For many Decembers now, I’ve been hearing the debate about whether it’s appropriate to celebrate Christmas at this time of year. Some argue it was in August or September, based on fascinating calculations that even consider the birth date of Jesus’ distant cousin, John the Baptist. Others reject the celebration of December 25th, asserting it has pagan origins from ancient celebrations unrelated to Jesus.
Personally, I believe that in these matters, the exact date is less important than the correct and practical meaning of the things we do and celebrate. So, I decided to enjoy the beautiful account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:
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 Savior 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.
Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)
As I read this passage, a strange and perhaps naive question occurred to me that I had never thought of before: is Christmas ever celebrated in heaven? And if so, when would it be celebrated? More than one person will think that in heaven there is no place for something as “human” as a Christmas party, but I want to share with you the interesting answer I found in the Word.
Celebration in the Heavens
The Word of God tells us that when Jesus was born, there was a great celebration of praise and worship by celestial hosts who appeared before several shepherds tending their sheep, indicating to them how and where to find the King who had been born. They hurried and found Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, in a scene we all would have wished to witness ourselves.
However, there is something we often don’t think about that moment and place: it was a manger! Mangers were places where animals were fed in stables. In that region, stables were usually in caves or small caverns in the rocks, so they were generally damp, cold, and dark places. Think for a moment about the smell. That manger did not smell like cypress! It was definitely a smelly and surely dirty place.
Why am I ruining the Christmas postcard, you might ask. Bear with me a little further in the book of Luke, and I’ll explain why:
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:1-7 (NIV)
This passage, not at all Christmassy by the way, contains the answer to my question: the greatest celestial celebration is when Jesus Christ comes to be born in the life of a repentant sinner. No matter the date or the hour: every time the dark, dirty, and smelly manger of the human heart inexplicably houses the infinite, perfect, and all-powerful God, the true feast in the heavens takes place.
Many Jews believed that their Messiah would be “born in a golden cradle,” as it was written that he was a descendant of Judah, and therefore, of kings. But he was born there, in the place that was left after there was no room left. The birth of Jesus was a figure of one of the greatest mysteries and miracles of the universe: God wants to come and dwell in our heart’s manger.
There is something that many Christians do not understand, just as those Pharisees did not understand. How could Jesus, so holy, be interested in “dirty sinners”? None of them were there that glorious night in Bethlehem! They would know that He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick. They would know that his human status and comfort mattered little compared to the mission he brought. They would know that sinners, including themselves, were the reason why he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. They would know that in Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
How can we say that we are Christians when we forget those who still do not know Him? How can we pretend to have the mind of Christ if we do not think and walk in pursuit of what He was passionate about? If God Himself came to earth to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, who are we to come to earth to live for ourselves, and to marginalize and be indifferent to those who only have different from us that they ignore what we abundantly know?
Jesus Did Not Stay Lying in the Manger
Another thing that has kept me restless in this matter of Jesus being born in human mangers is that the Christmas tradition exposes us to a potentially disastrous danger. Has anyone been to a typical family party, where there is a duly installed “pasito” or nativity scene with angels, animals, family, and everything, but still everyone smokes, drinks liquor, swears, and gives free rein to all kinds of shenanigans?
I have always thought that the traditional concept of the “Divine Child” is extremely counterproductive and harmful, in the sense that it is easy for an adult to ignore a child. What adult restrains his sins just out of respect for a baby? Many people believe that Jesus is a helpless little child who only cries and wants to be with his mother. Many ignore Him during the Christmas festivities, as if avoiding the whining of a newborn, who can never confront or exhort him about what he does. How easy it is to try to make fun of a little child! What a grave deception to make believe that this is the Jesus of Christmas!
For those who had not realized it, Jesus is no longer a child. He grew in wisdom and grace before God and men. He learned the Scripture all his youth, and probably worked alongside Joseph in the labors of an adult man. One day he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and there began his true career: healing the sick, raising the dead, embracing lepers, enlightening the ignorant, rebuking the hypocrites, and leaving in history his unsurpassed and eternally valid teachings. He demonstrated the true concept of passion, fulfilling his calling regardless of the fatal consequences, allowing himself to be murdered by an enraged mob whom He died forgiving. He rose on the third day to forever differentiate our faith from any cheap religion based only on philosophies, and gave us the Holy Spirit to govern and guide our personal and church life.
How important it is to let Jesus also grow in our hearts! To once and for all stop underestimating what He did by coming to be born in this world, and allow Him to grow in our lives. It is time to decrease, so that He may increase. It is time to overcome the idea of the “Child God,” and realize that no one is greater than Him, no one more powerful, no one more impressive. Sitting on His throne, surrounded by light, with the entire universe revolving around Him, at the right hand of the Father, preparing a place for us, advocating for our innocence, sharpening His sword, saddling His warhorse, preparing to open seals, destroy armies, and claim His kingdom and His creation!
The Spanish singer-songwriter Marcos Vidal masterfully captured this contrast in his work of art “El Niño de Belén” (The Child of Bethlehem), whose lyrics I share with you below:
He was born as a small baby, nothing more
Like one among many who are born to life already.
Nothing else happened, he was a child.He was born and no one asked if when he grew up
He would have great power to heal
If he would walk on the sea. He was a child.He was born and no one asked if he was going to die
If people would hate him one day
If he would be the Redeemer, if he would bring freedom.Who thought that that little child would die on the cross
Bringing a new dawn of light to our world,
And a new life and an opportunity
To reach the Father once more?Who thought that on the third day he would rise again
Defeating hell and fatal death,
Opening new times of happiness
Out of love, out of love for you.Today our world has forgotten about Jesus
They have exchanged his victory for earthly pleasure.
Of his cross, there is only a memory left.To live, to kill if necessary sometimes
To cut life before it can even be born
And of the child of Bethlehem, a memory.To play at being a better generation
To leave home if possible,
To sow hatred and resentment, without knowing how to forgive.Listen at this hour to the eternal truth:
That the child of Bethlehem will one day return
And in glory and power, He will judge so much evil
Marking the final frontierAnd the whole universe will be able to contemplate Him
And every hidden work will be born to the light
His church will march with Him to a new place
A home, a sweet home that He is already preparing.
The Star of Bethlehem
I hope this reflection can provoke greater gratitude for celebrating this Christmas, understanding that more than an old memory of more than 2 millennia, the birth of Jesus has to do with that unforgettable day when we decided to open our hearts for Him to enter.
But even more, it is a time to remember and renew our commitment to make many more Christmases a reality, and to provoke all the feasts in heaven that the Father still gives us time to organize. It is time to be like that star that illuminated the path that led to the Son of God, and allow Him to use us to reach the world He loved so much.