Irony of Christmas
CHRISTIANS either forget or never realize (because they were hardly taught) that the baby born one cold December night 2016 years ago was just another ordinary human baby. In the eyes of the world then, Jesus was the carpenter Joseph's son by his wife Mary.
Heresy? Not if you know your bible history. Belief in Jesus as God did not start until after his resurrection was confirmed and the disciples became convinced that their master was the Emmanuel or “God with us” that the prophet Isaiah predicted (Is 7:14). It was also after many more years of theologizing that belief in his virgin birth began to take root, the early theologians' logic being that God could not have been born through normal sexual union between a man and a woman, ergo virgin birth. Joseph knew, through an Angel, that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. But he could not tell anybody this because nobody would believe him. He had to act like Jesus was born of his and Mary's normal sexual union otherwise the Jews would stone Mary to death as Jewish Law required of a woman caught in adultery. And indeed, if Joseph had said Jesus was not his son then Mary would have been judged as having committed adultery with another man.
That was Jesus before Christianity. Until he was risen, the apostles and disciples thought they were listening to, and learning a new way of life from, a most admirable man called Jesus. Besides worshipping at the temple like any religious Jew would, besides attending wedding feasts, laughing and crying with relatives and friends like any regular guy would, he moreover fed the hungry, cured the sick, the lame and the blind, consoled and forgave sinners and taught the way, the truth and the life of a child of God.
Now, of course, we know Christmas is the day God became man. But because we are seldom, if ever, reminded who Jesus was before Christianity worshipped him as a God, we have forgotten God's reason for living with us which is to teach us, through Jesus's life, how to become truly and fully human.
This is the irony of Christmas. God went out of his way to become human in order to teach us how to live a truly human life, but here comes Christian churches going out of their way to return God up high where he can only be adored and worshipped but hardly imitated.
Hence, putting Christ back in Christmas is remembering the way Jesus related to friends, relatives, sinners, hungry and sick people, etc, and following his example of a life lived for others. That would be the best form of worship for this God who became man to teach us who is our neighbor and how to love her/him… until it hurts even unto death.
Giving not receiving is the true spirit of Christmas. Here's to a giving Christmas to us all.