The Most Meaningful Christmas in Recent Times
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
(Luke 02: 10 - 12)
It was the midnight when Christmas 2020 slowly faded in. I had just then made a call to my mother waiting for my arrival at home in the coming weeks. We had prayed over the call and thanked the Lord for sustaining and strengthening us over the past month after the sudden and sad demise of my father. We reminded ourselves during the prayer that there were millions of people like us around the world this Christmas. There was a significant amount of people who did not live to see this Christmas, and there were many of them who were yet waiting with disappointment; unable to get home for Christmas, unable to receive the loved ones at home, unable to reach those who are in need in this season and unable to share the love of Christ Jesus in the way how we do it every year. There was news in the UK about the strange variant of COVID 19 and somebody had already proposed the name "COVID 20" in the casual conversations.
As I looked through the window and observed London's night sky with its strange silence and fear-filled vacancy on that beginning of Christmas day, I remembered what a meaningful Christmas it would be. There is calamity around the world. Only bad news reaching our ears, one after the other. Countries were plotting against each other, and fear had already made its mark in the world. Isolations and quarantines had become a routine and slowly the physical touch of human beings is getting replaced by a digital touch. The world order and conventional ideas are changing just before our eyes. And in the midst of all these, there is a promise; a hope that would keep us moving.
The Bible reminds us of a similar time in history when the world waited for a deliverer. The Gospel of Luke reminds us of a phase in history when the earth and its inhabitants were prepared to receive the "Messiah." And the angel who appeared to the shepherds who were watching the same silent sky two millenniums before said "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." And, that good news was Jesus! The angel continued saying "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Saviour! Messiah! The Lord! And yes, Christ Jesus, God's only begotten Son, came into this world as hope in the midst of losses, isolations, fear, troubles, slavery, economic struggles, identity crisis, disease, crime and many more that we could name in today's world. Yes! And this heavenly hope was born amongst us. The creator became a part of His creation to dwell amongst us. The angel who informed us of the human entry of God very clearly said: "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Heaven's glory had come down to the earth, and there you find a baby, so dependent on human care, so much cared against the human living conditions, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, and the hope of Messiah was found; not in a palace or bungalow, but in a manger, so temporary.
I was able to see this little child in the midst of all these worsening conditions around the world. In faith, even in a situation of hopelessness and fear, I was able to see this heaven's promise. I was able to hear in the ears of my heart the repetition of the word "Emmanuel... Emmanuel... God with us... Emmanuel!" And, indeed the promise slowly found its place in my heart. With God's strength, surprisingly, I was able to shed tears of joy in the midst of my mental and physical restrictions and agonies. This Christmas, this marked day in this season to celebrate this hope that came to this earth nearly two thousand years ago, reminded me of the promise that God was giving even today.
As you read this devotion today, I pray that the presence of God will surround you. Wherever you are reading this from, and whatever conditions you would read this from, I pray that the love and grace of Christ Jesus will surround you. May your soul be comforted and enabled by the Holy Spirit, and may the Lord's spirit of hope and peace fill your heart. Surely our God will come into our lives when we invite Him to come and be within us. Be assured that the presence of the Holy Spirit is moving around you always, and even now as you look to Him in faith, may you receive His wonderful and everlasting comfort, peace and joy, irrelevant of where you are and what situation you are in. This would be the most meaningful Christmas to you and me in recent times. Finding the Saviour, Messiah and the Lord in the midst of all of our struggles would be the most appropriate gesture of faith that we could cherish. This would be the greatest gift of Christmas 2020 we could receive. Be encouraged. Be uplifted. Be faithful to the calling.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
We The Kingdom - Light of the World
