The End of the Story...

 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.         -- John the Apostle (seen in a vision on Patmos c.90 AD)

Christmas is at once a delightful holiday full of joy and good-spirit and a time of controversy when those boundaries we have put up between different peoples and cultures are strained and tested. It nags at me every year that there are issues in the celebrating of Christmas. Most of us who are Christian make a great effort to remember the "Reason for the Season".

In our time and place Christmas can be celebrated from start to finish with no real mention of Christ as all. Christmas trees, eggnog, presents, candy, movies, lights, on and on. None of it has to be about Christ if you don't  want it to be. That's weird.

Christmas was first celebrated on December 25th, 336 A.D. Before that, there was no set celebration of the Jesus's birth and there was still a lot of debate about what day he was born on. Virtually everyone agreed that December the 25th was not the day and so in what would prove to be a long Catholic tradition, the date was fixed firmly there. For the last one-thousand six-hundred and seventy-four years, Christians have been celebrating the birth story of Jesus on that day. Currently, there are 490,000 babies born every day. What made one birth worth all that debate?

Christmas is not about dates and times. It is not even about good will and extraordinary charity. It is one thing only. This feast day was created to remind Christians annually of the advent of their creator.

Once there was a man named Jesus. He was good. He taught many hard lessons. He claimed to be God. It was illegal to claim to be God where he lived. He was executed. He came back. He really was God and many people trusted him to save them from a dark and broken world. He is still saving us. If we are going to be become preoccupied with the image of a Jewish baby burbling in a feeding trough we have to bear another image in mind as well. The quote above is from the revelation that John received; that is The Revelation of Jesus Christ. In his visions he saw a man he recognized in a way he had never seen him. John had seen Jesus riding a donkey colt but never a white horse. He had seen him rebuke Peter from drawing a sword to defend him, now one was coming out of his mouth to execute judgement. He had seen Jesus stand silently while he was condemned and to do nothing while unclean hands nailed him to his deathly tree. Now he stood shining in glory with an army at his back and the blood of enemies under his feet.

The next time anyone sees Jesus on the earth, this is what we will see. The good shepherd of Galilee will return as the Commander of the Army of the LORD. Celebrate it. It is worth celebrating. Christ died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. We are not abandoned to the dark and broken world we live in. Sin will not reign indefinitely and what has been stained and ruined will be restored. God promised to be with us. He is with us. That child, that precious and fragile infant who literally was 'born in a barn' will stand at the pinnacle of existence and it will be his rightful place. That's my God. That's who was born on whatever day in obscurity and what I will remember every December the 25th. I will remember the end of the story when I tell the beginning of it.