25th December
Today!
Luke 2:8-20
If you are reading this on 25th December – Happy Christmas!
The angel said to the shepherds, “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you... ” (verse 11, emphasis added). We don’t know what date he was born. The church has settled on this day as the moment to remind itself that there really was a day. On an actual day in history, during Augustus’ census, Jesus was born. This is not a myth designed to illustrate a religious idea. God’s own Son entered our history on a particular day to change its course forever:
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The Lord has come, joining himself to the lost human race forever.
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The King has come. Through his death and resurrection, he has gained the eternal throne of David. Every proud power will fall before him.
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The Saviour has come, to forgive sin, and to shine his light on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
The fulfilment of all God’s promises was wrapped in cloths and lying in the manger on that actual day. In the words of an English cliché: “God’s only gone and done it!”
The result of that “today” is a song of joy that still goes on. Jesus is the radiant dawn whose day never ends.
Five-hundred years ago, Martin Luther was searching for some adequate way to describe the joy we would feel if we truly grasped what that day meant. The best he could come up with was to suggest that if we fully understood it, our bodies would literally explode!
So take Jesus again today as the Lord you worship; and the King you obey; and the Saviour you trust. And know with a settled, joyful certainty that the peace of the eternal God is on you.
All glory to you, Father, for the gracious gift of Jesus your Son. All glory to you, Jesus: Saviour, King and Lord. All glory to you, Holy Spirit, for making his coming possible. May the radiant dawn blaze ever brighter until we see the full light of Jesus’ never ending day. Lighten our darkness, shining in us and through us to the honour and glory of the name we love, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.