YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

MERRY CHRISTMAS

So here we are on this Christmas Day 2011; aside from the holiday spirit and the normal Christmas Day activities can we find the time to stand and remember just what this day should mean to us all? We commemorate the birth of the Master, the Christ; Jesus is born on this day more than 2000 years ago and for 2000 years or so His message has been languishing in the hearts and minds of men and women around the world. Let us be among those who give New Life to the message of the Master and let us start by renewing our dedication to what Jesus told us were the Greatest of Commandments:

“The first of all the commandments is, Hear , O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this , Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these“

(Mark 12:29-31)

We should here keep in mind two things; first that the scribe with whom the Master was conversing when He said this saying acknowledged to Jesus that this was the Truth of the law to which Jesus, when he saw that the scribe had answered wisely, said “….thou art not far from the kingdom of God….” (Mark 12:34). Is this not our objective as well, to be ever closer to the Kingdom of God? Secondly, we should remember always to link to this Greatest Commandment that other saying of the Master that gives to us the practical understanding of how to love one’s self plus the practical instruction on how it is that we CAN Love our neighbour; He tells us:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them

 (Matthew 7:12)

If we were to commit to doing no other thing but these we could be counted in the same light as the scribe. In the practice of these things we will find that all other commandments and all the words of the Master have their root, and that all else can be accomplished through them. Committing to these sayings of the Master on this Christmas Day is the Greatest Gift that one can give:

• It is first a gift to the Master and all of His Saints and one that He patiently awaits; as He tells us: “…I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth…. And again He says: “…I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:7, 10). We should look at the idea of sinner here as not being necessarily evil or wicked by also as one who is acting in a way that is contrary to the Will of God. Regarding the sayings above we should see that to not do these things is, in itself, sin.
• It is secondly a gift to all the world, our close relatives and loved ones as well as persons we may never know. In this gift is the essence of GoodWill which we know also as Love in Action. It is our expression to others of that clarion call by the angel and the “multitude of the heavenly host” heralding the birth of the Christ and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).
• And it is a gift, the greatest gift, that one can give to himself for in this are the seeds of being accounted worthy of His Kingdom and His Presence.

Continuing with the story of the birth of Jesus we return to the Gospel of Luke where he tells us that: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)  And all went to be taxed,  every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7). There are several things that we should note here; first is the timing of the census which brings to mind the ideas that we espoused in recent posts regarding the way that the Great Plan of the Lord works out in ways that ensure that all things are as they should be. Though the Master is called Jesus of Nazareth it was foretold that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2); and so He is. We are told that the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is 80 plus miles and, in that day, would have taken some time especially for this couple that was “great with child“. Again, in this we should see the Great Plan of God which brought forth this Child after this condition of travel and their arrival with no place to stay the night; we know nothing at all about how they spent the nights while travelling nor how long they stayed at Bethlehem until the Child was born, we only know of there being no room at the inn. Humble beginnings for the King of Kings and likely intended to show to us the theme of the worthlessness of the riches of this world. As the Apostle Paul tells us “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).

So the Master is born and laid in a manger which is likely also where Mary gave birth. What is a manger? it is hard to say; Strong’s tells us simply a stall³, the lexicon says that it is a crib² (which needs also a meaning) and Vincent tells us that it is quite possibly a rock cave⁴. Rev. Hartdegen explains for us that tradition, going back to St. Justin, a native of Palestine, speaks of a cave in which Mary and Joseph found refuge and Mary brought forth the Savior. It is generally agreed that this cave is identical with the present crypt of the Nativity and that “the memory of the birth of Christ was attached to it at the beginning of that (second) century¹⁰. He goes on to say that the use of the term manger in the text implies a stable. At that time in Palestine caves were frequently used as stables an even a dwellings¹⁰. There is little doubt, and so tradition goes as well, that a manger is a stall or a stable of sorts for animals and that this is the humble, the humblest, birthplace of the Christ of God. We should ever ponder on the meaning of this.

This humble birth is then announced by the angel and the heavenly host; not to kings and priests, not to the religious, secular or even community leaders; it is announced to shepherds in the field watching their flocks. The story goes: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:8-20).

This is the story of the birth of our Master, the birth of the Christ. This event, like many things in Jesus life, fulfilled a prophecy given in older times. The Master, in His dialogue, frequently tells us these words: “that it might be fulfilled” and this Great Drama of the conception and the Birth of Jesus fulfilled these prophecies with which we leave off today:

• “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”  (Isaiah 7:14)
• “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government (rule, dominion) shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor , The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government  (rule, dominion) and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6).
• “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Note on the Quote of the Day