I don’t know about you but it seems that things aren’t the same as before. There isn’t any Christmas music filling the air, and only a few blinking and twinkling lights are decorating homes at this time of the year. The Christmas season is here but it doesn’t feel like it.
But can you really blame people when over these past few weeks, tragedy after tragedy has struck Paris, France, and San Bernardino, USA, shocking the world?
While these massacres occurred, that brand of terrorism was just the norm in the Middle East, particularly in the nation Israel.
To consider our own political, social and economic concerns, it’s easy to miss the real reason for the season. Then again, I’m reminded that on the first Christmas, it happened without fanfare, without any bands playing, without a fancy parade on the streets, without a welcoming committee from the religious elite, and without a courtesy call from the officials in Rome.
The only witnesses to the glorious night the Savior was born were some lowly shepherds.
Nothing has really changed.
To look back at history, it was a desperate and dark period of time when Jesus was born. Politically, it was a mess. There had been 580 years of Jewish humiliation and slavery under the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greek empire of Alexander the Great, and the Ptolemaic empire of Egypt.
The ruler of Judea when Jesus was born was a wicked man by the name of King Herod. Israel was controlled by the might of Rome, and Herod was their puppet.
Economically, it was a struggle. It was a time of high civil and religious taxes. Sixty million slaves in Rome needed to be fed, and there was famine in many parts of the empire.
Socially, there was restlessness. Morally, it was low. The world was held captive by idolatry, immorality, superstition, and fear.
Religiously, it was a burden. The leaders who were expected to be the spiritual guide and help failed the people. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, highly- respected religious leaders of the day, burdened the people, instead of lightening their load. Until John the Baptist came, there was no prophetic voice from heaven.
For 400 years, there was silence. Then at the right time came a voice from the wilderness breaking the silence, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”
John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord, the coming Messiah! (See Gal. 4:4)
In times of desperation, darkness, weariness, and anxiety, the light of hope that is Christ Jesus shines bright!
We’re no different from that generation. This world is still in darkness, still desperate, and still struggling to find hope.
But we know who that hope is — Jesus!
Beloved, in this confused, wanting, and reeling world we live in, especially during this Christmas season when so many people are desperate, lonely, and suicidal, make every opportunity to share Christ with others. Take the light in your hand, and let it brighten the path of the people around you so they will be led to Jesus, the true light of the world.
That’s how you can truly make Christmas meaningful. All the fanfare, the festivities, the parties and the family reunions are empty celebrations without Jesus.
Let the Christ of Christmas take His rightful place this season, and in all the seasons of life.
