A Christmas Celebration

A special Christmas greeting.

Dear BlakeOnline readers,

I hope that everyone is having a safe and joyful Christmas season. Enjoying the sights, sounds, and all-around merriment of Christmas make December my favorite time of the year. I anxiously await each special as it airs on TV, count down the days until Mr. Claus will be hopping down my chimney and, after this year, anticipate Wayne and Lanny security-checking my house for the big guy.

It seems that each year as Christmas comes to a close and people begin to make their resolutions for the year to come, I have trouble with taking the next step forward and entering the new year with everyone else. One of the most dreaded moments of the year, in my opinion, is when I turn on the radio and come to realization that the stations have ceased playing Christmas music. Oh, the horrors! I still enjoy embracing what each new year has to offer, but I tend to want to hang on to Christmas for as long as possible.

So this year, in an effort to not only stretch the season's length out a little bit more, but to also recognize the true meaning of Christmas, I'm pleased to formally announce to you that beginning soon, I'll begin a four-article series that will chronicle the Christmas story as it is told in the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Together, we'll discover the differences between the four tellings of the Nativity, uncover the full story, find out the truth about the mysterious three Wise Men, and more. You won't want to miss this ambitious endeavor, so keep an eye out for it very soon!

Before I let you go, I'd also like to shed some light on a very special passage from the Christmas story, made even more famous when it was recited by Linus in the classic special A Charlie Brown Christmas, from Luke 2:8-15 -

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." (NIV)

I think the message there is pretty clear, and rather hard to top, if you ask me: Christ--our Savior--has been born.

The reason I share that particular passage with you is not only to remind you of the true reason that we celebrate Christmas, but also of the true reason that we celebrate Christmas. Often I embarrassingly view it as a chore to somehow squeeze in the real significance of the Christmas holiday into the hustle and bustle of special-watching and shopping. That's not how it should be. Notice how the shepherds not only took the time to listen to what the angels had to say to them, but they took action and went to see for themselves what this new King was all about.

Perhaps this season, the greatest gift we can give is not only taking the time to honor Christmas's real meaning, but to truly celebrate it and be thankful for it. It doesn't even matter how small our efforts are, as long as take a moment to give back.

Merry Christmas, and best wishes into the new year,

-Blake
December 24, 2009