What Does Christmas Mean?

The "grotto" at the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born according to the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Another rock grotto in Bethlehem which could be the place of Jesus' birth.

Two out of four Gospels (Matthew and Luke) record a number of historical details about the birth of Jesus.  Both include genealogies, showing Jesus' biological lineage.  Both indicate that he was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod (Matthew), the rule Governor Quirinius (Luke) and under the reign of Caesar Augustus (Luke).  Jesus mother, father, family, and paternal home are all identified.  Why is this important?  Wouldn't the story be the same if we just had John's esoteric creation account ("In the beginning was the Word...") or Mark's report of John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus ("After me comes one more powerful than I...")?  When I first visited the "grotto" of the Church of the Nativity (pictured above) where Jesus was supposedly born, the images and decorations of the Eastern Orthodox tradition were unfamiliar.  Furthermore, I knew that it wasn't until several hundred years after Jesus' birth that this site was identified as Jesus' birthplace--meaning that one of the many of the shallow limestone caves in and around Bethlehem could just as likely be the real birthplace.  In the end, it doesn't matter where Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  What matters is that he was born in Bethlehem, under the reign of Herod, Quirinius, and Caesar Augustus, etc.

In Haiti, many evangelical Christians don't recognize or celebrate Christmas (or Advent) because of a perceived association with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.  This is sad because in Christmas we remember that Jesus is not merely an idea or spiritual principle (as many in our own culture would like to believe).  He is a historical person whose birth and life makes a huge difference to our world.  Since Scripture claims he is a real person, we are all faced with a real choice of what our response will be to the teaching and claims of Jesus.  Please pray that more and more Haitians would acknowledge the Christmas child.  Pray also for a renewal of faith in North America where we are comfortable talking about "God" and "faith," but not about Jesus Christ who gives us faith and allows us to know God.