lots of presents or even reindeer that have learned to fly. This holiday season I hope you will think in childlike wonder about the baby born in Bethlehem a little over 2,000 years ago. I hope you will allow yourself to imagine the circumstances of his birth, his childhood, adolescence, ministry and finally his death and resurrection. I hope you will lose yourself in the wonder of the true meaning of Christmas and meet that tiny baby boy who changed the world and wants to change your life.