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Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000032S
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00:00 - You might find it surprising to learn that
00:02 Christians haven't always loved the idea of Christmas. 00:05 In fact, the Christmas season has actually sparked 00:08 some of the biggest debates in the history of Christianity. 00:11 And that's our topic on today's Authentic. 00:15 [soft music] 00:36 I know this is going to be hard to believe 00:38 because here in North America, 00:39 the Christmas season virtually starts 00:41 at the end of November, 00:42 but there was a time when, to Christians, 00:45 Christmas wasn't that big of a deal. 00:48 Today, it's practically the biggest festival of the year, 00:51 even though officially. 00:52 According to traditional church doctrine, 00:55 it's supposed to come second place to Easter. 00:58 But historically speaking, 01:00 the sheer size of Christmas is a relatively new phenomenon. 01:04 The fact is it took us hundreds of years to settle on a date 01:07 for the birth of Christ. 01:09 And the one that we've chosen is probably wrong. 01:13 But that's not really what I want to dwell on today 01:15 because I think most people are aware that 01:17 December 25th probably isn't the anniversary 01:21 of Christ's birth. 01:22 In fact, it's more likely that we arrived at that date 01:25 by co-opting popular winter festivals 01:27 that the Romans held like Saturnalia, 01:30 which ran from December 17 to December 23 01:33 and Brumalia which fell on December 25. 01:37 Brumalia was a festival dedicated to the gods 01:40 Saturn and Bacchus and it involved a great deal of feasting. 01:44 So as you can imagine, it was very popular, 01:47 so popular, in fact, that after the Roman Empire 01:50 sort of converted to Christianity in the fourth century, 01:54 it was nearly impossible to unseat the popularity 01:58 of these festivals. 01:59 So, and this was the approach that Pope Gregory the Great 02:02 took, instead of forbidding these pagan festivals, 02:06 they reinterpreted them and claimed them 02:09 for the Christian faith. 02:12 We actually have a record of this happening up in England, 02:14 where the missionary Augustine, 02:16 not the church father from North Africa, 02:18 but the man who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. 02:23 Augustine had a terrible time trying to convince 02:26 a Germanic tribe known as the Angles, 02:28 who became the English to give up 02:31 their pagan rites and rituals. 02:33 So instead of forcing the Angles into submission, 02:37 he decided to keep the pagan temples 02:39 and rework them as Christian houses of worship. 02:43 Here's what Pope Gregory told them to do 02:45 back in the 590s AD. 02:48 I'm just going to read the beginning and the end 02:50 of this letter, because it's pretty long. 02:53 The Pope writes, "when Almighty God shall have brought you 02:56 to our most reverend brother, the bishop Augustine, 03:00 tell him that I have long been considering with myself 03:03 about the case of the Angli", that's the English, 03:06 "to wit, that the temples of idols in that nation 03:09 should not be destroyed, 03:11 but that the idols themselves that are in them, should be." 03:14 So, in other words, they're going to keep the buildings 03:17 and turn them into Christian houses of worship. 03:19 Why? 03:20 Well, he says this, "for it is undoubtedly impossible 03:24 to cut away everything at once from hard hearts, 03:27 since one who strives to ascend to the highest place 03:30 must needs rise by steps or paces, and not by leaps." 03:36 What he's basically saying is this: 03:38 if you rip down the temples, 03:40 it's going to be too much, too soon. 03:43 Let the pagans keep the buildings 03:45 and dedicate them to Christ. 03:47 And this was the attitude that most of Western Christianity, 03:50 at least the Christianity centered in Rome adopted 03:54 in the early medieval period. 03:57 It also meant that the winter festivals were slowly 04:00 but surely repurposed to represent the birth of Christ. 04:04 Now, to be perfectly honest, 04:06 the history of this is not entirely clear. 04:10 And there was considerable debate in the early days 04:12 of the church about when Christ was born. 04:16 Eventually they did settle on December, 04:18 but even then the celebration of Christmas 04:21 was nowhere near the big deal that it is today. 04:25 In a lot of places, it pretty much came and went like 04:28 any other church holiday. 04:31 Of course, the partial retention of some elements 04:34 of pagan culture did create some consternation 04:37 after the 1500s, when large numbers of Christians 04:41 started to reform the practices of the Western Church. 04:44 In addition to looking at key theological issues 04:47 like the sale of indulgences, the role of priests 04:50 and the nature of the communion service. 04:53 Some people started to look at absolutely everything, 04:57 including any lingering traces of pagan culture 05:01 that might be hiding in the Liturgical Calendar. 05:04 And in England, the Puritans wanted nothing 05:08 to do with Christmas. 05:10 And the reason they didn't like it was 05:12 because of the way that it was celebrated, 05:14 not because they didn't want to honor the birth of Christ. 05:18 And the Puritans weren't alone in condemning 05:20 the moral excesses that went with the Christmas season, 05:23 stuff that seemed to linger from the days of 05:25 those wild Roman parties. 05:28 People were getting drunk. 05:29 They were behaving like gluttons. 05:31 They were acting foolish, even during church services. 05:35 And to many Christians, it still felt well, 05:37 a little too pagan. 05:40 Now I'm summarizing an awful lot of history 05:43 and I'm not really doing it justice, 05:45 but I only have 28 minutes, 05:47 so you're going to have to put up 05:48 with some big generalizations. 05:51 Maybe I'll just sum it up like this. 05:53 Over the centuries it wasn't just the Puritans 05:56 who raised questions about Christmas. 05:58 And there was a lot of back and forth on the issue of 06:01 borrowed paganism and the rather raucous habits 06:05 of some people during the Christmas season. 06:09 But because the Puritans loom large in our American memory, 06:13 and everybody was talking about them just a few weeks ago 06:15 at Thanksgiving, I just kind of gravitate to them. 06:19 And so I'll show you the kinds of concerns 06:23 that led the Puritans to want to get rid of Christmas. 06:25 This comes from a pamphlet written in 1583, 06:28 so really just before the 17th century. 06:31 And here's what it said, 06:33 "in Christmas time, there is nothing else used, 06:35 but cards, dice, tables, masking, mumming, bowling, 06:38 and such like fooleries." 06:40 In other words, they thought people were having 06:42 way too much fun. 06:43 "And the reason is for that, they think they have 06:46 a commission and prerogative that time 06:48 to do what they list and to follow what vanity they will." 06:52 Apparently people seem to think that all the normal rules 06:55 of polite Christian behavior had been suspended 06:58 for Christmas. 06:59 And so this Puritan author makes this plea. 07:02 "But the true celebration of the feast of Christmas is 07:05 to meditate as it were to ruminate in the secret cogitations 07:09 of our minds upon the incarnation and birth 07:12 of Jesus Christ, God and man, not only at that time, 07:16 but all the times and days of our life 07:19 and to show ourselves thankful 07:21 to his blessed majesty for the same." 07:24 So this author is not really condemning 07:27 the observance of Christmas. 07:28 He just has a problem with how people were observing it. 07:32 And of course, once the British monarchy was overthrown 07:35 in the 17th century, 07:36 the Puritans just banned Christmas altogether. 07:41 For that matter, they also implemented strict rules 07:43 on how to keep the Sabbath, 07:45 which they thought was on Sunday, 07:48 because they were irritated at 07:49 how the British king had published a book, 07:51 outlining all the acceptable leisure activities 07:54 a person could engage in on a Sabbath afternoon. 07:58 Of course the British monarchy was eventually restored 08:01 and life went back to normal and here we are today 08:04 with Christmas still on our calendar. 08:06 And it comes as a surprise to a lot of modern Christians, 08:09 but it was only during the 1800s 08:12 that Christmas really grew in popularity 08:15 and became the major festival that it is today. 08:18 I mean, people were obviously partying in the distant past 08:21 and there was an observance of the birth of Christ. 08:25 But Christmas is, you and I know it, 08:27 the big commercial enterprise 08:28 that completely permeates our marketplaces 08:31 for six or seven weeks. 08:33 And that's a really recent phenomenon. 08:36 Now, if you think I'm about to condemn Christmas, 08:38 you can relax. 08:40 I'm not, but I've got to take a quick break. 08:42 And when I come back, 08:43 I'm going to look at the big underlying question 08:45 about cultural accommodation, 08:48 which is the real reason the observance of Christmas 08:50 became an issue at all. 08:54 - [Announcer] Life can throw a lot at us. 08:57 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 09:00 but that's where the Bible comes in. 09:02 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 09:05 You're at the Voice of Prophecy. 09:07 We've created the Discover Bible Guides 09:09 to be your guide to the Bible. 09:11 They're designed to be simple, easy to use 09:13 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions. 09:16 And they're absolutely free. 09:18 So jump online now, or give us a call 09:21 and start your journey of discovery. 09:24 - There are all kinds of approaches 09:25 that modern Christians take toward the authority 09:28 of scripture, but among those who treat this 09:30 as the infallible word of God, 09:33 there are really two schools of thought, 09:36 at least when it comes to how you're going to 09:38 think about its impact on your behavior 09:41 in your religious practice. 09:43 On the one hand, you've got people who say that 09:45 if the Bible doesn't forbid something, 09:47 then you're allowed to do it. 09:49 On the other hand, you've got people who say that 09:50 if the Bible doesn't prescribe something, 09:53 then you shouldn't be doing it. 09:55 And this to a large extent is where the age-old debate 09:58 about Christmas comes from. 10:00 When it comes to something like the communion service, 10:03 there's no doubt that the Bible prescribes it. 10:05 This is something that all Christians should be doing. 10:09 But you won't find a command in the Bible 10:11 telling Christian churches to observe the birth of Christ. 10:14 And in the earliest decades of the church, they didn't. 10:19 Their primary focus was on the death and resurrection 10:21 of Christ, but there was nothing to suggest that 10:24 we couldn't observe the birth of Christ. 10:26 And so in due time we did, 10:30 and that's where the rubber meets the road. 10:32 Those who argued against the observance of Christmas said 10:35 that God didn't tell us to do it. 10:37 And those who wanted Christmas said, 10:39 look, there's nothing to forbid it. 10:41 And I guess the really interesting thing is that 10:43 both parties were acting in good conscience. 10:47 Both of them wanted to honor Christ, 10:49 but they had different ideas about how you should do that. 10:53 Now for the sake of transparency, 10:55 I should probably acknowledge my indebtedness 10:57 to Gerry Bowler and his book on the history 11:00 of the Christmas debate, 11:01 because most of the examples I'm using today 11:04 actually come from him. 11:06 And it was just easier to access his 11:07 nicely collected research than to spend countless hours 11:11 in the library, looking for my own. 11:13 And in his opening chapter, Mr. Bowler gives us 11:16 two examples of people on either side of this debate. 11:20 On the European mainland, you had the Swiss Calvinist 11:23 who were definitely in favor of Christmas 11:26 and their Second Helvetic Confession stated it this way. 11:30 "It allowed for the observance of the festivities 11:33 of our Lord's nativity", there's Christmas, 11:36 "circumcision, passion, resurrection, ascension, 11:39 and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples." 11:42 So, to these people, Christmas was just part of 11:45 contemplating the life and ministry of Christ. 11:48 But then over on the British Isles, 11:50 you had the Scottish Calvinist who felt that 11:53 observing any of these church holidays was a tribute 11:56 to Roman papal authority. 11:58 In 1560, they put out a book outlining something 12:02 called the "regulative principle" 12:04 or the principle that if the Bible doesn't prescribe it, 12:08 it shouldn't be part of worship. 12:09 In fact, I was born into a Christian tradition 12:13 that's still kind of practiced that regulative principle 12:17 toward the beginning of the 20th century. 12:19 When the only songs they permitted in church 12:21 had to come word for word out of the book of Psalms. 12:26 In 1560, the Scottish Calvinist declared, 12:29 "we understand whatsoever men, by laws, councils 12:33 or constitutions have imposed upon the conscience of men 12:36 without the expressed commandment of God's word." 12:39 So that's it. 12:40 That's the regulative principle, 12:42 the principle that says, if the Bible doesn't prescribe it, 12:45 it's pretty much out of bounds. 12:47 And then it goes on to list a whole bunch of stuff 12:49 that falls into that category. 12:51 And I quote, "such as be vows of chastity, 12:55 forswearing of marriage, 12:57 binding of men and women to several and disguised apparels 13:00 to the superstitious observation of fasting days, 13:03 difference of meat for conscience sake, 13:06 prayer for the dead, 13:07 and keeping of holy days of certain saints commanded by men, 13:10 such as be all those that the Papists have invented." 13:14 So, really their major complaint was that 13:17 these were obligations imposed by the Pope. 13:21 "As the feasts as they turn them of apostles, martyrs, 13:24 virgins of Christmas, circumcision, epiphany, purification, 13:28 and other fond feasts of our Lady, which things, 13:31 because in God's scriptures, they neither have commandment 13:34 nor assurance, we judge them utterly to be abolished 13:37 from this realm, affirming further that 13:40 the obstinate maintainers and teachers of 13:42 such abominations ought not to escape the punishment 13:46 of the civil magistrate." 13:49 So, you'll notice there's a lot of stuff on their list. 13:52 And much of it was something that 13:54 all Protestants agreed with. 13:56 They had doctrinal issues with quite a few of these items. 14:01 And of course, the idea that the Roman Bishop 14:04 could force you to observe these holidays and regulations 14:07 was deeply problematic, 14:09 because from their perspective, 14:11 if the Bible didn't require it, 14:14 you needed the freedom to make your own decision. 14:16 And on that front, I completely agree with them. 14:19 Nobody has the right to force you to do things 14:22 that you believe contradict the scriptures. 14:25 And you'll notice that these Scottish Calvinists 14:27 were trying to ban these religious observances 14:30 from the realm, which makes it obvious. 14:33 They were still living in a world 14:34 where the church played a huge role in running the state, 14:38 which is another big problem 14:40 for the issue of religious liberty. 14:43 Of course, Christmas landed on these people's 14:46 doctrinal chopping block, 14:47 because it was easy to prove that the Bible does not 14:51 ask us to observe the birth of Christ. 14:54 And if religious observance becomes a matter of the state 14:56 forcing you to do something, 14:59 I'm on board, 15:00 you cannot require religious observance by law. 15:03 That is clearly wrong. 15:06 But the Scottish Calvinist wanted more than just 15:08 the banning of church coercion. 15:10 They were introducing their own kind of coercion 15:13 by forcing people, by law, to skip Christmas. 15:17 And that was just as wrong. 15:20 Now I know that some of you are wondering 15:22 what in the world this has to do with right now 15:24 because obviously nobody's forcing Christmas 15:27 and nobody's legally banning it, 15:29 at least not as a matter of personal observance. 15:33 So why even bring up this issue? 15:35 Well, I'll be honest and tell you that 15:36 I do have some skin in this game 15:38 because in my office, 15:41 this is a bigger question than you suspect. 15:44 Every time I dare to go on the air and talk about Christmas 15:47 or pay homage to the birth of Christ, 15:49 I still get letters from some far-flung corners 15:53 of Christianity, complaining that I have somehow 15:56 become an apostate. 15:57 Now, to be honest, a lot of these complaints 16:00 come from overseas, from cultures 16:02 that are radically different than ours. 16:04 And I do suspect that these are places 16:06 where minor sects and cults have had some kind of influence, 16:10 but not all of them. 16:14 I remember one particularly nasty holiday 16:16 when our team here at the Voice of Prophecy 16:18 was invited to host ABC's annual Christmas Eve special, 16:22 and suddenly our social media timeline filled up 16:25 with angry comments from other parts of the world 16:28 telling us that we weren't real Christians 16:31 and that we were somehow offending God 16:33 by acknowledging Christmas. 16:36 I was especially appalled when people started 16:38 posting nasty comments under pictures of 16:40 the children's choir, an award-winning choir by the way, 16:43 that helped us out. 16:45 And people were saying, these children weren't 16:48 real Christians because this was Christmas. 16:51 And I have to say judging by the level of viciousness 16:54 that I saw, some of these people weren't making 16:56 much of a case for their own Christianity. 16:59 You know, the debate might be tiny here in the West. 17:02 There aren't many people 17:04 that are objecting to Christmas here, 17:07 but I assure you at least on a global scale, 17:09 the debate isn't quite dead. 17:12 So what I'm going to do today is this, 17:15 because personally I'm more in line with the idea 17:17 that if something doesn't violate a command of scripture 17:21 and it doesn't violate the principles of scripture 17:23 or the moral law of God, then it probably isn't wrong. 17:27 And just to be clear, for me personally, 17:30 the Bible is the ultimate court of appeal 17:33 and the infallible authoritative standard 17:36 of Christian faith in practice, 17:37 which means that I completely affirm its authority 17:41 over my faith. 17:42 And what I do when it comes to the matter of deciding 17:45 whether or not I'm going to participate in something, 17:48 I want to ask myself whether or not 17:50 I'm violating biblical principle. 17:54 And I'll be honest in the holiday season, 17:57 it can be easy to wander into inappropriate territory, 18:01 things like drunkenness or gluttony or greed. 18:04 Along those, I have to agree with the Puritans. 18:06 Those are out of bounds. 18:09 But dedicating time for meditating on 18:11 the incarnation of Christ, 18:13 taking time with my family 18:15 to let them know how much I appreciate them, 18:17 giving my children gifts, a nice family dinner, 18:20 reading from the Gospel of Luke 18:22 and singing about the fact that 18:23 God became a flesh-and-blood human being, 18:26 man, give me a break. 18:27 There's nothing wrong with that. 18:29 Now I do have to take another quick break, 18:31 but don't go away because I'm about to wish you all 18:34 peace on Earth and Goodwill toward men. 18:40 - [Announcer] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues, 18:44 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 18:49 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 18:51 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 18:54 Our free Focus on Prophecy Guides are designed to help you 18:57 unlock the mysteries of the Bible 18:59 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 19:01 for you and our world. 19:03 Study online or request them by mail 19:05 and start bringing prophecy into focus, today. 19:10 - You know, it comes as a surprise 19:11 to a lot of modern Christians that there was ever a debate 19:14 about the subject of Christmas, 19:16 but for a really long time, that debate was real. 19:21 And just before the break, I mentioned my own position. 19:24 What seems appropriate to me is to ask whether or not 19:27 an activity is violating the principles of God's word. 19:31 Now you might not agree with everything I've said 19:33 and that's okay. 19:35 You do you and I'll do me. 19:37 And what I pray is that both of us are following Christ 19:40 to the best of our ability 19:42 and building a meaningful relationship with God. 19:46 And I guess that's my appeal to all of us 19:48 this Christmas season. 19:50 And now I want to break away from the ancient debate 19:52 over Christmas and move on to something else 19:54 pretty important. 19:56 Unfortunately, it's starting to feel like 19:58 Christians are following in the footsteps of wider society, 20:01 and we're allowing ourselves to be divided over things 20:04 that shouldn't divide us. 20:06 We've become such a sharply divided society as a whole. 20:10 We've become so impatient and angry with each other. 20:14 Then maybe this season we could take the time 20:17 to remember that you and I were radically 20:19 at odds with God once. 20:22 Our sins made him completely unapproachable. 20:26 And yet in the birth of Christ, 20:28 God made an astonishingly humble move in our direction 20:34 and he didn't have to do it. 20:36 He could have left us to die in our sins, 20:38 but instead he chose to become one of us 20:42 and live here with us in this horrible mess we created 20:46 in a very broken world. 20:50 And it seems to me that the very least we could do 20:52 in response to that kind of godly love 20:55 is to humble our own hearts 20:56 and become more generous with each other. 20:59 Honestly, I've always struggled to understand 21:02 why some Christians seem to want to 21:04 regulate other people's behavior. 21:06 I mean, if we're talking about flagrant immorality, 21:09 if we're talking about violating the Ten Commandments, 21:11 okay, I get it. 21:13 Churches really are supposed to deal with moral problems 21:16 when they crop up in a congregation. 21:18 And in some ways we could afford to be more faithful 21:22 about doing it. 21:23 The Bible makes it abundantly clear 21:25 and Paul spends a lot of time trying to correct 21:27 the immorality found in some of the earliest churches. 21:32 but you know, when it comes to personal choice, 21:34 you've got to wonder, why is it so hard 21:37 to let other people make their own decisions? 21:40 Why do we have this irresistible urge 21:43 to remake other people in our own image? 21:46 Here's some good advice from the writings of Paul, 21:49 which might be a great motto for Christians 21:51 who want to remember the humility of Christ 21:54 during the Christmas season. 21:56 And he mentions this in the context of 21:58 the incarnation or the birth of Christ. 22:01 He writes, "therefore, if there is any consolation 22:05 in Christ, if any comfort of love, 22:07 if any fellowship of the spirit, 22:09 if any affection and mercy, 22:11 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, 22:14 having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. 22:18 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, 22:21 but in lowliness of mind. 22:23 Let each esteem others better than himself. 22:27 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, 22:29 but also for the interests of others." 22:33 And then he goes on to describe 22:35 how Jesus had all the glory of Heaven at his disposal, 22:39 And yet he chose to humble himself 22:41 by appearing as a human baby in Bethlehem. 22:44 He writes, "let this mind be in you, 22:46 which was also in Christ Jesus, 22:49 who being in the form of God, 22:50 did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 22:53 but made himself of no reputation, 22:56 taking the form of a bondservant 22:58 and coming in the likeness of men." 23:01 what would it look like, 23:03 in the spirit of the birth of Christ? 23:05 What would it look like 23:07 if you and I really did esteem other people 23:10 as better than ourselves? 23:13 I know it's not an easy approach to life 23:15 because our hearts are saturated with pride. 23:17 But what if we just did that? 23:19 I mean, if God the Son can play such a high value on us, 23:26 then we can afford to place a high value on each other. 23:28 And you'll notice Jesus attracted huge crowds 23:31 who wanted to know more about this God of love, 23:34 but he didn't run around condemning people 23:36 over everything they did. 23:38 In fact, the only group he ever got rough with 23:40 was the religious leaders who were going around 23:43 trying to regulate everybody's behavior. 23:46 You know, there's an old Christmas tradition 23:48 where people traded roles for a day or two 23:50 and servants acted like bosses 23:52 and bosses acted like servants. 23:54 You still find remnants of this tradition in Boxing Day, 23:57 which is celebrated in the British Commonwealth. 24:00 At one point in history, 24:01 there was even a special day when one of the choir boys 24:04 at church got to dress up like the bishop 24:06 and do his job for a day. 24:08 And while there were parts of that celebration 24:10 that made some people uncomfortable 24:12 because it felt like it was mocking the clergy. 24:15 There was something about it 24:16 that seems entirely appropriate 24:18 to the spirit of Christ's birth. 24:20 The King of Heaven became one of us, 24:22 and because of that, we will one day live like he does. 24:27 In fact, in Revelation 3:21, 24:28 the Bible indicates that Christ, the heavenly king 24:32 intends to share his throne with us. 24:35 It says, "to him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me 24:38 on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down 24:42 with my father on his throne." 24:44 No wonder the angels were so deeply moved the night 24:47 they announced Christ birth to the shepherds. 24:50 I'll be right back after this. 24:53 - [Announcer] Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 24:55 we're committed to creating top quality programming 24:57 for the whole family, like our audio adventure series 25:00 Discovery Mountain. 25:02 Discovery Mountain is a Bible-based program 25:04 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 25:07 Your family will enjoy the faith-building stories 25:10 from this small mountain summer camp, Penn Town 25:12 with 24 seasonal episodes every year 25:15 and fresh content every week. 25:17 There's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 25:23 - Just before the break, I mentioned the song of the angels, 25:27 the night that Christ was born. 25:28 And I thought, I'd end the show today by reading that. 25:31 It's found in Luke chapter two, 25:33 which you probably know 25:34 because it's the one part of the Bible 25:36 that everybody reads this time of year. 25:38 And it's another reason I'm glad for the Christmas season, 25:41 because at least once a year, 25:44 people who don't really think about Christ a lot, 25:47 slow down long enough to pay at least a little attention, 25:50 which is good because I think our world really needs 25:53 to understand that God is not ignoring the human race. 25:57 So Luke chapter two, beginning in verse eight, 25:59 it says "now there were in the same country, 26:02 shepherds living out in the fields, 26:04 keeping watch over their flock by night. 26:07 And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them 26:10 and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 26:13 and they were greatly afraid. 26:15 Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid, 26:18 for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 26:21 which will be to all people. 26:24 For there is born to you this day in the city of David, 26:27 a savior who is Christ the Lord. 26:30 And this will be the sign to you. 26:32 You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 26:35 lying in a manger. 26:37 And suddenly there was with the angel, 26:40 a multitude of the heavenly host, 26:41 praising God and saying glory to God in the highest 26:45 and on Earth, peace, goodwill toward men!" 26:49 People living through the ravages of a pandemic 26:51 and the frustration of political turmoil 26:53 might not feel a lot of Goodwill for other people right now. 26:57 And maybe some of that is due to the fact 26:59 that we've forgotten the kind of Goodwill 27:02 the birth of Christ represents. 27:04 The appearance of that infant in Bethlehem caused angels 27:07 to light up the night sky and they couldn't help themselves. 27:11 They had to start singing because the appearance of God 27:15 is a real human being means that 27:18 you and I have nothing to fear 27:21 and everything to look forward to. 27:25 And so, yes, when the world stops to think about Christ, 27:27 it really is a cause for celebration. 27:30 And I don't know about you, 27:31 but this year I'm going to take advantage of the holidays 27:34 to show that same kind of love for somebody else. 27:38 Just like Jesus put my wellbeing ahead of his own, 27:42 maybe it's time for all of us to, once again, 27:45 esteem others as better than ourselves. 27:49 You know, you've got to wonder 27:51 how much different would life become 27:53 if we really took the birth of Christ to heart. 27:57 From all of us at the Voice of Prophecy, 27:59 Merry Christmas, peace on Earth 28:01 and Goodwill to all of you 28:02 and may the spirit of Christ permeate your homes. 28:06 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 28:08 Thanks for watching. 28:11 [festive music] |
Revised 2021-12-15