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Thursday, December 26, 2013

The True Meaning of Christmas


When we celebrate Christmas we think of the exchanging of gifts which many times entails the mad rush of people in stores to purchase gifts for those they care about. In addition we think of Christmas time as being a season of joy, of peace, and of love; when Christmas Day arrives children arise early to rush to the Christmas tree, bedecked with beautiful ornaments and lit with scores of lights intertwined among the branches, in order to open the packages from their parents, relatives and Santa Claus with expressions of glee that can only be evoked by children.   Then, in a Christian family, the parents and children may attend religious services to  celebrate the birth of a baby named Jesus in a manger 2000 years ago.   In a non-Christian family, just as in the Christian family, a Christmas party involving the celebration of friends and family with the exchanging of gifts is of great importance.

Many times, after Christmas has passed, there is a mix of feelings ranging from great satisfaction in having a successful Christmas celebration to a feeling that all the effort put into having a great celebration has been tiring and now it’s time to get on with other things that are of everyday concern and importance. In other words to some people Christmas is simply a time for celebration and not much thought of a deep nature is given the experience.  For some, Christmas  Is a time of sadness and pain because of dark thoughts of spiritual loss that cannot be compensated for by some great party of celebrants full of laughter while having a jolly time. It is said that not just a few commit suicide during this time because of the sadness in their hearts and minds.

Having a perspective on the true meaning and importance of Christmas can be a help in making the experience of celebrating Christmas more beneficial to the hearts and minds of those wanting a good experience of Christmas.   In the New Testament of the Bible the gospel of St. John the apostle, who walked with Jesus Christ during his public revelation to the Jews, wrote one of the four Gospels which are testaments of four writers who experienced Jesus Christ’s mission on earth. John’s gospel is a masterpiece of prose explaining events with much greater depth of thought and feeling than the other writers.

He begins in his prologue:
     In the beginning was the Word,
     And the Word was with God,
     And the Word was God,

(John uses Word to mean the Son of God and this verse is part of Christ’s revelation to his apostles, or followers, that He, Jesus Christ, is the second person of a three person God, but with only one Nature, meaning that He, Jesus, the Son of God the Father, is God just as His Father is God.  But their person hoods allow them to play different roles − just think of only one God being made up of three personalities, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; but only one God)

He continues:
     He was in the beginning with God,
(John means that the Son of God coexisted with the Father “for all eternity” which is the meaning of “in the beginning”)

     All things came to be through him,
     And without him nothing came to be.
(John reveals that the Son of God is the person of God responsible for all Creation)

Next he writes:
     What came to be through him was life,
     And this life was the light of the human race;    (“light” here means again the “Son of God”)
     The light shines in the darkness,
     And the darkness has not overcome it.

     A man named John (the Baptist) was sent from God.
     He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
     So that all might believe through him.

     He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
     The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

(At this point the writer reveals that the Son of God is coming into the world.)

      And the Word became flesh
      And made his dwelling among us,

(Here the writer calls attention to the Son of God being born − the First Christmas in Bethlehem.  The law, that is, the Commandments were given to human beings through Moses but Grace and Truth come to us through Jesus Christ.  John also reveals that Jesus Christ, the Son of God will empower with his grace, all those who accept Christ, to become children of God, that is, in a spiritual sense they will lead their lives in the love of God who in turn will bring them to Himself in paradise.)

Thus the birth of Christ in the first Christmas (and all Christmases thereafter) is the watershed between ancient times where only the law might be present and the birth of Christ where all manner of Grace, with the revelations and sacrifices of Christ, become our birthright and will ensure our successful passage through this life to eternal life with God.

Preparation for Christmas by thinking deeply on the great gift of God, God’s son, to us in the humanity of Jesus Christ allows us, no matter what our condition might be, to benefit from so great a gift as God giving himself to us, so great a love does God have for mankind.

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