A special meaning

Dear editor:

Christmas is special to me. It’s the only day of the year when the whole world stops to remember the Prince of Peace, and a very special day for all the followers who call Jesus, Lord.

The world is captivated by the story of the birth of Jesus. It is a story about a baby born in a feeding box. He did not come in royal splendor as a king. He was born to an olive-skinned, Middle-eastern man and woman. His mother, pregnant and unwed and looked upon as property, delivered her son into a world that would undeniably see him as illegitimate, born wrapped in rags and placed in a smelly feeding trough in a dark, foul-smelling barn. A young mother giving birth to a son that later, as an adult, people believed to be of the Son of God.

I find wonderful meaning in the imagery of the Christmas story. This is a legend about something that happened in a time that was cruel and ruthless with an authoritarian social order and culture. One where men executed unlimited control and domination. They abused their power and authority. It’s a story authors wrote many years after Jesus died. They really believed this man had a genuine connection to God like no one ever before or after, a story about a liberator coming to set his people free, a story about the birth of a kingly prince who in fact is the prince of peace.

We are told singing angels appeared out of nowhere. A new bright star illumined the babe in the manger. Shepherds came and observed. Wise men seeing the brilliant star traveled a great distance to see what was happening. They brought gifts and honored the newborn child. Christmas Day is the day the whole world comes to a stop to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

What happened that day? I believe this is what the beginning of liberation for the broken and oppressed, the marginalized, poor, needy and sick looks like. It doesn’t come from those who hold power and authority, it comes from ordinary people, all the followers who think and believe like Jesus.

Christianity’s most quoted Bible verse, John 3:16, was translated from Aramaic to Greek to English. The English American Standard Version reads: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes ‘in’ Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, translated directly to English reads “whosoever believe ‘like’ Jesus shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

It is not until we begin to live act and believe “like” Jesus we are ready to follow and walk in the footsteps of Jesus, serving, healing, feeding, sheltering, clothing, respecting and always loving everybody always.

Believing in Jesus is a choice. Believing like Jesus is a gift from God. It is then that our sacred journey begins experiencing eternal life in the here and now.

Merry Christmas.

George Lindholm Hot Springs Village