A CHRISTMAS MEDITATION
Dr. J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
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In a few days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Preparations are underway for
the holidays. In the secular world, the occasion will be for festivities mostly of a
kind inconsistent with the Christian tradition. Ours celebrate the fulfillment of the
promises of God to his people. Isaiah announced the coming of the Anointed
One, a new king who would re-establish the strong kingdom of David and return
glory to Israel (Isa. 9:1-7).
Because of the announcement of a Messianic Kingdom, part of the passage was
used by Matthew in reference to the ministry of the Christ in Galilee. It reads:
“The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up”
(4:15-16).
Paul tells the church in Galatia: “When the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth his Son” (4:4). Kairos! Yes, the time for the coming of Messiah arrived.
While we do not have an exact date or hour (Kronos) but simple calculations of
time of birth, the point is that the announcement of Isaiah for the coming of the
Anointed One becomes final with the incarnation of the Logos of God in Jesus of
Nazareth, that those receiving him may be adopted into the family of God,
“saved” (John 1:1-12). As Isaiah would say: “The zeal of the LORD” did it (9:7).
So, the message of Christmas to us all is scripturally clear one of love for
humanity in general and in particular to folks who embrace the Lord affectively.
The message is two-fold:
1. God’s specific doings (kairos) point to His love for human creation.
Genesis explains that Creation results from planning, a well thought out
arrangement of all that exists, interconnected to form a whole, all made
according to a series of fixed and final events or kairos. In God’s majestic plan,
human beings played a major role (See Gen. 1:1-28). As major players in
creation, the Creator endowed human beings with freedom. But humans did not
use their freedom in a constructive way. Rather, freedom became the instrument
of human deviation and separation from the Creator (See Gen. 3).
2. God’s love for human creation led Him to perform the ultimate kairos.
His human incarnation. In God’s freedom to act or not to act, in the eternal plan,
the Creator provided an opportunity for willing human beings to return and
conform to divine expectations. Paul said that at the right time (kairos), God sent
his Logos (word) to be an offering unto Himself, which would make amends for all
human wrong-doing. Through Jesus as the Christ, God rescued us from our self-
imposed slavery to sin and freed us to be servants of the Lord. So, the coming
of the Christ is the Kairos of kairos, the final act in human salvation.
The celebration of the birth of Jesus will be complete this Christmas as
Christians re-dedicate their lives, not as mere religious exercises, but as sincere
acts of commitment to serve God and as people who do not know the savior
renounce wrong-doing and receive forgiveness of their sins upon confession
and make God Lord of their lives to live according to His expectations.
Elsida and I wish you and yours a most blessed Advent season, as we commend
you to God for your participating with us in His worship this holy season.
Have a very merry and blessed Advent.
Best wishes in the Lord,
Dr. J. C. Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
Champions Christian Counseling Center