It is Christmas time again and the reason for the season is the birth of Jesus Christ. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, He is known by many names: Savior, Redeemer, Bread of Life, Lord, Creator, Son of the living God, Only Begotten Son, Beloved Son, Holy One of Israel, King of Kings, Head of the Church, The Almighty, Alpha and Omega, Master, King of the Jews, High Priest, Prophet, Teacher, Immanuel, Preacher, Messiah, Bridegroom, Son of Man, and Christ.
These names are also commonly used in many Christian religions and amongst Christian faith. Whatever title one chooses really is not an issue because the fact is without Christ there would not be Christmas. Webster’s Merriam dictionary defines Christmas as, “A Christian Feast on December 25,” and it typically commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also considered a government holiday.
Chritianity.com denotes the term Christmas means Christian mass or Christ’s mass. It doesn’t matter how anybody cooks it down, it doesn’t take much research to discover the holiday of Christmas and the reason it is celebrated in the USA.
A little light reading in the Holy Bible – The King James version and the New International Version – revealed some interesting tidbits leading up to the birth of Jesus. The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was approximately 65 miles and the mode of transportation for common folks was by foot, with an occasional clippity-clop ride on a donkey’s back.
Due to the slow mode of transportation, this trip would have taken about 5 days. Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem and most accounts of the story claim he wanted Mary to have the baby with his family. Additionally, a census was called, and Joseph needed to return to Bethlehem with his family who were descendants of King David and from that region.
Many believe that when they arrived at Bethlehem and Mary was getting close to delivering, the couple was told they had no vacancy in the guest room. Some versions of the story refer to the guest room as an inn.
A little research on the internet revealed that many folks had a guest room for rent to travelers – typically called Katalumas. Nevertheless, Joseph was told the room was reserved for a King.
Due to the urgent nature, the lower room was offered for Joseph and Mary. The lower room in those times was often the first floor of a dwelling called a stable or barn used to herd the animals into at night to protect from theft.
So, they walked 65 miles for approximately five days and wound up staying in a barn. The story states that there was no crib, and a manger or feed trough was used to place the baby in after the birth.
It seems the irony of the matter alone would be as thick as molasses. One would wonder why the King of Kings would not be recognized as he made entry to earth. That is a story all to itself. However, I recall a story that Paul Harvey used to tell on air about this time of year about a religious skeptic. To paraphrase the story: It was a cold raw winter night, and a man heard a weird thumping against the kitchen glass door, he got up to see what the clatter was and saw the sparrows flying into the door apparently to get to warm.
The man’s wife begged he go outside and open the barn door to lure the sparrows in. The man motioned and waved, sang and whistled but the flock merely flew around missing the door. The man did everything he could possibly do and not a single sparrow flew in the barn.
Later that night, the man awoke thinking of how he might have lured the birds to follow him in the barn all he could imagine was that if he could only become a sparrow himself the others would not be afraid of him, and he could lead the flock inside. At the same moment, another thought dawned on him. He grasped the reason Jesus Christ was born.
Christmas time is upon us and a glance around Marshall County easily reveals the reason Christmas is celebrated. If one should find themselves without a reason to celebrate or even without any knowledge of celebrating, simply ask around and the kind folks around here will help lead you to the barn. Merry Christmas to all and thank you all for the celebration of Christmas. It is a grand Birthday Party.