Rev Francisco BilogGalatians 4:4
Have you finished your Christmas preparation? The Christmas card that you have to mail? the gifts for your God-children, your family, and one whom you think is in need?; the house decoration and the food for your family celebration? Is it giving you a lot of fun or many problems? Take a deep breath and relax. Now how about your spiritual celebration of Christmas, how far have you prepared?
Our text from Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia reminds that God also prepared the world well for the coming of his Son, Jesus. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His son” (Galatians 4:4.) God did not wake up one morning and say, “Well, I think I will send my Son to the earth today. It’s as good as a time as any.” No, God prepared the world in a unique way for the coming of the Savior.
Scholars have pointed out how the world was prepared by Caesar’s great achievement of unification. Then the known world was one empire. There were no known barriers for the Roman flag flew everywhere on earth.
Because of this there was peace everywhere. If Christ had come a century earlier, the gospel would have been blocked by jealous, national frontiers and with people fighting. If Jesus had come a century later, civilization would have been occupied with the terrible battle against the barbarian’s hordes from the north. But God prepared the world in such a way that therewas for a time a world peace, and people would not be distracted by war, but would be able to listen to the Gospel.
God also prepared the world by sending Jesus at a time when Roman great roads were finished. From one end of the empire to the other end, you could travel on good roads, swiftly and safely. These roads carried God’s messengers, and the world was evangelized.
The world was also prepared by God by the fact that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem there was one common language in the world. Everybody everywhere knew Greek; hence the missionaries as they went preaching the Gospel could evangelize in one language.
Socially, also the people were ready for a Savior. Two out of every three people in Rome were slaves. The disastrous wars and the wild, colossal extravagance of Herod the Great, the burden of taxation, the overpopulation brought economic depression to the people. This situation made the people ready for a change. They long for someone to save them from the future. They yearned for what the prophets had promised would come out of Bethlehem from the lineage of David. The time had fully come. The way of the Lord had been prepared. As God prepared the world for the coming of the Christ child, so we now have the Advent season to prepare spiritually for the celebration of God’s entering into our world two thousand years ago. Amid all the busy preparation of the season, let us remember what Christmas is, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Amid all the carols and activity, remember that this is a holy day, not a holiday. This is a time that we should prepare the way of the Lord. This is a time when we should be growing in our faith and commitment. We become more loving, more generous to those in and out of our family, more committed to Christ, more eager to help the less fortunate and bolder in sharing the faith.
As we continue our season of preparation, let us learn from the experienced of the three wise men. For aside from the families of Joseph, Mary and Elizabeth, these were the only people who really made preparation for the celebration of the first Christmas.
By reading and searching the Holy Scriptures they were able to understand the prophecies, its meaning and the time of its fulfillment, the birth of the king of Israel and the savior of the world. It was their goal to adore and worship him, so they grew in faith and prepared themselves to worship him, the baby Christ. They too prepared to offer him gifts, so they prepared and brought with them their treasure chest. Of course they also prepared willing to obey whatever commands they will be ask.
Their preparation paid them well. Their first Christmas celebration was successful. By faith they saw the Lord. Their worship and adoration gave them the joy they never had before. It was a wondrous experience that changed them, that when asked to pass another way they did it with joyfully.
We could enrich our preparation for the celebration of the coming of our Savior and Lord. Let us decide to make it a time for spiritual growth by planning activities that contribute to our love for Christ and for one another. We can start by reading and meditating onthe Holy Scripture and what it means to us, our family and our church. What time have you set to read and meditate on the prophecies concerning the coming of Christ? We could prepare ourselves by longing to worship him at home and in church. Have you planned to come to church on December 25 to worship the new born child, or by then you are too tired to come and worship the celebrant? Whatever hindrances, take the persistence of the three wise men. They did it and worship their Savior.
We too could prepare our gifts to the newborn child. We could do it by giving to His body the church of which his mission is being carried out. We too could also give to the least of his brethren in his name, remembering his parting words, “if you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it unto me.”
What gift have you prepared? Would you be bringing your treasure chest and opened it when you worship the Christ child?
We can also prepare ourselves to accept and obey God’s will and or command to us, saying, “Let it be, as you wish!” Would you be bold enough to follow another way in your life when God ask you to? Remember the song
“Trust and obey, for theirs no other way;
To be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
I wish the best preparation for a meaningful season and a wonderful Christmas celebration. Amen.