Merry Christmas

People gather around at Christmas with families and friends.  No matter how big the gathering is, Christmas brings us together.  Jesus brings people together.  The first Christmas was no exception.  The family gathering was small with just Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, but the visitors that came understood the meaning of Christmas better than anyone else in the region. 

After Jesus was born and while they were still in a barn, shepherds came to visit him.  An angel came to them and told them about the Savior that was born.  They understood because they were waiting for years for this Savior.  They went immediately.  Did they leave their flock of sheep?  Did they bring the sheep with them?  Whichever they did, they did not stop and ask permission from their bosses.  They went to Jesus not worrying about their jobs or their livelihood.  Jesus was more important.  Too many times in our society today, we put our jobs before Jesus, even me.  We state the importance of our jobs when in reality, Jesus is much more valuable. After they left, they told others about Jesus.  Once we come to Jesus, we need to share him with others.

A few years later or some time later (Because the Bible says they went to the house), magi came from the East to see Jesus.  They had heard that he was born and wanted to see him.  They asked King Herod where he was, but he didn’t know.  He only wanted to kill him when he did discover it, so that he wouldn’t be threatened.  The same occurs today.  There are people who kill those who bring the message of Jesus, but they can never kill Jesus, or the message.  The magi came to the house and gave gifts.

Their gifts were elaborate and were symbolic.  They gave gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Gold represents a king.  Jesus is the king of kings.  Frankincense is oil that gives an aroma for calming and healing.  Jesus brings peace and healing to those who come to him.  Myrrh is also oil that gives the same aroma that was used for burial.  It represented relief from stress and anxiety, as it represents that Jesus came to die for us so that we can live eternally relieving us from death. The magi, who were from the East and probably not Jewish, understood the coming of the King more than most of the Jews. It’s not our heritage.  It’s our acceptance and belief in Jesus that saves us.

Perhaps the greatest thing that the magi did was that they returned home after being warned in a dream by an angel to take a different route home.  King Herod wanted to kill Jesus.  The magi obeyed.  They met Jesus and didn’t go back to their old ways, but returned on a new route.  When we come to Jesus, we must continue with life on a new route. 

The people that came to Jesus on that first Christmas are more than statues in a manger scene.  Their significance reminds us of how we are to come to Jesus with humility, joy, and return to life with a new route and spread the news about him.  That’s the joy of Christmas.  May we remember this Christmas morning the child born so long ago and the salvation that brings peace and joy that he brought to this world.