“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Most of us will recognize this passage from the Bible as some of the words used by George F. W. Handel in his famous oratorio: “The Messiah.” Many people will listen to or even sing some or all this wonderful music during the Christmas season.
In a few days it will be Christmas. The decorations are up, the presents are purchased, wrapped and under the tree. Christmas cards are written and mailed. However, many of us will spend the holiday alone, or with a very few family members. Our seniors are isolated in nursing homes – their children unable to visit them. Many of our churches are closed, or operating with reduced services. What a strange holiday, caused by our society’s reaction to the virus from China, called COVID-19. This is a fearful time. We seem to be focused on ourselves, and fearful of what may become of us.
Was it only 20 years ago that we were fearful of an event know as Y2K? We were afraid that our computers would all malfunction due to the way they were programmed to calculate the current date. It was just over 100 years ago when the world suffered from a great flu pandemic. Millions died!
And yet – we can truly rejoice.
About 2,000 years ago, a 15-year-old virgin gave birth to the child foretold by the prophet, Isaiah, quoted above.
Moses tells us that about 4,000 years ago, God promised a man named Abraham that the entire world would be blessed through his descendant.
About 6,000 years ago, God told the woman, Eve, that her descendant will crush the head of the devil.
All of these promises were fulfilled by the man/God Jesus, son of the virgin Mary, when he died on the Roman cross and three days later rose from the dead. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the central event of history.
Within 300 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. After nearly 300 years of persecution, the Roman Emperor declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Empire. Christianity grew and spread throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Church and government became intertwined and it was difficult sometimes to know which was in charge of the affairs of men and nations.
I just finished reading a book with the title: “A.D. 1000, Living on the Brink of the Apocalypse.” In this book we read: “It is New Year’s Eve, A.D. 999. The Pope says a midnight Mass in the basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome. As the bells toll the new year this pope intones the sacred rite, fulfilling a dark prophecy. It is the dreaded eve of the millennium, the Day of Wrath when the earth is to dissolve into ashes. The faithful lie prostrate and trembling on the floor, awaiting the Final Hour.” The fatal day came and passed, without disaster, just as many supposed “last days” have done so since.
We continue to live in uncertain, even frightening, times. We survived and won the “Cold War” with the Soviet Union. We lived through the energy crisis of the 1970s and 1980s. Now the United States produces more energy than we consume. We are just one more “scare” away from empty shelves in the toilet paper section of our stores.
And yet – we can truly rejoice.
That child, born of a virgin two thousand years ago, still lives. Jesus offers forgiveness, salvation and everlasting life to all believers. Free. No charge. No kidding. We look forward in confidence to events yet unknown, because of Jesus Christ, the center of history. After all, it is His Story!