Perhaps some of us have, but a lot of us haven't. Even those who thought they have probably haven't really done it. I love eating fresh fruits on Christmas day, but it's not it. Before I received Jesus into my life and became his follower (and follower of The Way), I did everything on Christmas day except get to know more about the Celebrant. I was a joiner then.
A few days after devoting my life to Jesus, the idea came to me. Why not study the bible on Christmas day? I mean, not just read a few chapters but really meditate the Gospel. As one bible version says, "investigate" the Scriptures. Get involved in the stories as you meditate the Word and really try to see what happened right before your eyes.
At once I appreciated how Jesus opted to be born poor. That was what struck me. He could've opted to be born as a son of Herod or Pilate or Augustus Caesar. This way, making the world believe would've been easier. Just one edict and everything's done. No more dying on the cross. And I could feel the atmosphere of fear that surrounded his birth. The festive mood of our commercialized Christmas is a far cry from what really happened then. It was a death defying act to be born king at the time, rivaling Herod or Caesar.
When I got caught in the real story of Jesus' birth, commercialized Christmas lost its appeal to me. It became boring, and even stupid. Yeah, the angels told the shepherds to rejoice about the "good news," but they didn't mean celebrating it the way we do today. So, how did the shepherds celebrate Christmas? Watch this:
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. [Luke 2]They spread the good news, not prepared Noche Buena or shopped for their exchange gifts or had Christmas party. And you have a good idea how they told people about it. They were so excited that "all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." This is how God wants us to celebrate the coming of Jesus, especially now that he is coming again.
You go to malls today and you see how they have completely adulterated the birth of Jesus. They've made the manger scene look glamorous on clean settings with gleeful twinkling lights and a spray of Yuletide scent. The real manger scene was a farm barn where animals were kept and fed, so it was a very dirty and smelly place, really, not glamorous. Poop and manure everywhere. What a place to be born in. Probably infected with the deadly Sepsis or Pseudomonas bacteria. God opted to be born here, and this tells us a lot about him and his mission.
And Santa and the Christmas tree and the snowman and the little drummer boy have no place in the original manger scene, too. These are all designed to commercialize the event and create an atmosphere of spending instead of godly reflections. In fact, Christmas is more associated today with Santa and Frosty and Christmas trees and gifts than Jesus. And not just in malls but in some churches as well.
So how about it? Can you spend some quality time today studying the Gospel and seeking to know Jesus more?
