Posted by A day before Christmas is a good time for us to reflect the season being celebrated with a basic yet oftentimes taken for granted question. Why is there a Christmas? It is sometimes funny that everytime I raise this question to my friends, they would wonder why I am asking it and yet they cannot give me an answer except, “Of course there is Christmas because we have bonus, parties, gifts, simbang gabi, and the like.”
But have we considered the fact that Christmas is so significant to us not only because of the funfare and merrymaking that it brings to every corner but much more, there is Christmas because our savior Jesus Christ has to be born first before He can save all of us from the bondage of sin?
A day before that birth, Zechariah affirmed from his personal faith experience about this God through his prayer of praise. The prophecy of Zechariah popularly known as “Benedictus” can be embraced as a prayer of assurance that God is and will always be with us. It somehow resonates well with Psalm 23 “The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.”
It likewise reminds me of the covenant that was made between Laban and Jacob to settle a dispute in the Book of Genesis where they called a certain place Mizpah because there they both promised: “May God keep guard between you and me, when we are far or hidden from each other’s sight” (Genesis 31, 49).
The cry of Zechariah does not guarantee that we will be spared from all problems and trials that will come our way but rather it makes us realize that we will not be confronting the problem alone because God will be with us.
This is where the birth of Jesus comes to life in terms of trying to find enough meaning because He is that kind of God who embraced the level of being human so that He could become one of us except sin and that we will acknowledge such God not only as humble but much more a God that journeys with His people.
A Blessed Christmas!
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