Today is December 9, which leaves 16 days until Christmas Day. That’s hard to believe. Where did the rest of the year go? Where has the month of December gone? Before we know it, 2012 will be here.
As a child, I can remember the last couple of days before Christmas being the longest ones of the year. There was so much anticipation for Christmas Day to arrive, that it seemed as if those last few days would never end. And then once Christmas Day came, it went away far too quickly.
As I’ve gotten older, my perspective has changed. Here it is the 9th, and because there is so much to do, so much to finish, before I know it Christmas Day will be here. At times I’m kind of panicking just thinking how quickly Christmas will be here.
One thing that I can’t change is the certainty that Christmas Day will be here. Whether I’m ready or not, it will be here, and I’ll rejoice and be glad for the fulfillment of the promise God made long ago.
We have that certainty. We can look back on the first Christmas and be glad that it took place. Now I know the birth of Christ most likely didn’t take place in December, but more likely either during the spring (close to Passover) or in the autumn (close to the Jewish festival of the Feast of Tabernacles). Both of those time frames seem to fit better as they would be ideal times for a Roman census to take place.
The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD in the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.
The name ‘Christmas’ really comes from the Catholic faith, and comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). The ‘Christ-Mass’ service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.
Back in Genesis after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God promised that He would send someone to bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). That promise was repeated and expanded upon to Abraham, when God promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). From that time forward, the Jewish people waited and watched for the promised Messiah to come.
And yes, even though there would be a great number that would walk away from God because He seemed slow in fulfilling His promise, there was always a remnant that waited and watched. This Sunday we’ll see one such couple… Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were described as “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 2:6).
Even after all the years of waiting for God to fulfill the promise of sending a Messiah, even though many walked away, this couple remained steadfast in their devotion to God, and they were blessed to be able to play a major role in the fulfillment of the Promise.
For us, with their example, it’s a good refresher that with the story of Christmas we have a reminder that our faith and our hope is not in vain.
Are you ready?
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Russ
Explore posts in the same categories: Pastor's Note
