The celebration of the Christ Mass, the event we now know as “Christmas”, goes back to the First Council of the Church in Nicaea, Turkey in the year 325. It was established as a special observance to celebrate the birth of the most profound, influential, and controversial person in human history: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
While some elements of what we know as Nativity scenes aren’t biblically accurate, it is certainly the time to remember that Christmas isn’t about boxes & bows, trees and lights, elves and reindeer. It’s about the long-prophesied birth of the Messiah – the Christ, the final blood sacrifice to atone for our sin – for all people, for all time. That forgiveness and redemption is so much more than a “get out of hell” card… it opens the door to an abundant life of joy and a one-on-one relationship with our Creator. Not religion… relationship.
It’s equally important to remember that Jesus isn’t a little baby anymore, lying in a livestock feeding trough. Nor is Jesus a bloodied, broken man, perpetually hanging by spikes on a cross.
Jesus WAS those things at one point: but now Jesus reigns over all heaven and earth as the risen, conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God, in infinite compassion for His fallen creation, made a way for us to restore a one-on-one relationship with our Creator. Not religion… relationship.
Jesus IS that way. By understanding that Jesus took our place; suffered our punishment for our sins; and paid our price, we can repent of our sinful past and accept that gift of redemption with humility and a joy that never ends. It’s a clean spiritual slate that frees us from the weight of our past!
How is it that on January 1st each year, the number of our year goes up by one? It’s an incremental count UP from that event… years weren’t even counted long term until then! So profound and earth-changing was the arrival of Jesus that the years since are counted in “AD” – or Anno Domini, Latin for “The Year of our Lord”.
Jesus is the greatest gift of all, from our Creator to us. It’s up to each of us – you and me – to either accept or reject Him. I hope you’ll read the New Testament books of Luke and Acts this Christmas season and remember that Jesus is the reason for it all!
I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed, prosperous 2025!