This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
                      -Matthew 1:18-25
And may God add His blessings to the reading of His holy Word.
It doesn’t matter what shape the economy has taken.  It never has, and it never will.  For it’s still not about fat men in red suits, pine trees decorated in lights & ornaments, turkey, ham, pumpkin pie, Playstations, Xboxes or anything like that.
It is – and has always  been – about the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and about the beginning of His mission to save us from our sins.
And we’d do well to remember that.
Merry Christmas 2008, Denizens.
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2 responses to “In a manger in Bethelehem, 2000 years ago…”
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A correction, if I may. The plan to save us from our sins did not begin at the earthly birth of the baby Jesus. That plan was put into motion the instant sin entered the world.
In addition, the birth of Jesus was only significant because, without the birth of Jesus, His death and resurrection wouldn’t have been possible. Other than that, it wasn’t really that important of an event.
December 25th has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus, anyway. December 25th was the first day of the Saturnalia, a pagan holiday celebrating the coming end of winter. Jesus wasn’t born in the middle of winter, he wasn’t born in December (September 17th is the most likely date), and the early church didn’t celebrate His birth for, oh…about 600 years. It was the paganizing of the church that gave us Christmas. There are Bible verses that deal with introducing pagan rituals into worship of the Living God…and none of them are complimentary.
The fact that Christmas is my least favorite time of year just *might* have a bit to do with why I don’t like it…the pagan aspects are just gravy.