That first Christmas was amazing! God broke into our world, into our mess, and brought Hope, Joy and Peace. There was the Heavenly Hosts singing, Stars moving, Shepherds worshipping. God was changing everything. It was the defining moment of the world. And, still is! Jesus, God’s own Son, was born. This is why we even celebrate Christmas. He is the CHRIST of Christmas.
For all the celebration, you know who wasn’t there? The Religious Leaders. What? I mean all of Israel’s top religious leaders were only 6 miles away. From Bethlehem to Jerusalem is only six miles. You could be there in a couple of hours walking. They didn’t show up. Mary and Joseph were obviously there. The Angels came, the Shepherds came, and even the Maji came from thousands of miles away. But, not the Religious Leaders. Not the ones who were waiting on the Messiah, but they were also the ones who were teaching the people about the Messiah’s coming. The ones who should have been there.
Why? I mean, why didn’t they show up? They had to hear the Heavenly Hosts. They had to see the Glory of God. They had to be curious when the Shepherds were telling everyone and the buzz was filling the streets. Maybe they were busy? Maybe they had a bunch of meetings? Maybe they thought surely the Messiah would have come directly to them and not to a bunch of ordinary people? Hmmm. They knew the prophecies about Bethlehem. They even knew it was the right time in history. But, they sure should have gotten it when an entourage showed up in Jerusalem and King Herod called them to inquire why these people were all here to see the one born “King of the Jews.”
They still didn’t come. They didn’t show up. They didn’t worship and experience the beauty, glory and grace of God Almighty. They missed the most important event in the world and in their own personal lives. This is so sad.
May we not miss it. May we not miss what Christmas is really all about. As Christ-followers, we are the religious leaders of our day, and we are subject to the same mistake they made back then. Now, by the grace of God, we have God’s Word and even His Holy Spirit inside of us to lead and guide us. We can still get busy. We can still get distracted. We can still be doing our own agenda, and miss what God is doing in the world today.
This Christmas carve out time to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords. Among the trees, cards, cooking, movies, shopping, travel and everything else that goes along with Christmas in our culture, carve out time to “Come, and adore Him.” Find time to look up at the stars and “behold the Lamb” – the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.” Worship Jesus as you sing the Christmas carols and as you sit in the stillness of your heart knowing that He has changed the world and your life for all eternity.
Jesus is here. Embrace the moment. There will never be another moment in life exactly like this one this Christmas. Life changes. There will always be distractions. There will always be meetings and business to attend to. There will always be challenges. But, there is always only One Savior of the World. This CHRISTmas, let’s be present and truly worship Him. Let’s allow the Good News of Jesus to not just happen 2,000 years ago, but to come alive in us today. Let’s be the spiritual leaders who share the Good News with others out of an overflow of what He is doing in our own lives. This is our time to truly experience Christmas. Don’t miss it! “O, Come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”