"What if Jesus had never been born?"

"Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be good news to all men. For unto you is born this day in the city of David - a savior, which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you...you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10). I had to memorize and recite that speech in fifth grade. I had to do that not for Sunday school but for regular school, and not a religious school but a public school. We were putting on a tremendous show that year for Christmas. While one of our teachers played the piano, the entire fifth grade sang all kinds of Christmas songs...about snow and silver and gold decorations and needing a little Christmas. Toward the end we acted out the Nativity story. I was asked to play the angel who made that joyful announcement to the shepherds and I never forgot a single word of it.

Looking back now, I am not sure how we got away with it. It was long after Madeline O'Hara had made a fuss about religion in public schools, and prayer and the Bible was taken out of them. However, there are faithful people everywhere. My homeroom teacher, who I will call Mrs. Barnes, was in charge of the Nativity play. She was quite feisty and had no trouble going against the grain, and I suppose no one felt a strong enough conviction to try to stop her. However it happened, I am very glad that it did. It is a beautiful memory that a deeply cherish. 

I wasn't going to write a blog for Christmas because I didn't think I could come up with anything good enough to do such a magnificent event the justice it deserves. What is the meaning of Christmas? Why is it such a huge, joyful celebration? One question brings us quickly to the answer. It was a question I once heard a minister begin his Christmas Eve sermon with..."What if Jesus had never been born?" 

How would your life be different without Jesus? When I think about that, words from Shakespeare's "MacBeth" come quickly to mind. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." I think I would feel the same way about life if I did not have my Christian faith. We are young, strong and healthy for a short period that passes with the blink of an eye. We get older and start losing everyone we love. We then lose our abilities, our appearance and our health, and eventually we too die. What meaning would life have if there were nothing to hope for beyond that? 

Another speech comes to mind from the same play - one made by Lady MacBeth - the "Out, out, Damned Spot!" speech. If I remember correctly, she is guilty of murder and her conscience is catching up with her. No matter how she tries to rationalize what she did, she can't get rid of the image of having blood on her hands. What a heavy burden to carry!  

Jesus was born to give hope and peace to everyone - even the Lady Macbeths of the world. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, no life that cannot be redeemed. Jesus promises that the craziness of our time in this world is only a small part of our total existence. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life." (John 3:16). It is because of him that we can sing, "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise then when we first begun!" 

                                                                       Merry Christmas!