Take Them to Jesus - Part 2

The birth of Jesus is filled with handfuls of humble. From the virgin girl to the bed of straw, the appearance of deity on earth is underwhelming to be sure. And the amount of faith or superstition you have, or don't have, in such a story is irrelevant to the impact in its telling. The birth of a king occurs in history, not to proclaim His power, but remind us of His sacrifice.

Some are quick to dismiss the "magic" behind the story. How could a virgin give birth? What's with the star? And the wise men? Angels? We get so hung up in the characters that we lose sight of the focus of the story. Then we start to tear apart the prophecies of the Old Testament and accuse someone of making the words of Micah and Isaiah fit on one person and one place ever so conveniently. But again, we get off track and miss the point. Don't even get me started on Santa, and yule logs, and December 25th - the list is endless.

Even now, you may be nodding, thinking "preach on," or "Jesus is the reason for the season!" Yet again, we have missed it.

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I suggest the following. It may not sit well with your tradition, but hear me out for a minute.

We are the reason for Christmas.

Jesus - the Christ - came in humility, not in glory - in poverty, not in riches - in peace, not in war - for us. He sacrificed the wonders of His heavenly perfection, if only for a time, so that we might know Him. He looked down from His everlasting and chose just the right moment to join us in history, so that His plan for our redemption might work out for our benefit. He came to seek the unhealthy and the lost - is that not the very definition of who we are? 

He came to us, not because He needs to be glorified, but because we need to be saved. We are the reason He was born into history. It was His choice, and He chose us.

Let us celebrate that in our carols and in our family gatherings. Whether you go to mass on Christmas Eve or Santa and the elves leave presents on Christmas morning - remember always that Jesus Christ desired so much to know you that He sacrificed more than we can fathom to welcome you into His kingdom.

As we speak of Christmas conspiracy, speak of that.



Also check out Part 1