CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas Day is one of the most important days in the Christian Church calendar. It is the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The Story of Jesus' birth, or nativity, is told in the Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke.

Matthew 1:18-2:23

English Standard Version

The Birth of Jesus Christ

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 from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20

New International Version

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

While the majority of the Christian world celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December, for many of the world's 200 million Orthodox Christians, the birth of Jesus Christ is marked on 7 January. This is because they follow the Julian calendar, unlike Christian denominations which follow the Gregorian calendar.

Christians believe that Jesus is Son of God and Son of Mary, so both human and divine. In Jesus, God enters into the world he has made and which he loves so much, taking into himself our human nature, with all that that means: the joys and sorrows of human living and loving. This shows how much God loves and values the beautiful world and the beautiful creatures he has made. Jesus even shares our death too, so that we might rise with him to new and eternal life, although we learn more about that in the Easter story. One of the first Christian teachers wrote that 'the Son of God became the Son of Man, that the sons of men might become the sons of God', or as we might put it nowadays, 'the Son of God became a human being, so that human beings might become the children of God.'

What an amazing and wonderful thing it is, that God, the Lord of all, should become a tiny, vulnerable baby...!