All for Us

CHRIST and MASS means Christmas

John, under the influence of the Holy Spirit – for no man can conceive such profoundness – wrote, “In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of man. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:1, 3-5). Genesis One has that God created everything by the “Dabar” or the “Logos” or the “Word.” Jesus added, “…Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever” (Heb.13: 8). And His promise, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

This was the Christ the first Christians believed in. What have we done with Christ? We have created Christmas – just another holiday. We have no problem mentioning George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr., but it is illegal to speak of the Creator and Savior, on whom our heroes depended, in public. Yes, our Christian ancestors have set aside one day a year and a few hours in Churches to celebrate Mass. It is a service performed by exceptionally talented humans that are pompously dressed. The Mass ends in a memorial meal or Eucharist (communion). If it were not for the displays of nativity scenes, there would be no resemblance to the humble animal shelter in Bethlehem. One wonders how Jesus would feel in our materially decorated sanctuaries that his followers have built to isolate him from the world? He was not at all pleased when his Father’s house was subjected to commercialism (Mark 11:12-17). Darkness, like then, has impacted our understanding.

Christ, in the Greek is “Xristos” and in the Hebrew “Messias,” and means the Anointed or Sanctified One. How was Jesus sanctified? John the Baptist described the baptism of Jesus thus, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him” (John 1:32). The Spirit was joined by a voice from heaven that declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 2:16-17). Jesus, Himself, stated, “The Father is in me and I am in the Father” and my work proves it (John 10:38; 14:10). And to His disciples He said, “Anyone who sees me sees the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus was Immanuel and God with us (Matthew 1:23). In order to reach and save his fallen image (man), God assumed “human likeness” and lived and died like all humans do (Philippians 2:6-11; Hebrews 2:5-18). That is why Jesus had to die as the Son of man (Mark 8:31), and rise from the dead as the Son of God (Mark 14:62). In Adam, humans die; in Christ they can live again (Romans 5:12-21). Without Christ the life, man would have had to spend eternity in death.

God is able to be many things. Jesus gave us only few hints. He is Spirit, a Father, love and grace; but more needful for man is being the “Word” (Logos, Dabar). God’s Word is his Son and He has spoken and still speaks to the world through his Son (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus agreed, “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:10). It was through the “Word” that the world came into being and so did everything else, including the human race (Genesis 1; John 1:3-5). And it is through the “Word” that God communicates with man (John 14:6). It all began on Christmas day and it does reach into eternity. It is not a one-day holiday but a life-long and eternal celebration of salvation.