It’s December 27th (at the time of this writing). And for many folks, the Christmas season is wrapping up (no pun intended!). Gifts have been given, presents have been opened, and the exchanges of “thanks” have been shared all around. The colorful papers once beautifully adorned the carefully selected gifts placed beneath the tree has now been gathered together and dispatched to the garbage can. The Christmas music has turned back into the popular music of the day, and the stores have traded in their check-out lines for returns and exchanges. The decorations, once hung with such eager anticipation, now wait in the expectancy of being once again boxed up and stored away for another year. It is easy to think that the holiday rush is now past, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
But it wasn’t always this way. Shortly after Jesus’ death on the cross, the first Christian martyr, Stephen, took his faith to the ultimate level. The Stoning of Stephen is recorded in the Book of Acts 7:54 – 8:1, and has been historically attributed to December 26th, the day after the Christian Church celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The irony of this death is that Stephen would be the first to die for his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the one who has come to save humanity from its sin. It would be a young Pharisee named Saul (later to become Paul the Apostle) who would oversee Stephen’s stoning. Paul, arguably the greatest Christian Convert the world has ever known, never saw Jesus face-to-face. Instead, he saw Stephen’s faith first-hand.
Perhaps the most difficult transition to make in this time of year is the one that asks us to understand the rationale for Jesus’ birth. We’ve become so accustomed to the romantic and nostalgic flavor of the Currier & Ives Christmas that we’ve forgotten that the reason for this child’s birth was so that our sin would no longer separate us from God. And just so we don’t miss the significance of this birth, or worse, dismiss it as old, out-dated, and merely an historical issue of long ago, in just a few days we will be reminded again of the importance of the birth by some strange astrologers from a foreign country who will come to pay homage to this infant. The gifts the Wisemen brought were strange gifts for a newborn infant; gold – the symbol of royalty, frankincense – the symbol of priestly sacrifice and worship, and myrrh – a burial spice, the symbol for death. Still, the arrival of the Magi represents the universal nature of this Messiah, who brings salvation from sin to all who will believe, and begins the next holy season in the Christian Calendar year – Epiphany, which means the Revealing of God’s Son to the world.
From Christmas to Epiphany, we find ourselves in a curious place. The world has gone back to business as usual – planning parties and making resolutions for the New Year, returning gifts received for what we really wanted, and returning to our daily schedules and routines. But for the Christian, Christmas marks the beginning of Salvation History – that is being renewed every day. We do not - we cannot – forget what happened in that sleepy little village of Bethlehem, nor the journey that infant would take over the next thirty-three years that would lead him to a cross outside of Jerusalem.
Christmas is the reminder that we are forgiven. Epiphany is the reminder that all are given this gift of salvation. Our task is to remind one another, and everyone who is searching for this gift of grace. Please do not pack this away with your decorations for another year. Live in the glory of this Christmas gift that keeps giving all year long.
See you in Church!
Grace and peace,
Brad
