By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
18This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. v19Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. v20While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. v21She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.”
v22Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, v23″A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).
v24So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to. v25But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25
It is here but not yet. I am talking about Christmas. To be liturgically correct this Sunday and until Tuesday, December 24th is still Advent – the season that precedes Christmas. But then again to us Filipinos, Christmas started with the beginning of the ‘ber’ months – and we heard Christmas carols played on the airwaves more constantly in September. Although some radio stations started playing Christmas songs as early as July in their early morning programs. As we engaged in so many ways in preparation for this anticipated Christmas celebration, it is that time of the year again to ask a serious question relative to the season: “What makes a real Christmas?”
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Through the years the real meaning of Christmas has slowly yet surely been watered down and given meaning based on the whims and caprices of this materialistic human race. From my files I came across this facts compiled by Joseph Pennel, Jr. on today’s understanding and celebration of Christmas:
“Newspaper and television advertisements coax people into believing that they can have a real Christmas by going to a festive shopping center, eating at trendy restaurants, or watching glittering “Christmas programs” on television. Others believe that Christmas is made by the fastidious keeping of time-honored family rituals, such as, sentimental ornaments on just the right tree, eating food from a menu which has been handed down from generation to generation, or by visiting the same relatives at precisely the same time on Christmas Day. Some believe that Christmas is made by purchasing a uniquely special gift for every relative, friend, and acquaintance. To be sure, all of these contribute to our cultural understanding of Christmas.”
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To the Filipino, Christmas is the pinnacle of all merry-making or ‘the’ occasion of celebration. This means eating and drinking and being good in words and deeds even if only for that day. It also means gift-giving to the full even to the economically deprived. But the answer to “What makes a real Christmas?” must be found in human history. That is what Joseph did. And, in a very real sense, it was the theology of Joseph which made possible the first Christmas. If Joseph had not cooperated with God’s action in human history, the birth of Jesus would have been quite different. The witness of Joseph calls us to cooperate with God’s work in today’s world. It calls us to respond to God’s action among us. Joseph, not having all of the evidence and knowledge of the future, decided to do more than law and custom required. He elected to do more than was expected of him. He let justice and compassion guide his decision about his pregnant betrothed. He was pulled, not by the strength of custom, but by the law of love. It is obvious that Joseph cared deeply for Mary. He would not have risked his own reputation and protected hers if he did not. But his love was deeper and grounded on more than love for his bride to be. For you see he understood that obedience to God, even in the direst of circumstances creates a life of substance and character.
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When life gets hard, what do you do? Do you give up? Do you swear? Do you lash out in hostility? Do you try to find someone to blame? Do you give in to bitterness? Do you run away? Do you hide behind some illness? Do you drug yourself? Or, do you pray? Do you consider the problem prayerfully and then listen for God? That’s what Joseph did, and it worked. What a great lesson to learn from Joseph: the art of listening! Maybe this is why Jesus went often into the wilderness alone to do some praying and listening. Perhaps he learned from father Joseph how to listen for God’s will. Joseph was big enough to listen. What a wonderful quality! (eSermons.com)
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Immanuel – “GOD IS WITH US!” When we accept Christ into our lives, nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love. It is what Christmas is about. God is with us. The great people of faith have always claimed that promise. Just think of it:
— Moses caught between the Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea in a seemingly hopeless situation believed that God was with him and he went forward and trusted God to open a way and He did!
— Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace into a seemingly hopeless situation and they trusted God to be with them and He was!
— Little David stood before Goliath. What chance could a small boy with a slingshot have against this giant of a warrior? But David believed that God was with him and it made all the difference!
Now, it’s interesting to note that when the writer of Matthew’s gospel wanted to capture the meaning of Christmas, the meaning of the Christ event, the meaning of Jesus in a single word, he did a very wise thing. He reached back into the Old Testament, pulled out an old word, dusted it off, and used it to convey the message. The word was Immanuel… God is with us.
Let us pray.
O God, you make us glad by the yearly expectation of the coming of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grant that we may so joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, that we may with sure confidence behold him when he shall come to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.**
