THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Thomas Itty Corepiscopa, Houston


Christmas is an occasion of joy and happiness and undoubtedly one that calls for celebration. In modern days especially in the West we are seeing a commercial Christmas. The big crowd and rush in the shopping centers during the Christmas season all around us magnify how much and how far Christmas has been commercialized. Large scale shopping and exchanging of gifts and family visitations and parties, all are condensed under the title, “The Spirit of Christmas”. Do these external and exhibiting factors really contribute towards the creation of actual Christian spirit of Christmas? Actual spirit of Christmas is far beyond and over the spirit of Christmas that we are used to around us today.

Almost seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, prophet Isaiah prophesied the divine, glorious and promising birth. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” which being interpreted is, ‘God with us’ (Mathew 1:23). The virgin human birth of our savior promises the omnipresence of our Lord in every sphere of our life. The true spirit of Christmas celebration necessitates us to accept the presence of God in and around us, and in and with us.

The virgin birth of Christ on realization in the manger, which was sanctified by the same, was made known through the appearance of the shining star on the sky, seeing which the wise men hurried to Bethlehem. “Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Mathew 2:2). The appearance of the star revealed to the world that, as a fulfillment of the prophecies and fore visions of the prophets the Messiah is born on the earth as a human being. The star, which appeared in the sky, is the sign of the presence of God on this earth.

The star led the wise men from the east to the Bethlehem manger where they saw the new born Christ with Virgin Mary and Joseph. The glory and shining beauty that reflected on the face of the child filled the world with light and glory. That heavenly light which stemmed from that Bethlehem manger is still shining on us and that is the one that is capable of leading us through the darkness of the world. The newborn Christ was offered gold, frankincense and myrrh, the best of the best offering, the best selections from their treasure by the wise men. And finally they worshipped him in the manger by the side of Virgin Mary and Joseph.

The true spirit of Christmas emerges actually when we see, offer, and worship God. The presence of God was revealed through the appearance of the star in the sky. In our lives too, we can see the presence of God, the way we are protected, the way we are led to prosperity and accomplishment, the way our lives are filled with joy and peace, all lead us to see the presence of God among and with us. They symbolize the star in our life like the one that appeared to and led the wise men to the manger. But it is our failure and sad state that most of the time we do not accept and realize God’s presence in our accomplishments, on the contrary, claim the credit to our own merits and smartness. But to be a part of real Christmas celebration in its true spirit we have to accommodate the presence of God in every turn of our life.

Offering is a contributory factor for true spirit of Christmas. The wise men offered the rich and expensive items to the newborn king. This reminds us to offer ourselves and everything we have to Christ and his service making him the Commander in Chief of our lives. He will come to our life, bless and sanctify our offering and multiply them manifold. We are spending hundreds of dollars to afford expensive gifts for children and loved ones but are having a deaf ear and blind eye when coming to any kind of charitable or church related expense. Christmas is an occasion that requires us to give abundantly and wholeheartedly to the Lord and his service.

The Christian spirit of Christmas can never be accomplished without worship. It is not uncommon to see at least some of us missing the worship services even on Christmas day. The burden and busy life here are taken as excuses for it. Though the pews in worship places are empty, indoor and outdoor Christmas celebration parties are crowded. This brings a big questions mark in front of us. Are we worshipping the newborn king? We have enough time to spend with our families, work and friends, but no time to come together to worship the King God who actually is blessing us with the best abundantly. Is it not a little embarrassing for us to be insincere and disloyal to our Lord?

Let this Christmas be a different one in our lives. Let our hearts and homes be the manger for the Christ. Let us open our hearts to him. Let the true spirit of Christmas be with us through the presence of God in every turn of our lives. Let all of our accomplishments and successes in life be shining stars in the sky of our life, reminding us of the presence of the Lord. Let this Christmas be one in which we take a firm decision to offer ourselves and everything we have to Christ and finally let us all come together as persons, families and churches to worship him in and with purity of heart and the best offering, a life submitted to the heavenly Father. Then only the true spirit of Christmas can dwell in us.

The joy and peace guaranteed to the world through the birth of Christ is ours when we see the presence of God through the inumerable blessings in our lives - the star, when we offer ourselves and everything to Christ and his service, accept Him as the Commmander in Chief of our lives through offering and giving to charitable and religious endeavors whole-heartedly and finally coming to worship Him in true spirit. The true spirit of Christmas is joy, peace and goodwill which are consequences of our vision of the presence of God, our offering and our worship. What all kinds of Christmas celebrations we have in our house or church, unless they are backed up by the spirit of God, they are futile and only be of outward impression and beauty. The beauty of the Christmas celebration is there where the spirit of dwells and leads.

Published in Ecumenical Christmas Souvenir, Houston 1988