Kedo Peseyie
Christmas brings to our mind many images. We think of Christmas carols, and the streets, homes and churches lined with Christmas decorations. We see Christmas trees, decked out with beautiful lights and glittering ornaments. We listen to special musicals by Christmas choirs. We think of giving gifts and receiving gifts. We think of family gathering and doing nice things.
But not everyone looks at Christmas the same way. For some, Christmas is a terrible time. In fact, for many, Christmas can be one of the most depressing times of the year. Some who cannot spend Christmas with family or friends may not look forward to Christmas at all. Others, because of financial considerations, cannot participate in the giving of gifts or buying things for their children.
There are many possible ways one can react to Christmas. The birth of Christ is the most significant event, apart from His resurrection, in history. It is the incarnation of God, a historical event. The birth of Christ means that “The Son of God became the son of man, so that the sons of men can become the sons of God.”
What is your reaction to Christmas? In the following paragraphs, we will see how three groups of people reacted to the message of Christmas; Herod the King, the religious leaders and the wise men.
You may be troubled at Christmas. King Herod was. When the wise men came and told him about the star of the new King of the Jews, Herod was deeply troubled. Herod considered himself to be the king of the Jews. So to hear the statement of the wise men, that another King of the Jews had been born, posed a very real threat to his control and rule.
Not only was Herod troubled, but “all of Jerusalem with him.” How would this affect the common man? What would this mean to their way of life? Most of us are very reluctant to change our situation in life, especially those of us who are the more fortunate citizens of this unfair world. There is a certain sense in which we become comfortable with our circumstances as they are, and there is a very real fear of change in all of us. I’m sure that all Jerusalem was troubled because they simply didn’t understand the message of Christmas. Herod, as evil as he was, at least was a predictable evil. But what would this new King of the Jews be like?
Herod was a very proud man. He had a tremendous personal drive. But now his kingdom was threatened. And his fear led eventually to the murder of infants. This is the result of fear based on pride. Many of our leaders, over-ground and underground, some hiding behind guns, some hiding behind money and position, are troubled in the same way today.
While our situation today may be different than Herod’s, the same forces of pride and fear still motivate people today. Because of pride and fear, many today are also troubled at Christmas.
Just as Christ was a potential rival to Herod’s throne, so Christ is also a potential rival to the throne of our selfish nature, especially in this modern society where we have placed such a great emphasis on individuality and individualism. We have a situation where man has exalted man, and in a self-centered society, man becomes preeminent while God is quietly pushed out of the picture. The baby in Bethlehem might look harmless enough, lying in the manger, but He is not content to stay there.
Herod was troubled because He did not wish to bow down to any other King. If Jesus is truly the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we must bow before Him. If he is, we must submit to Him and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives. And to some that can be a very troubling thought, even in this so called “Christian state”. In our self-centered, humanistic society, sadly, many do not respond with joy to the true meaning of the Christmas story.
Are you troubled at the thought of Christmas? I mean the true implications of it. A story about a baby in a manger is not a very threatening thing. But the implications of that story are awesome. Because the baby in the manger is the Lord of Glory, God the Son. This baby will soon grow up to be a man. He will grow up to be a man and say that he is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He will say that all authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth, and He will call us to total allegiance to Him. Some say he was only a prophet. Some others say he was only a great moral teacher and a humble one. But CS Lewis said, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher.” He would be a lunatic, the devil of hell himself, or he could be telling the truth. We must make the choice. Either he is who he says he is—the Son of God, or he is a lunatic or something worse.
Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This answer Peter gave stands at the centre of Christian theology.
Jesus replied, “You are Peter (meaning Rock in Greek), and upon this rock I will build my church
You may be indifferent at Christmas. The religious leaders of those times were. When Herod heard the statement of the magi that they had seen Jesus’ star, the Scripture says, all the religious leaders of the day who knew the Scriptures (the Old Testament), prophecies about the messiah, were called together. They gave Herod the correct answer. They told him of the prophecy of Micah that the true Messiah of Israel would come out of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. It was happening exactly as they have studied in the Scriptures. They should have been curious, excited, wanting to learn more. But they were not. Of all the people, it is the religious leaders who are indifferent to the real meaning to Christmas. It’s sad that some are too indifferent to even check Him out.
The threat to the meaning of Christmas comes sometimes in the commercializing, the secularization and the westernization of Christmas. Christmas is turned into a greedfest, where people are more interested in what they can get. And so, they become indifferent at Christmas.
Are we caught up in the so-called “Christmas spirit?” Are you caught up in the commercial aspects of Christmas? Some are indifferent to the true meaning of Christmas.
You may be a worshipper at Christmas. The wise men were. These wise men had somehow learned of Christ’s coming. They had studied it. But it was more than intellectual curiosity. It moved them deeply. They were humble enough to bow down. That’s really why they were wise. Their priorities were in the proper order. They traveled a great distance, perhaps even as long as a year, to seek out this coming Messiah. When they found the Lord, they worshipped Him. They gave Him gifts and they bowed before Him in submission.
You and I can be a worshipper as well today. But in order to be a worshipper, you must be willing to reject pride, to reject fear, to reject apathy and indifference toward the true meaning of Christmas. You must be willing to seek Christ out. The Bible teaches that God will be found when we search for Him with all our heart. We must seek Him with all our heart. When we do, we will be worshippers.
As the wise men, we can also present our gifts to Him. The greatest gift we could ever present to Him would be the gift of ourselves. The greatest treasure any of us have is the treasure of ourselves. When we give Him ourselves, we’ve given Him everything else.
The little slogan, “Keep Christ in Christmas,” is more than simply a cute Christian cliché. It is a profound truth for us especially as believers.
