Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. Today, I want you to think through with me some random reflections on Christmas. It's that time of year, and I love to do this every year. And this is one of those times of year when people are open as at no other time to an explanation as to who and what Jesus was and what he did. Is this true for you?

Do you find yourself perhaps more open to hearing about Jesus and his life? There's something about this man's life and death that attracts people like no other. And the apostle Paul puts it this way in the book of Galatians. He says, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. At Christmas, God sent forth his son, didn't he?

Jesus, this vulnerable, needy babe, he was born of a simple Jewish maiden, Mary, born of woman. This son of grace was also born under the law, that is, born under the old covenant of works that we could never perfectly complete, in order that he might redeem those who were under the law, as Paul says, that is, bring back to God we who found ourselves contained and condemned under the law. Oh, Christ, in his life and death on this earth, Christ perfectly obeyed the law in every circumstance in which he found himself. Christ thereby obeyed for us because he was our federal head, that is, the one who acted in our place.

And this is what Paul meant when he said, to redeem those who were under the law. Oh, this is one of those deep theological issues with which we deal when we think about Christmas. In addition to the simpler things like shepherds and wise men and angels, there are many simple as well as complex components of Christmas, many of which we may lack for information. For example, where do we derive the title Christmas? The word Christmas is actually a contraction of two words, Christ's Mass.

The church has long celebrated the lives of the saints in 365 feasts, one for every day of the year. For example, St. Francis of Assisi is assigned October 4, upon which a meal, a prayer, and a Mass are said for St. Francis. And likewise, the feast day for Mary, Mother of God, is celebrated on January 1st of every year, in which a Mass is said in the Roman Catholic Church in her name. And one might then ask, well, then, when is the Mass said for the Savior, Jesus Christ? And the answer is quite simple.

Upon Christmas Day, December 25, this is Christ's feast day. When the Mass is said for him, that is, Christ's Mass contracted now to Christmas. Well, do you see how nothing comes to us in a vacuum? Christ's Mass, December 25, is a feast day, upon which presents are exchanged, feasts are eaten, and religious services are observed. So elevated has this feast day become that it is observed not only by the Roman Catholic Church, but by all Christians everywhere.

Why do you think that December 25 was chosen for Christ's Mass, do you think, December 25? Well, there are two competing theories, only one of which holds up to historical scrutiny. Let me indicate those for you. Number one, the first theory for why December 25 is chosen as Christ's birthday. Well, December 25, number one, was chosen in order to correspond to the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, which is the pagan feast for the god Saturn.

In the Roman panoply of gods, the majestic regal personage of Saturn, occupied this place in the calendar of gods to be recognized and celebrated. For the Romans, it was one of winter's great breaks, when firewood could be burned, animals slaughtered and consumed for protein, and daily labor ceased for at least 12 hours or so in a holiday. In fact, we have a letter from Pope Gregory the Great to a missionary in Britain that pagan temples and festivals be converted into Christian churches and festivals as well in order to facilitate the transition of pagans to Christians. December 25, the day of Christ's Mass, was one of those days.

Well, the second competing theory as to why December 25 was chosen is because December 25 was chosen because it was figured to be precisely nine months after the church calculated Jesus' birth from his conception. Church fathers like Tertullian reasoned that the Bible indicates that Jesus was conceived on the same day on which he was later to die. That is the day he was crucified, and that would be March 25 or 14 of Nisan in the Jewish calendar. So then, nine months later, logically, this places his birth on December 25.

The great theologian, St. Augustine, notes, for he, that is Jesus, is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered. So the womb of the virgin in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. But he was born according to tradition upon December 25, unquote, from no less than authority than St. Augustine. Well, I hope you find that to be at least interesting, if not convincing. But here's another random fact of which you might not be aware concerning Christmas.

Did you know that rank pagan unbelievers were far more conscious of Jesus' birth and his own people, the Jews? That's the thrust of the account of the visit of the Magi, that is, the wise men from the East. Let me take you back to 586 B.C., when the Chaldeans, the pagan magicians of Babylon, in service to King Nebuchadnezzar, when they overran and conquered Judah, just as her prophets had predicted. 2 Kings chapter 23 tells us, And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have also removed Israel. And I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, my name shall be there.

And the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him." The books, the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles record that the Chaldeans carried away everything of value that they found in Jerusalem, including the sacred scriptures they found, which is, of course, the Bible of the Jews. Well, the thing that we must note about these Chaldean pagan scholars is that they read the material that they captured or stole. Well, this happens with every great empire. It's not unique to the Chaldeans.

Those bookish souls who love to pour over pages and documents and scrolls, these kind of bookish souls exist everywhere, including me. I might include myself there as well, although I'm not as great a scholar as many in the past. But these scholars assiduously studied and understood what they read too. They may have been pagans, but they were no dunces. So they studied the prophecies concerning a savior as well.

For example, in Numbers 24, verse 17, they saw this, they read this, and I quote, "...I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." Unquote. So when the Magi in Babylon, after reading these kinds of texts, saw a phenomenon in the sky that is a star that normally did not shine in the western sky, well, they reasoned that this prophecy of the Jews was about to be fulfilled.

A star was about to come out of Jacob. A king, that is a scepter, was about to rise out of Israel. Oh, well, these great scholars, what were they to do? Of course, they would pack up and beat feet to Israel. But to be the first there, right?

Be the first to greet and pay homage to this king who would rule the whole world. This is the background. When you read in Matthew, for example, "...now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." Unquote.

Oh, these Magi, these wise men from the east were more informed, I submit to you, than the sleepy-headed scribes and Pharisees of Israel, who ostensibly studied the text and knew it inside out. Oh, this is one of the points that Matthew intends to make. Even Gentiles were more receptive to the Messiah than his own people. Another favorite random reflection on Christmas for me is the 12 days of Christmas. Oh, what a rich heritage we have in this blessed tradition of the 12 days of Christmas.

What comes to mind for you when you hear, for example, the 12 days of Christmas? Probably the song that begins, on the first day of Christmas, right? My true love gave to me, right? I apologize for singing. This is all we in the West usually get, don't we, concerning the 12 days of Christmas.

We experience Advent where we anticipate Christ's birth perhaps 28 days prior to Christmas mass, Christ's mass. But then, for us, Christmas abruptly ends. We celebrate a secular New Year's Day a week later, and then it's back to the daily grind. Well, not so in the Eastern Orthodox churches. No, no, no, no, no.

Unlike we in the West, the East makes a sacred celebration of Christ from his birth on December 25 to the Epiphany 12 days later on January 6. And that's ostensibly the day when the Magi appeared to worship this newborn king. That's when Christmas ends in the East on January 6. In between, there are 12 feast days when a whole spectrum of spiritual moments are celebrated. Oh, what a memorial of Christianity these 12 days are as well.

And how much is revealed about Christ in these 12 feast days, too. For example, let me just give you a couple of examples. For example, on December 26, the day after Christ's mass, that is the Feast of St. Stephen, a traditional day for giving from the abundance of Christmas to the poor. For example, if you know the hymn, Good King Wenceslas, you know the entire point of the hymn is that the king, on the feast of St. Stephen, spies a poor man come in sight gathering winter fuel. And the good king orders his page, bring me flesh and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither.

Thou and I will see him dine when we bear him hither, unquote, right? It was a feast day for St. Stephen, the first deacon of the church in Acts, December 26. Deacons traditionally make provision for the poor out of the treasury of the church. And so, this day is set aside to lavish a king's abundance on those less fortunate. Oh, you are meant to do this, dear Christian.

Go to the soup kitchen and bring steaks. Go to the city of refuge and replenish their store of turkeys and beef. See that no less fortunate than you enjoy a king's banquet, even as Good King Wenceslas provided for that poor man and his family. Well, another example is December 27. It's a feast day for St. John, the only one of the 12 apostles who did not die a martyr's death, but rather died a natural death.

A mass is said for St. John, the disciple who wrote of the incarnation of Jesus. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And then December 28. Another final example here, December 28, is the feast day of the holy innocence when a mass is said for the children murdered by Herod, a monster who tried to sweep up the newborn baby Jesus in his dragnet of holocaust. Oh, they were not martyrs like St. Stephen, these holy innocents.

St. Stephen died heroically in a vision of the glorified Christ. They were not heroes like the apostles who died consciously witnessing to the risen Christ. Rather, the church asserts, and I agree with them here, that these holy innocents died for Christ nevertheless because they died unjustly before they had a chance to know or to will. In celebrating the holy innocents, we remember the victims of, for example, children of abortion, only fit to do so, or children of war, only fit then, isn't it? Remember the holy innocence of war?

Or perhaps the children who die of parental abuse, all of these and more. Well, each feast day has its own aspect of Christmas that highlights a singular feature for Christians to remember, not just that one day, but all through the year, not just gifts given by my true love like a maid's a milking or golden rings or partridges in a pear tree. No, even Epiphany, January 6, celebrates not only the day on which the wise men arrive to worship the newborn king, but also that's the day on which the gospel is begun to be proclaimed.

Christ's manifestation to the nations, symbolized in these pagan Gentile kings who now have their Savior revealed to them. And so, dear listener, these are not just rote repetition superstitions. No, the 12 days of Christmas, so much more than a Christmas carol about exotic gifts given me by my true love. No, it is more about the good gifts of God to his people for his son, Jesus the Christ. Another random reflection for me on Christmas that I find surprises many people is that the genealogy in Matthew is an integral part of the Christmas story.

What, you may say? Come on, pastor, no boring list of names can be a part of the wondrous story of Christ's nativity. Well then, name me one Christmas carol about the genealogy, right? I've seen plenty of dramatizations about the holy family, found no room at the inn, retired to the manger, or maybe shepherds who tended their flocks by night, visited by angels, even Herod killing the infants of Bethlehem. But I've never seen Cecil B. DeMille or Steven Spielberg dramatize Jesus' genealogy.

That seems to be an oxymoron. A genealogy cannot by definition be dramatic, can it? But any self-respecting Jew of the first century, he would shake his head in disbelief at this kind of attitude. And he'd ask why you could, on the one hand, say you were allowed in the Bible for, while on the other hand, dismissing genealogies. Genealogies were utterly necessary to the life of a young babe for several reasons.

Number one, a child's genealogy established his chosen status. A child's genealogy established his chosen status. Are you a Jew or a Gentile? Well, even today, a Jew is not a Jew unless he can establish his lineage via his parents. A genealogy is crucial to establishing one's chosen status.

And number two, the promised Messiah would descend from Abraham and David. That was the promise. Messiah would descend from Abraham and David. The covenants which God cut with Abraham and David both promised that the Savior of mankind would descend from their line. To Abraham, he said, in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

And to David, he promised in 2 Samuel chapter 7, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Unquote. So when the Messiah appeared, he would have to establish his lineage right out of the gates. No Jew worth his salt would expect anything less, especially those responsible for authenticating these things.

Oh, dear listener, it's difficult for us Gentiles, perhaps on this side of Christmas, to comprehend the primacy of Christ's genealogy to first century Jews, but it was there. And consequently, can you understand the importance of Jesus' birth narrative beginning with these words? The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Few people today realize that the nativity actually begins with a genealogy. Turn to Matthew chapter 1.

You will find that the birth narrative of Jesus begins not with angels or shepherds or Joseph and Mary, but with a dry, boring, and trivial, maybe dry, boring, and trivial, but it begins with a genealogy. It would not have been dry, boring, and trivial to that first generation, to that first audience, that is Jews who expected the Messiah's credentials to be authenticated before anything else was said about him. The genealogy in Matthew does precisely this. It is entirely fitting to begin the birth narrative of Jesus with a genealogy. And thirdly, we must note about this, that Christ's genealogy gathers up all of fallen humanity.

Christ's genealogy gathers up, embraces all of fallen humanity. Oh, there are actually some very poignant moments of drama in the genealogy, if you know your Old Testament. How many of you know, for example, that Jesus is a descendant of incest and prostitution? Oh, yes, a descendant of incest and prostitution by way of Judah and Tamar. Go over that story in Genesis.

Jesus stands in the line of Perez, son of Tamar, who connived and controlled her father-in-law, Judah, to bear her a son by posing as a prostitute. Scandalous! Also scandalous is that Jesus is a descendant of Rahab, the harlot of Jericho. And then what is more, Jesus is also scandalously the descendant of Solomon, who is the son of David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. Well, if you read the genealogy of our Savior, carefully, you notice that there's a lot of saving to do, a lot of saving to do, not just you, but the entire remnant of mankind.

So the next time you pick up Matthew and you begin to read, don't skip over the genealogy with which he begins his narrative. No, that genealogy is integral to his story of salvation by grace. And then finally, I think we'd be remiss to neglect the history of Santa Claus. If we're going to treat of Christmas, right? We'd be remiss to neglect the history of Santa Claus, who today is really a pale image of the real Saint Claus or Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas. Oh, what a contrast between the legend and the reality. The true story of Santa Claus begins rather with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time, the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, they died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young.

Obeying Jesus' words to sell what you own and give the money to the poor, Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. Nicholas dedicated his life to serving God, and he was subsequently made bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern also for sailors and ships. Under the Roman emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, and he was exiled and imprisoned.

Yet, after his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, and he died December 6, A.D. 343, in Myra, and he was buried in his cathedral church. This is Nicholas. This is the real St. Nicholas. One story, for example, tells of a poor man with three daughters. Now, in those days, a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value, a dowry.

The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home, providing the needed dowries. While the bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry.

And this then subsequently led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from St. Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why there are three gold balls. Three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. Therefore, we have oranges off him since they're golden in color, right?

And so St. Nicholas gained a reputation as a gift giver. So, dear listener, banish the notion of the cartoon character Santa Claus that has come to take the place of the real St. Nicholas. Oh, Nicholas would weep if he saw today what's been made of him. St. Nicholas is not a clown character dressed in a red suit with a fluffy white beard and black boots. Bishop Nicholas, indeed loved children deeply, cared for them in an age when infant mortality hovered around 20% and disease and poverty characterized childhood all over Europe and Asia.

St. Nicholas did anonymously leave food and clothing and gifts for children and their families. He didn't slide down chimneys and leave a room full of toys for kids. The good bishop ministered to children in a disciplined fashion all year round. He did not work year round at the North Pole with an army of elves in order to disgorge an avalanche of toys in one night that's Christmas Eve in an orgy of consumerism. No.

St. Nicholas followed the example of Jesus Christ, and he did all in Christ's name. He was not the secular, godless cardboard cutout that our society makes him out to be. So, remember this. Inculcate this, dear listener, dear parent. Teach this example to your children.

Follow the lead of the good Bishop Nicholas, not St. Claus. Finally, my last random reflection on Christmas is this. Why is this season anticipating Christmas called Advent? Advent means coming or arrival. It looks forward to the first arrival of Jesus Christ into the world that he made.

But savvy Christians also know that Christmas anticipates his second Advent when he returns to redeem his own, renew a fallen creation, and judge the wicked. The Lutheran Church has long recognized this facet of Christmas, and here is a prayer from the third Sunday in Advent. Almighty God, you once called John the Baptist to give witness to the coming of your Son and to prepare his way. Grant us, your people, wisdom to see your purpose today and the openness to hear your will that we may witness to Christ's coming, and so prepare his way. Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen. Oh, dear listener, know this. At every Christmas, Christ's first Advent is only half the story. Use this Christmas season to anticipate his second Advent. Put your faith in him now for all the work of salvation that he accomplished at his first Advent and the completion of that work at his second Advent.

Paul says this, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive or are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Oh, come, Lord Jesus. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th Boulevard.

We invite you to join us this holiday season. Meet us in worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of Boulevard. Call us at 523-0196, 523-0196.