The Promised One Has Come!

 

Deacon David Previtali · The Promised One Has Come!

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

In celebrating Christmas, we rejoice that the Messiah, the Promised One, whose coming was foretold since ancient times, was born into our world. We bow down in spirit before the manger-crib of our God who chose to come among us as one of us, to share our human experience in everything but sin. And we praise God for being a Father who always keeps His promises, especially those that He had made about the coming of his Son as the Savior of mankind. 

Even though millions of people celebrate the Christmas holiday, enjoying the sights and sounds of the season, so many seem to have an historical and religious ignorance about the uniqueness and facts concerning Jesus. 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 for his coming for over 1,000 years before it actually took place. He sent prophets who foretold many things about the Messiah, from his miraculous conception to His rising from the dead. 

As a matter of fact, the Scriptures of the Old Testament can be called a “Book of Promises” because they contain over 70 of these prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. This is just one of the many unique things about Jesus and it is something that is not true about any of the other religious leaders in world history. 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 exactly do these ancient Jewish prophecies foretell about the Promised One, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior? 

* 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 come to him bearing gifts; 

* He would live for a time in Egypt but return to Israel 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; 

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

* Finally, and marvelously, He would not remain in the grave but would be raised up and given glory and praise. 

These ancient prophecies began to see their fulfillment 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, the Savior who is both Christ and Lord. 

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. We can each be transformed from the inside out, embracing a new way of thinking, a new way of living, a new way of loving that leads to a sense of wholeness and to real happiness, both here and hereafter.  All we need to do for this to happen is to intentionally turn away from our sins and sincerely express our desire to have Jesus live and reign in our hearts as Lord and Savior, as Messiah and King.