The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

‘Tis the season!  This is when we as a church celebrate one of the key moments of our faith: the birth of Jesus.  We spoke about this at length at Bible Study last night.  We reflected on how the events surrounding the birth of the Messiah were humble, to say the least.  One would expect the Savior of Creation to be born in a castle with royal attendants serving him, and that his arrival would be announced with a flourish of trumpets throughout the streets and lanes of the neighboring towns.

Not even close.

The manger was a feeding trough.  Jesus was born where animals feed, and answer nature’s call, if you know what I mean.  The first people to receive the birth announcement were not kings, queens, princes, or princesses.  The pronouncement came to shepherds.  They would have been dirty, uneducated men who smelled like cattle.  Yet these are the people the angel heralded.  God dwells among the common folk.

All this is to say that Christ certainly has a place in our world.  He is often rejected by a mindset that “knows better” than to believe in “ancient myths.”  But this isn’t a myth.  It was, according to many reputable historians, a very real event.  Furthermore, theologians ascribe pivotal significance to the incarnation.  It is an event that even changed how we enumerate time (BC/AD).

It is easy for us to be disheartened by what is unfolding halfway across the world, and even in our own town.  Our faith can be challenged by all the bile floating about.  To some extent, our world is like the one into which Christ was born.  We have no shortage of hatred and violence.  Our communities do not overflow with love and peace.

But hold fast to the promises that come with Jesus’ birth.  God has entered the human drama to share our common lot and to redeem us from the grip that sin has on the world.  The hope, peace, joy, and love of Advent meet us in Bethlehem embodied in a child.  The birth of Jesus promises us “a future and a hope” as Jeremiah declared (29:11).

Follow the star, and may it provide you and yours with the merriest of Christmases!

Peace & Blessings,

Dr. John