Christ has Come!

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:13-14).

Secular society pretends to ignore the impact of Christ on time and history, but even the testament of our calendar recognizes the birth of Christ. For two millenniums we have marked time from Christ’s birth in the earth; 2,007 years according to our record keeping. We gauge time before the advent of his birth as B.C., before Christ, and after his coming as A.D. from the Latin anno Domini, which means the year of our Lord! More modern scholars have revised our marking of time as B.C.E., before the Common Era, and C.E. or the Common Era to eliminate the references to Christ. What they have been unable to change is the historical event that marked the difference in the two eras.

Christmas is a holiday season that brings the focus of the world on the event that occurred one starlit night in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Through the clutter of commercialism that threatens to crowd out the true significance of the season, the real story of Christmas always seems to get through. Sometimes it is through the efforts of those who try to rid their towns of a nativity scene, or the use of the word Christmas, or even the Christmas star or angels on the tree. Somehow, through all the publicity, there are those who have to explain what is so offensive about the Christ, and the story is told again!

It seems that the more people try to marginalize the impact of the life of Jesus, the more mainstream it becomes. The more the agnostic attempts to suppress the truth, the more pronounced the truth is expressed. The reality of Christ, his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection, all proclaim the significance of the Gospel. It is indeed good news to the world!

Let us rejoice in the telling of the miraculous birth of Jesus, the supernatural events that announced his arrival, and the good news of this blessed advent, “Christ is born! Peace on earth and good will to all mankind!”