Words Cannot Describe The Real Message Of Christmas

I tried to find the words that would bring the gift of God’s birth into this world into some relief.  And yet the harder I tried, the more I realized that my limited abilities would not let me do so. 

For a humanity that lived before the very moment of God’s birth, there was but the hope of light in a darkened world.  There was an expectant waiting for those who longed for more than their daily bread.

As I worked through this reflection, I found myself finding my way to the cross; and yet, I had difficulty merging the scene of a newborn infant child with the brutality of calvary. 

Finally, however, I could find no other path.  Christ’s humility in birth would be the sign of his death, and his death brought to us life and God’s salvation breath.  The two epic events could not be unbound.

Out of darkness came the bearer of Light.  His humility in birth would be the sign of His might.

I found myself, I must admit, at one point simply shaking my head.  All of the joy I felt at the thought of a newborn babe was mired in what I knew one day He would suffer for me…for us.

His swaddling clothes were exchanged for a Roman, purple tunic. His tender newborn skin was pierced with thorns.  I could not shake the image, and admit that I felt it might be better to simply erase this letter and write again another day.  But I could not.

In a trough He was laid as food for our souls as it was foretold in the writings of old.  It is the unending dichotomy of the life of our Savior.  He was and always will be the sacrifice for our sins; our Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…Have mercy on us.

When I think of those who lived in hope of a savior – and then of us who have been given that hope – again I shake my head.  Christmas trees have been named “winter trees,” and Christmas plays are now “holiday plays.”  In many ways the very God who was our longing has been abandoned, left to the elements in our newly created stables.

And yet in all of this, I could not bring myself to feel hopeless.  For our Savior has been born to us.  He has pitched His tent with us and seeks to dine with us.  What joy!  What love! 

Is there any gift this Christmas, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, that can compare to such a gift?  Is there a jewel known to humanity that shines brighter than the eyes of this infant child?  Is there a cloth or coat that warms not only our flesh but also our souls?  Is there wrapping paper more beautiful than the simple cloth that touched the unblemished skin of this Child? 

The hope that was once a longing in the hearts of our ancestors still resides in us.  We cannot allow this gift to die in the souls of those around us.  We must not forget that our own souls hunger for more than can be bought or wrapped or placed under a tree.  We need not search any further than the recesses of our own souls to find the greatest gift that this life will bring … the gift of Almighty God.