Christmas marks the season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus as the redeemer of the world.
Although this is not the date of his birth, it is the date when we recognise Jesus throughout the Western Christendom.
Within the gospel nativity, we find various characters that have a sense of commonality and echoes throughout our lives today. The Wise Men sought him, Mary received him, Joseph served him, the Angel declared him, the shepherds worshipped him, the innkeeper rejected him and Herod feared him.
During this Christmas season, we find ourselves seeking out gifts, seeking to receive gifts, preparing food to be served, declaring a family, whilst rejecting the opportunity to seek the real reason for the season; in the midst of this, we might just find time to worship him.
The word Christmas means ‘Christ gathering’ and the gathering together in the name of Jesus Christ is much more than shopping for gifts, much more than the giving and receiving of gifts.
Steve Maraboli stated that “Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
In the Christian carol ‘In the bleak midwinter’, the last verse states,
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.
In this Christmas season, of all the gifts that were brought to Jesus, the gift from the Shepherd was most poignant. The gift of the Lamb is still the most important gift to receive and celebrate.
Let us bring our worship today to the child that is King and Saviour of all mankind.
Happy Christmas!