BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - More than two millennia after the incident occurred, the entire world is again reliving its annual celebratory observance of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The first Christmas occurred in the penultimate example of humbleness. God himself had impregnated a poor but righteous woman who was betrothed, but not yet married, to a similarly humble but righteous man. God's messengers, the Holy Angels, had visited both so that they would understand the meaning of the event. When the time for the birth arrived, the two were not at home surrounded by family, but instead had traveled by foot (Mary, the Holy Mother, may have made the trip on the back of a donkey or other domestic animal) over 100 miles, in adherence to a government decree, to a small nondescript town. When they arrived in the town, called Bethlehem, the town's inn was packed by others also traveling to keep with the government's orders, and the only shelter available was a stable. So there, in an apparently cramped place used to house domestic animals, the Son of God was born. In the Holy Bible, the emphasis on humility is realized perfectly by the manner in which Christ's birth is presented. There are but two such recitations: one in the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew and one in the first and second chapters of the Gospel of St. Luke. In his Chapter 1, Saint Matthew begins by benignly reciting the names of those persons in each generation who kept alive the direct lineage from St. David to St. Joseph, the husband of Christ's Mother. Then, without warning or any kind of build up, the account of the Holy Birth is presented:
The Gospel of St. Matthew:
Chapter 1:
Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19. and her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21. she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means God with us). 24. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25. but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
Chapter 2:
Verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying 2. "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4. and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6. 'For you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who shall govern my people Israel.' " 7. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8. and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9. When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10. When they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The only other place in the Bible that the Birth of Christ is related is the Gospel of St. Luke. St. Luke goes back in time, before the birth, to relate the story of the birth of John the Baptist as well as the simultaneous pregnancies of Mary, the Mother of Christ, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. In Chapter 1 of his Gospel, St. Luke preliminarily explains why he is writing his Gospel, and he does so as if the Gospel were a long letter to the fellow Christian preacher, Theophilus. When he has concluded this preface, he begins his account of the Birth of Christ:
The Gospel of St. Luke:
Chapter 1:
Verse 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abiah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9. according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense. 11. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; 15. for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, 17. and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18. And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19. And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21. And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25. "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."
26. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David, 33. and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34. And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" 35. And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing will be impossible." 38. And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
39. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40. and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42. and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43. And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44. For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 46. And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47. and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48. for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49. for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52. he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53. he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." 56. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. 57. Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered. and she gave birth to a son. 58. And her neighbors and kinfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60. but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." 61. And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." 62. And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. 64. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66. and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him. 67. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69. And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70. as he spoke from the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71. that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72. to perform the mercies promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73. the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74. to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75. in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77. to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78. through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79. to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 80. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Chapter 2.
Verse 1. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.. 2. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5. to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11. for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" 15. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16. And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18. and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And that is the extent of the Biblical Account, as it is printed in the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, Toronto, New York and Edinburgh. The printing contains this note on the title page: "Translated from the original tongues being the version set forth A.D. 1611, revised A.D. 1881-1883 and A.D. 1901, compared with the most ancient authorities and revised, A.D. 1952. I received this Bible as a Christmas Gift from my parents in 1962. If you contemplate the affect of the birth, with its absolute simplicity and modesty, and then recall that this simple account has captivated mankind for over two thousand years, it becomes breathtaking. Once, when I was either a pre-teen or young teenager, one of the major news organizations - I believe it was NBC - prepared a body of work for broadcast by member stations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was an account of Christ's birth as reported by NBC on-air reporters, had the event occurred when such reports were possible. Can you imagine today's secular reporters trying to get their arms around the appearance by an angel to a group of shepherds? How about if the reporter happened, for whatever reason, to be with the shepherds when first the angel, and then the "multitude of the heavenly host" appeared to relate the story of the birth and God's reaction to it?
I cannot explain why this stunning, yet extremely humble account has a such vice grip on me. I know in some objective and rational way that such an account should provoke skepticism. But it never has, despite the secular attacks on folk such as I who believe. I believe that only God could create such a conundrum, and allow it to exist over the course of all of the generations since it occurred.
No comments:
Post a Comment