The Promised One Has Come!

The Catholic Liturgy for Christmas Day. Gospel of Luke 2:1-20. Theme: The Promised One Has Come!

In celebrating 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 we praise God for being a Father who always keeps His promises, especially those that made about the coming of his Son as the Savior of humanity. 

Even though millions of people celebrate Christmas, enjoying the sights and sounds of the season, they seem to have historical and religious ignorance about the uniqueness and facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth. They assume that He was simply one spiritual leader among the many who have entered human history. 

But, if we take the time to investigate the facts, we discover that God prepared the world his coming for over 1,000 years before it actually took place. He sent prophets who foretold many things about him, from his miraculous conception to His rising from the dead. 

As a matter of fact, the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament can be called a “book of promises” because they contain over 70 of these prophecies about the Messiah.  This is just one of the many unique things about Jesus. And it is somethings that is not true about any of the other founders or major figures of other world religions.  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.

So, what do some of 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 after Jesus’ birth; 

* He would live for a time in Egypt for a time but return and become a resident of Nazareth;

* His mission would be like a light shining in darkness, with great signs of God’s power and presence: the blind receiving their sight; the deaf being able to hear; and the lame being able to walk;

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

* 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 alone is the Way to that leads us to Heaven. He alone teaches the Truth that sets us free from spiritual wandering and ignorance. He alone gives us a full and abundant Life that never ends.

Because of this Baby in the manger we no longer need to live in morally dark places or in spiritual blindness, groping and searching for answers to life’s deepest questions.

Because of this Baby in the manger we can each be transformed from the inside out, embracing a new way of thinking, a new way of living that leads to a sense of wholeness and to real happiness, both here and hereafter.

Because of this Baby in the manger, we no longer need to live lives that are so easily dominated and crushed by sin and selfishness.

Each and every one of us can allow the him to become real in our own lives and dwell within us as he promised. All we need to do is trust in Jesus who is mercy and love, and express our desire to have Him be spiritually reborn within our hearts, so that He can live and reign there always as Brother, as Savior, as Messiah and King.