Last night as I looked up into the night sky at the full moon, I saw something unusual. The light shining from the moon was in the shape of a cross with the moon being where the beams of the cross joined. It struck me that the night before Christmas Eve when we remember our Lord’s birth; a bright white shining cross would be ablaze in the night sky. Too often at Christmas, we get so caught up in the preparations of celebrating God’s Son coming to earth as a baby that we forget the purpose of Christ’s birth. The Son of God came to earth to bring salvation for all who will receive Him.
He could have come to us in the fullness of His glory surrounded by a multitude of heavenly hosts. Instead, the Son of God was born of a Virgin in a humble stable. Shepherds were the first ones to hear of Jesus’ birth through the invitation of an angel. The message given to the shepherds was “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”God chose the town of David, the Shepherd King of Israel, for the birth of the Savior. King David’s hometown, known as Bethlehem, was given the honor of being the birthplace for the Redeemer of all peoples. David, who slew a lion to protect his sheep and later killed the enemy of his people, Goliath, with a slingshot was the earthly ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth.
It is fitting that the hometown of Israel’s Shepherd King would be the place chosen for the birth of the Lamb of God. For the baby, who was born in a stable hollowed out of a cave, came to this earth not as a King in fine robes, but as a lamb for slaughter. Some of the first sounds that Baby Jesus heard were the sounds of the lambs brought by the shepherds when they came to see the long awaited Messiah.
On that most holy night when God became man, the joy of heaven rang with song for the Savior given to all humanity. In fact, the songs of the angels were so joyous that heaven could not contain them. So the angels filled the night sky of Bethlehem and sang their songs of joy to the shepherds and their flocks.
The Gift above all Gifts was given that night. God’s Gift of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace came to all of us in the form of a vulnerable child, whose destiny was to die a most cruel death. On that night so long ago, the King of Glory slipped past the Prince of Darkness through the Virgin’s womb to be born as the Savior, the only One who could defeat our Enemy. The Serpent’s head would soon be crushed on a rough hewn cross just a few decades later.
The Savior wrapped in bands of cloth at His birth would one day be wrapped again in different bands of cloth and placed in another’s tomb hollowed out of stone. It was this cave like tomb from which the Son of God would overcome death and rise victorious from the grave. This is why the angels sang, because the Savior who would free humanity from our sins had begun His mission of Redemption on earth.
The Son of God had to come to us a child in order to live as one of us a life of purity. Only the death of a sinless human could redeem humanity from the bondage of sin. This is why the scriptures tell us that Jesus was tested in all things, but did not sin. Only Jesus who knew no sin could die for our freedom. He alone holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Years later as a grown man, Jesus would teach His followers who can enter into the Kingdom. In Mark chapter ten beginning with verse thirteen we read, “People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ 16And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.”
The King of Glory came to earth as a child to redeem us. So too are we called to come to Him in the spirit of a little child. It is with open hearts and trusting spirits that we are to come to Christ. For only those who are as humble as a trusting small child can enter into the joys of the Kingdom. According to St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we know we are living in the Kingdom of God when our lives bear the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The Kingdom of God came to us through Jesus. As God the Father’s ambassador, the fruit of the Spirit was evidenced in Jesus’ life on earth. This life began in a stable as the Lamb of God. Innocent, vulnerable and without blemish, the Lamb of God was born that we might be given eternal life.
The bond of personal relationship between God and humans that was broken by us through our sins was restored through the Gift of God’s Son as a Child. A child whose presence in this world would be earth shattering. Even time would be changed to mark the birth of this child. No one has ever lived or will ever live that could give to humanity what this child gave.
The birth of Christ is remembered because only through Jesus of Nazareth can we be given new and unending life filled with love, joy and peace. Jesus is our only hope for salvation. Without the birth of Christ, there would be no cross to set us free. Humanity would remain in bondage forever. The news of the humble manger is not complete without the foreshadowing of the cross.
So this Christmas Eve as we remember the birth of our dear Savior; let us not forget that God’s Gift to us came at a great price. It is a price that only God could pay. May we join with the shepherds and kneel in awe at the birth of the Lamb of God. May we rejoice with the angels for unto us a child is born!When we allow strife to come into our lives, the Light of Christ within us becomes covered up. This is why we do not always feel the Peace of Christ in our hearts. St. Paul points out to us that murmurings and arguing
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