“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the govern­ment will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlast­ing Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his gov­ernment and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, estab­lishing and upholding it with jus­tice and righteousness from that time on and forev­er. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9: 6,7 NI
It was a warm Christmas night. Suddenly a glorious angel of the Lord appeared to a startled group of shepherds who were watching their flocks by night near Beth­lehem. He was bursting with joy, and there was merriment is his voice. In today’s language, he was saying, “Don’t be scared folks. Be happy instead! Tonight, the Mes­siah is born in Bethlehem. You will find the Child lying in a manger in a barn near the hotel.”. Then right away, a multitude of angels began singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill towards men.” Luke 2:14 After the angelic choir fin­ished their concert, for I’m sure they did not sing only one song they left, and the shepherds went right away to Bethlehem to see the Baby Jesus. He was there as the angel said, wrapped warmly, lying in the manger, because there was no room for them in the ihotel. They told Joseph and Mary Davidson about the mes­sage of the angels and then they went to paint the town red with the good news that the king of Israel is born.

Let us read a snippet from the book of St. Luke about the birth of Jesus; 8-12”There were sheep­herders camping in the neighbor­hood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 13-14At once the an­gel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him”. Luke 2: 8- 14 (The Message)

Why should we be happy for Christmas? When Jesus was brought to the temple to be cir­cumcised, God revealed to a devout man named Simeon that he is going to see the Lord Christ Jesus before he dies.. The Holy Spirit led him to the temple and when he saw Jesus, he took him in his arms and said, “God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation; it’s now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-reveal­ing light to the non-Jewish na­tions, and of glory for your people Israel. “ Luke 2: 29-32 Jesus was born to bring salvation and light to all people and glory to his people Israel. He is bringing peace and goodwill to all. He is our Christ­mas gift from the Father. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is the Redeemer, Savior, and Friend. St. Paul said in Galatians 4: 4 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born un­der the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”. So we have been adopted into the family of God through Jesus.

But Christmas is not complete without the Crucifixion where Christ gave us the freedom from certain death because of sin, and His second coming to save us and give us eternal life. Jesus can not save us in our sins but He can save us from our sins. John 3: 16 says, 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
So let us be merry this Christ­mas. Let us give gifts to those who are in need. Let us share our Christmas turkeys to those who could not buy any. At the end of the day we can say we had a Perfect Christmas Day. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL