Christmas Best Present
Only as the Church recognizes and proclaims with fervor that Jesus Christ is very God of very God, of one substance with the Father and begotten of the Father from eternity, will Christmas be revitalized.
The spirit of the shepherds and the Magi does not pervade the present generation.
The preoccupation of that age with the deity of Christ gave birth to the Christmas festival.
Previous to the fourth century the Church paid scant attention to the birth of Christ. The death and resurrection of the Lord engrossed the minds and hearts of the early believers. Their attention was deeply fixed on the wonder of the Atonement and the glory of the Resurrection. Thus, Good Friday and Easter were the prominent events of the Church year.
The fourth century witnessed a change in emphasis. Controversy concerning the nature of Christ focused attention on the Incarnation. Whether Christ was begotten or unbegotten, whether he was a finite creature or the eternal Creator, was hotly debated in the church and the market place. The controversy shook both Church and Empire. The first ecumenical council at Nicea (A.D. 325) rightly declared that Jesus Christ is very God of very God, of one substance with the Father and begotten of the Father from eternity.
The wonder of the glorious nature of Christ and the mystery of the Incarnation awakened a strong desire to praise and worship God and his Christ on a special day. Not altogether inappropriate was the choice of December 25, which was dedicated in the pagan Roman Empire to the worship of the sun. Homage to the natural sun was superseded by homage to the Sun of Righteousness. The Christian holy day supplanted the pagan holiday.
Only as the Church recognizes and proclaims with fervor that Jesus Christ is very God of very God, of one substance with the Father and begotten of the Father from eternity, will Christmas be revitalized. Only as men are awed by the majesty and glory of Christ will they bow down in adoration and reverence. The human Jesus created by Liberalism in the past several generations arouses no worship in the hearts of men. He has no power to draw men away from baubles and tinsel. That power is exercised only by the eternal Son of God, the Lord of glory, the King of kings.