By: Joel Ramirez
It is almost impossible to drive down the street and not see a sticker or a poster exclaiming “He is the reason for the season”. The slogan is set in an outline of someone kneeling at a manger with the intent of bringing recognition to the birth of Jesus as to the purpose of this holiday. There are many people who use this time of year to show their support of Christ when they have been silent for the previous 11 months. In Matthew 5:14-16, Christ talks about His believers being the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Being a city set on a hill, you are never hidden and can be seen each and every day. It is important that our faith is shown through our actions every day of the year. I will not argue that of all the physical births the world has seen, the birth of the Savior may be the most significant because of what that birth meant for humanity. That birth means that God loves us enough to have sent His only begotten Son but it was not the birth that made it significant. The birth was just a means of God placing Himself in this world as a man. What was so significant is that Christ, God incarnate, led a life without sin so that He could be our propitiation, a lamb without blemish, to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Every day that Christ walked on this earth holds the same significance as the day he was born as well as every day before and after the day of his physical birth. We must remember that our concern is the spiritual and not the physical. The spiritual realm is where eternity lies. The truly most beautiful birth one can witness is the birth of a Christian for the spiritual birth is far superior to any physical birth. Jesus said “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth”, Luke 15:10. We also share in that joy because it is Christ’s blood that made it possible for the salvation of our souls. The New Testament gives us the only example of an event to be remembered in Acts 20:7 where it states “Now on the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread.” We can infer from other references to breaking bread (Acts 2:42, I Corinthians 11:23-29) that breaking bread was to follow Jesus’ commandment of partaking the bread which is His body and the cup of the new covenant in His blood in remembrance of him (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22). So we are given the example of remembering Christ’s sacrifice on the first day of every week and not once a year. I can think of no better way to start the week than to be focused on Christ with brothers and sisters who are of like mind. Many will hold December 25th as a day of worship, gathering at midnight to partake of the Eucharist which is the denominational approach to communion with a focus on the remembrance of the birth of Christ. But, there is no mention of Christ’s followers celebrating Christ’s birthday. Those who were followers of Jesus while he walked this earth are the people who would have known exactly when Jesus was born. But, there is no record of them celebrating Christ’s birth before or after his death and resurrection. We have to be careful that we do not let the traditions of man become part of our worship. As Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes when he was questioned why he ate bread with unwashed hands, “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, These people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”, Mark 7:6-8. The Jewish people had let traditions become part of their worship and lost sight of what God was looking for, which was and still is obedience. In Matthew’s account of Christ’s words to the Pharisees he writes “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition“, Matthew 15:6. It is as important that we do not let our worship become vain and we refrain from letting traditions creep into our worship. Brother Phil Hopkins has started a Wednesday night study on Satan and stresses Satan’s only power over us is our belief in his lies. Christ warned of Satan “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there was no truth in him”, John 8:44. When we allow traditions of men to become part of our worship we are giving power to Satan and his lies. It is up to each of us to guard against the lies and to do it successfully we must study the Word.
In getting back to the Christmas mass being celebrated, we see those outside of the church show such great piety for a singular day. We should look for the same reverence within the church each time we come together to worship our God. We must not forget what it truly is to come and worship. We are giving honor to the living God. Each aspect of our worship should be done with that thought in mind and that same dedication to professing our love and showing our obedience to the one, true living God. This is the God who created the heavens and the earth. This is the God who sent His son to die for you and me. This is the God who has no beginning and no end. To limit our love and our worship of the great Creator to a season is insufficient of what honor is due to our Lord. We are not limited to a season when we should show kindness to our fellow man. James wrote “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”, James 1:27. There is not a season for this. This goal is to strive for this every single day. The joy offered to us is the salvation of our souls. The peace Jesus brings is between us and God and this is something we should remember every day of our life. God’s love is the reason for every season.