The Celebration of Christmas

   “And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2: 1 -11)

   I look at how society prepares for the celebration of Christ’s birth and am saddened.  There is very little praise and glory, but plenty of earthly desires and temptations.  Our priorities are so confused; we desire the worthless things of this life and ignore the eternal gifts of our Lord.

   We teach our children that they must be “good” if they expect to get what they want for Christmas.  But how often do we remind them that the greatest good is in worshiping the Lord.  They get toys if they clean their rooms and do their homework and it’s good to relate their behavior to the benefits it may bring.  But at some point we must also give them the true lesson of Christmas; that God loves us so much that He became man to save us.

   I fear too many have essentially forgotten why we even celebrate Christmas.  Many refuse to even say “Merry Christmas”.  Instead they wish us “Happy Holidays” never realizing that “holiday” derives from “Holy Day”.  In their ignorance they still wish us holiness and blessings.

   It’s up to us to change these things if we have the courage.  We can rebuke the big companies for their efforts to make Christmas profitable by any means necessary.  We can reject the often blasphemous versions of Christmas the entertainment industry tries to shove down our throats each year.  We can smile and reply “Merry Christmas” to those who want to be “politically correct” in their greetings.

   Our joy in celebrating the birth of our Savior should be clear to everyone we meet.  Let’s make Christmas what it is meant to be.  Let us give all praise, glory and thanks to our Lord as we celebrate the day of His birth.

Lord I celebrate Your birth.

I give You thanks for Your many blessings.

Help me to share the joy of knowing You.

Let Your light shine through me.

Amen