The Birth of the Promised Messiah

The Catholic Liturgy for Christmas, Dec. 25, 2018. Gospels – Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-20; John 1:1-18. Theme: The Birth of the Promised Messiah.

In celebrating the great feast of Christmas, we Christians rejoice that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Word and Son of God, freely chose to come among us as one of us, to live with us our human experience in everything but sin, and to enable us to actually become children of God.  

It’s very interesting that even though millions of people celebrate Christmas and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season, there are many who seem to have a kind of religious ignorance about Jesus of Nazareth. They assume that He was simply another religious leader among the many who have entered human history. 

But, if we take the time to investigate, we discover that He did not come out of happenstance, but intentionally. God prepared the world his coming for over 1,000 years before it actually took place. He sent prophets who received the Word of God concerning the Messiah, and they gave poetic hints and messages about everything from his conception to His rising from the dead. 

As a matter of fact, the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament contain about 70 of these prophecies about the Messiah.  However, there have never been any prophecies alerting the world to the coming of Muhammad (Islam), Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Charles Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Siddhartha (Buddhism) or any of the other figures in the various religions of the world. Jesus Christ alone is utterly unique among the world’s religious leaders.

So, what do these ancient Jewish prophecies foretell about Jesus the Messiah? 

* He would be conceived and born of a Virgin and would be Emmanuel, which in Hebrew means “God-with-us”; 

* He would be born in Bethlehem, the city of his ancestor King David; 

* A star would announce his birth and foreigners would coming bearing gifts; 

* Bitter agony would grip the mothers of Bethlehem, which happened with Herod’s slaughter of the Holy Innocents; 

* His mission would be like a light shining in darkness, with great signs of God’s power and presence;

* He would triumphantly enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, which happened on the first Palm Sunday;

* He would be betrayed by a friend and this betrayal would be agreed upon for 30 pieces of silver;

* The Messiah would die a sacrificial death on behalf of the people, a death that would heal us;

* He would be mocked, and people would gamble for His clothes;

* Finally, and marvelously, He would rise from the dead and be given glory and praise.

These ancient prophecies began to see their fulfilment on that very first Christmas in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.  This Baby in the manger - whose birth was proclaimed by angels and announced by shepherds - was indeed the Promised One.  He would grow up to identify God as His Father, and would declare that He alone is the Way to that leads us to Heaven, that He alone teaches the Truth that sets us free from spiritual wandering and ignorance; that He alone gives us a full and abundant Life that never ends.

Because Jesus is the true Light that came into the world, enlightening everyone, we no longer need to live in morally dark places or in spiritual blindness.

Because Jesus is the Father’s Son, filled with grace and truth, we can each be transformed by Him from the inside out, embracing a new way of thinking, a new way of living that leads to real happiness, both here and hereafter.

Because Jesus is the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us, we no longer need to live as slaves of sin and selfishness. We can each - all of us – allow the Word to become real in our own lives and dwell within us as he promised. All we need to do is profess our faith in Him and ask Him to make a manger out of our hearts, where He can live and reign as Savior, as Christ and as Lord. Merry Christmas!