What exactly does Christmas mean?
Seven hundred years before Christ, there lived a prophet called Isaiah. In the Old Testament book Isaiah Chapter 9:6 there is prophesy about Jesus Christ. It reads...“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called ‘Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.’”
In New Testament, Luke Chapter 1 verses 26 to 38 we read, “God sent the
angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly
favored! The Lord is with you.” When Mary was afraid, the angel said, “Do
not be afraid, Mary you have found favor with God. You will be with child
and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be
great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him
the throne of David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his
kingdom will never end. “How this will be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I
am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born
will be called the Son of God.”
Before Joseph and Mary came together, Mary was found with child through
Holy Spirit. Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose
her to public disgrace, he had in mind to put her away quietly. But after
he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and
said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as
your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins.” (cf. Mt.1:18-24).
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave
birth to a son. Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. He grew up in a
poor family, preached the Kingdom of God, Way to obtain salvation, died for
our sake upon the cross of Calvary, was buried and rose upon the third day.
Later, he ascended in to heaven. Do we indeed remind ourselves of the birth
of Jesus Christ, or celebrate just for the sake of enjoyment? Let us not
confound “Christ” when we celebrate Christmas. Let not gift presenting
Santa Claus take the place of eternal-life-giver, Jesus Christ, otherwise,
Christmas becomes a fairy tale, rather than rendering a pure and excellent
reality in the spiritual realm.
Let us not neglect the Church. Let us not neglect the needy. Let our
abundant blessings be showered on as many poor as possible. Let us prepare
our souls for Christmas. Truly, many of us spend a great deal of time,
energy and money ignoring the preparation of our souls to revere Christ.
Let us concede greater place for Christ in our hearts rather than the day,
Christmas.
Jesus Saves you
