In my column today, which will be the last one before Christmas, I want to focus your attention on the true spirit of Christmas.
In the midst of all the hoopla, commercialism, and other obvious distractions that have superseded the true spirit or meaning of Christmas, I am fully persuaded that it is very necessary that everyone who knows the true meaning of the season endeavor to demonstrate it to those who they will interact with during this festive time.
In order to truly understand what Christmas is all about, we must go back to the original narrative as it is contained in the Bible. There is a recurrent theme that captures and defines the true meaning of Christmas.
First and foremost, the greatest story ever told begins with the Heavenly Father who through his love for humanity was willing to give His Only Begotten Son to be the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
A young woman who was of the lineage of David and lived in Bethlehem was willing to give her body in order to birth the Christ Child.
When her fiancé discovered that she was with child, of which he was not the father, he grappled with the idea of how to get out of his vow to marry her without putting her to public shame.
He persisted in this struggle until an angel appeared to him in a dream and assured him that his espoused wife had not been unfaithful and that the child she was pregnant with was “conceived in her by the Holy Ghost.”
Upon hearing these words, he was completely purged from all suspicion of any infidelity on her part and gave himself to be the stepfather of the Christ Child.
The primary theme of the Christmas story was continued and expressed through the shepherds, who after they had been divinely visited and given information by an angel and witnessed the miraculous phenomenon of a multitude of the heavenly host singing and praising God, left their sheep and went to Bethlehem to be the first witnesses of the birth of the Christ Child.
The wise men, who came from the east (Persia) seeking the location of the One who was born to be King of the Jews further personified the theme and spirit of Christmas. These Aristocratic men, who studied the stars, came to worship the Christ Child, as well as to present gifts to Him.
In the field of myth and fiction that is associated with the birth of the Christ Child, there is a very remarkable story of a peasant boy who was granted the privilege of being one of the few people to see the Baby in the manger on that first Christmas morning.
According to the story, he had no gift to present to Him; however, he was gifted to be a drummer.
From his heart, he used what was in his possession to present a gift through playing a beat on his drum to the Baby in the manger.
Still in the field of fiction and literature, we are going to consider two of my favorite Christmas stories that typify the theme and true spirit of Christmas. Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol” is arguably the most popular narrative of Christmas written from a secular perspective. His lead character in the drama was a man named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge hated the Christmas season and thought that all of the fuss and festivities that came with the season was a bunch of nonsense and humbug. He persisted in this critical and grouchy attitude until he was visited by the three spirits of Christmas. It was the visit of the last specter that revealed to him his ominous future that brought about an immediate change of heart and perspective of Christmas in Scrooge. Awakening from that dreadful dream, Scrooge went out on Christmas morning and expressed the true meaning and spirit of Christmas in grand style sparing no expense. It was said that from that time forward, no one captured and celebrated the true meaning and spirit of Christmas like Ebenezer Scrooge. My final allusion into the world of fiction and literature, in order to illustrate the true spirit of Christmas, is a story converted into a movie, which was produced and directed by Frank Capra, starring Jimmy Stewart entitled, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The plot of the story is centered on a man name George Bailey, who found himself stuck in his hometown with the responsibility of having to run the family business because he was the older of two brothers. Having to put his ambitions and plans to go to college and thereafter, pursue his personal goals on hold, George felt deprived and felt that his life had been wasted running the family business. Through a chain of disastrous events brought on by the loss of several thousand dollars by his forgetful uncle, George in much despair and desperation contemplated suicide. After he is rescued, by an aged angel named Clarence, who miraculously shows him that his life was not a waste, but had made an impact and difference in the lives of so many others, his brother Harry perhaps being the greatest benefactor. George came to understand that he had lived a wonderful life because he had helped and given of himself.to so many others. Again, this classic story illustrates the true meaning and spirit of Christmas.
Would you believe that only about ten hours prior to writing this piece, I received a call from a person who is very prominent and even famous for doing mission work in various parts of the Third World? In the conversation with her, I was made privy to a very regrettable and unfortunate incident that recently transpired in her life. Someone that she trusted was able to go into her personal account, as well as that of the ministry, through identity theft, and stole all of the money, to the tune of several thousands of dollars. This Judas act left her and her ministry with no cash reserves to operate, setting them in the grave predicament of indefinite shutdown. Consulting the Lord and sleeping on the issue, the idea of this article was birthed. I knew what I had to do. I had to act and show compassion by reaching out to help this dear sister who is doing a great work for God and thus fulfilling what has been the recurrent theme of this column today. May you move in like fashion during this special season… Merry Christmas!