Merry Christmas
Forty-two years ago, in his Christmas Address, Pope Paul VI said, “We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice."
I couldn’t agree more.
There are people who will use today as an excuse to gripe. They will say that today’s celebrations are descended from ancient Roman festivals that have nothing to do with the birth of the Lord. They are correct. Others will say that there is nothing in the Bible that directs us to celebrate the date of the arrival of the world’s savior. They too, are correct.
Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it.
For sure, there is no way Jesus could have been born in December. The shepherds would not be out in the middle of winter “keeping watch o’er their flocks by night.” Lambs are born in the spring, so most likely; Christ was born then or in early summer. Personally, I mark the 29th of June as His birthday.
However, it just doesn’t matter when it happened; what matters is that it happened.
As Pope Paul said, this was it. The birth of Jesus changed the fundamental relationship between man and God.
Whereas the God of the Old Testament can easily be seen as vengeful—wrathful, if you will, Jesus came to establish once and for all what was essentially true from the beginning: God is our Father—a God of love.
And if we, who are essentially evil, know how to be good, loving parents, how much better a parent must our Father be?
Now, if God is my Father, and God is your Father, we are brothers and sisters, are we not? And if we are brethren, then what harm can we do each other?
What a gift!
We just have to accept it.
I only have one wish for Christmas.
That today, and everyday, people would forget the details. Instead, focus on the message.
That’s what Christmas is all about.