You can live the true meaning of Christmas each day of the year.
Live the true meaning of Christmas each day.
One Christmas when I was little as the adults were were preparing for dinner, I asked where Jesus’ birthday cake was. It was His birthday, so, in my mind, we should have a cake for Him.
There was no cake. I was not happy! I was so unhappy, in fact, that my Aunt took me to church to explain the situation to baby Jesus while at home my Mom and Grandma quickly prepared a birthday cake.
I often think of that event. Jesus was so real to me. It prompts me to ask myself: How can Jesus be real to me every day, not just on Christmas day?
Know the true meaning of Christmas.
For Jesus to be real to you every day, you must know Him. You don’t forget a best friend, yet, you might not remember next week the 50 people you saw at the store today. When someone is important to you and you love them, you make the time to have a relationship with them. You want to spend time with them.
It is important to make the time to have a relationship with Jesus. The first step is to know who He is.
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Who is Jesus?
Jesus is God. Jesus is man. Jesus is the Word incarnate-the Word of God made flesh. He is our savior. He died for each of us so we can have eternal life with Him in Heaven. He loves you immensely.
In his book Joy to the World: How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does), Scott Hahn talks in detail about Jesus’ coming into the world and what that means for us.
Jesus coming into the world is an amazing event. He entered time at a specific moment. He came to save us, to teach us, to show us the way. He did all this because He loves us.
Gospel of Luke, chapter 2
In the Bible in the Gospel of Luke (2: 8-18), God Himself tells us who Jesus is. He is “the Messiah and Lord”:
8 There were shepherds in that region, living in the fields and keeping night watch by turns over their flocks. 9 The angel of the Lord appeared to them as the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very much afraid. 10 The angel said to them:
“You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you-tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people. 11 This day in David’s city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord. 12 Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.”
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14
“Glory to God in the high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger; 17 once they saw, they understood what had been told them concerning this child. 18 All who heard of it were astonished at the report given them by the shepherds.
Jesus is “the Messiah and Lord.” He is the promised One sent by God to save His people. He is the Lord Himself. This is the amazing message that “astonished” those whom heard the report given by the shepherds.
Christmas Mass readings
Did you know that there are four different sets of Mass readings for Christmas? They are for the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, Mass during the night, Mass at dawn on Christmas Day, and Mass during the day on Christmas Day. (You can go to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website to read the different sets of Mass readings.)
The Gospel reading for the first Christmas Mass begins with Jesus’ history-His ancestry and how He came to be born. The next Gospel readings are about Jesus’ birth, the visit from the shepherds, and the reality that Jesus is God incarnate: God made man.
Each of the four different Mass readings from the Gospels are very powerful. In them, God reveals to us who Jesus is: He is the long-awaited, promised Messiah. He is the creator of the world. He is the Word of God incarnate (God made man). He is our savior.
God tells us about Himself directly, explaining how He came to be and why He is here: for our salvation-that we would have the “power to become children of God.” (from John 1:1-18, the Gospel from Christmas Day Mass)
Live the true meaning of Christmas.
The true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, came to live among us as a man. He suffered and died for our sins so we can be in Heaven with Him. His coming to earth, His life and death are all great gifts of love for us.
How can you live your life well, using God's great gift in the way He wants for you to use it?
Follow God's directions in Luke, chapter 2.
In the Gospel of Luke, we read what God revealed to the shepherds through the angel:
"You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you-tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people. 11 This day in David's city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord. 12 Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes."
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14
"Glory to God in the high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests."
How does God tell us to live? He tells us "tidings of great joy." This news of our Savior's birth is good news! We should be joyful at hearing it. The baby born is "the Messiah and Lord." He is God. This news of "great joy" should prompt us to live our lives with joy and give "glory to God." We should also seek His favor, for the "heavenly host" declared "peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests."
That is a lot of information in a few sentences! God wants us to be joyful at the news of our Savior's birth. This is our God who has been born into the world! This is not an everyday occurrence! This is special. Jesus loves us so much that He came into the world as a humble, dependent baby. He came to live among us, to teach us about God. He came to die for our sins. He came to save us. He is our "Messiah and Lord."
As His people, we should seek "his favor" so that there may be "peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests." Peace of mind and heart, perhaps. In the midst of trials and persecutions, Christians have steadfastly held God's love in their hearts. They have had peace about living and dying for Him. May we seek this peace as we truly believe in Jesus Christ and seek to give Him glory and follow Him. May we live our lives with joy, knowing our Savior and Lord has come into the world for our sakes.
Live the true Meaning of Christmas every day.
The true meaning of Christmas cannot be found in a tree or a wreath. It can be found in the Bible as we read the true story of Jesus Christ. The greatest gift we have is our faith. May we nurture it and help it to grow during Advent , this Christmas season, and every day. May we work to live with joy and to make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for us.
More resources to help you live the true meaning of Christmas every day.
If you are interested in diving more into this topic of the significance of Jesus's birth and what that means to us, here are some resources you may enjoy.
Scott Hahn wrote Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does), where talks in detail about Jesus' coming into the world and what that means for us, and A Father Who Keeps His Promises, about God keeping His covenant with us.
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