This is the first blog in what I hope will be an ongoing series of blogs examining the intersection between the Word of God and daily life. On this day commemorating the Epiphany — the day the Christ child was revealed to the magi (wise men), I thought it might be fitting to share a column written recently on the relevance of Christmas. I hope you enjoy it.
Imagine being on your last leg in life. Nothing is going right: your family life is a mess, you’re on the verge of getting fired from your job; maybe the IRS is threatening your finances; and as my mother used to say: “you can’t kill nothing and won’t nothing die.”
Few of us want to imagine being so bad off as this, but this is exactly where humankind was that first Christmas morning. Long before the reindeer and mistletoe, Black Friday and flashing lights, humankind was on its last leg as the first Christmas approached.
As a matter of history, God had previously selected the Hebrews to be an example of how He wanted to interact with the people He had created, and religiously they had missed the boat. (Think scribes and Pharisees to imagine just what they had become.) Others at the time (Gentiles) were worshipping false gods or making war or both.
Four hundred years had passed since there was a prophet from God (Malachi) who brought a message of hope for the people. And Malachi’s message was that people needed to reform how they worshipped (interacted with God) because a day of judgment was coming. (Think of Jesus turning over the tables of the moneychangers outside the Temple to imagine how bad off their worship had become).
The nation of Israel had gone from being a regional superpower under King David, to falling into captivity in Babylon and the complete destruction of 10 of the original 12 tribes who had come out of slavery in Egypt. Now, it was Rome who had annexed what we now call the Holy Land, and the people of God had once again lost their right to self-determination.
Because of their wanton disobedience, all humankind was headed to hell in the proverbial hand basket. But there was still one sliver of hope.
God had long promised to send a deliverer – a Messiah, one anointed to rescue humankind from its self-inflicted dilemma. In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word Messiah is translated Christ and it means one who has been anointed, that is chosen and ordained to do a particular work. Contrary to the common vernacular, Christ is not Jesus’ last name; Christ describes His anointed authority. His given name – Yeshua, which is Hebrew for Jesus, means one sent to rescue or to save.
So, how did we get from this Biblical origin story to the place we are today? I’m glad you asked. Today we drag evergreen trees into our houses and place gifts underneath them that we’ve purchased from Amazon and Target and Best Buy and then attribute these gifts to the largesse of a morbidly obese white man, who yearly pilots a sleigh around the globe rewarding our kids for good behavior.
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but what does any of that have to do with the coming of the Messiah?
In order to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas, we have to put ourselves in the place where God’s people were on that first Christmas Day. As a society, we’re not far off from where they were then. Through their own lifestyle choices, they found themselves outside the will of God, who had created them to be in relationship with Him. God had instructed them to show their love for Him by showing love to one another – caring for the poor and for widows and orphans, and now these people were doing just the opposite. Sound familiar?
Because they were so far outside the will of God, the consequences of their disobedience manifested in their being an oppressed people. They could do nothing without the consent of their Roman overlords. Even their worship was subject to Roman approval.
Yet, there was still the matter of God’s promise: the Messiah – the one who would come to save the world from wallowing in sin.
God’s promise was that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem – the place where lambs were prepared for sacrifice. He would be born of a virgin so as not to inherit a sinful nature like the rest of us, and He would bring deliverance – once and for all – to all those who believed on Him.
When the time had come, even the heavens conspired together to announce His birth. A star lit up the sky, leading ancient wisemen to the place where the Holy Child was born. And there, in a trough used to feed animals – the most humble of birth conditions — lay this new-born king who had been sent to bring everlasting life to the world.
That little, newborn baby, lying there under the adoration of Joseph and Mary, was the sacrifice that would be enough to pay for the sins of the whole world. Although His exploits wouldn’t take place for years to come, all who were present knew that God had been true to His promise.
Our Savior lives. Nothing bought from Amazon or Best Buy can hold a candle to that.
6 responses to “A Reason for All Seasons”
Thanks Pastor Tibbs for explaining in your first Blog the true meaning of Christmas. This special sacred time,the birth of Jesus, has become so commercialized that it’s about gifts, decorations, lights, etc. You reminded us that Jesus was sent to save us (the Believers) from our sins. Your first Blog was informative and I enjoyed it. What’s next?
Thank you Aunt Edna. I can always count on you to give me honest feedback. Blessings to you and the family.
Good Evening Pastor Tibbs, and thank you so much for creating this blog and reminding us of the true meaning of Jesus birth. He came to give us Life. We as Believers definitely need to expand on the true meaning of His birth when speaking about Christmas to others. This is great!
Keep it up…We need this. Thank you
Thanks for the feedback, Phyllis. You’re a pillar of the church!
Good Evening Pastor,
Super excited about your blog. One thing I’ve learned is that you will create a way to spread God’s word. This is a great platform for you. I would love to see you start a YouTube channel and maybe a few LIVE or Zoom sessions. My husband has and it’s been a great way to keep his zeal for the Lord.
I really appreciate this first entry. It allows the believer to confirm the purpose for the season. I do hope that none of us lost sight of that or Him…even though we may have put up a tree or passed a gift. I absolutely love when CHRISTmas falls on a Sunday. It seems that much more precious. It’s like a birthday party at the church.
During the holidays, I hear people discuss whether He was born during the winter or the spring. Was it snow on the ground or was it warm. Was there a star or was it a light? For me, it doesn’t matter when He was born or how. I’m just glad that He did. The way I feel on Resurrection Sunday is the way I feel about his birth. Both have value. Both are significant. And, both were necessary.
Funny how the world may say they don’t believe and choose not to acknowledge him, yet the world stops on His big day. Surely it isn’t for Santa and his reindeer. Stores clothes, less people driving, and there is ALWAYS an unexplainable peace. That’s all because of HIM.
Erica, my armor bearer. Thoughtful observations on your part. You’re always so encouraging!