The hustle and bustle of the season has tumbled upon us once again. Wreaths and garland are being hung by the fire and on banisters ascending the stairs. Twinkling lights are strung across porches and wrapped around trees illuminating neighborhoods for all to see. The packages, boxes, and bags that appear at the front door are carried inside and converted to Christmas with pretty paper, ribbons, and bows. People are hitting the stores and online shops to begin their Christmas cheer. 

But oh my, let me borrow a quote from our pal The Grinch: “What if Christmas…doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”

I’ve already found myself getting overwhelmed with a rapidly filling calendar, exchanging my home decor for the seasonal green and red, and planning family gatherings. While I want all of these things to bring me joy, I’m finding myself feeling a bit lackluster. Could it be that I’m not remembering and focusing on the true meaning of Christmas? Maybe I could use a jolt. What if a host of heavenly angels suddenly broke open the skies above my house and shouted, “Hey, unto YOU a child is born?” 

Long ago outside a little town called Bethlehem that very thing did happen. Shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night when suddenly “an angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’” (Luke 2:9-11 KJV).

Who was this savior the angels spoke of, and why would that be meaningful to a group of lowly shepherds?  

Indulge me for just a moment while I try to abbreviate the entire Old Testament. Yikes! Man and woman were created by God, they sinned, and were separated from God, God restored them. God created the nation of Israel from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and called them His people. They sinned, separating themselves from God; God punished them by allowing them to wander in the wilderness, by allowing another country to defeat them or take them into captivity. They repented. God saved them. This story is repeated over and over again. 

Israel was taken captive by the Babylonians. They were conquered by the Greeks. And finally, over 60 years before Jesus, the nation of Israel was captured and ruled by the oppressive Romans from Pompey to King Herod. God’s people needed rescue; all people needed salvation. 

During their times of captivity over 400 years before the birth of Jesus, God sent word to prophets who told the people of Israel that God would send a savior, the Messiah, the Anointed One. 

These prophets revealed signs about this One: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14 KJV). 

They told of the timing of the Messiah: “So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” (Dan 9:25 NASB). 

They revealed that the Anointed One would come from Bethlehem: “But you, O Bethlehem…from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2 ESV), and for whom He would come: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isa 9:6 emphasis added).

Every Jewish boy and girl, including the shepherds who watched their sheep by night, learned these prophecies and every Jewish person longed for the day when this king, the Messiah, would save them. 

As the shepherds heard the angel’s announcement of the birth of the Savior, they knew exactly who He was, the One for whom they had long awaited. 

We’ve had many many Christmases in each of our lifetimes. I love people who absolutely love Christmas and exhibit that joy throughout the season. But if you are like me and you find that year after year you get a little lost in the preparations, activities, and to-dos, be encouraged that even the Jewish people of Jesus’s day wondered if and when the day of the Messiah would ever come. The great announcement of the angels to the shepherds broke the years of silence and fulfilled the promise! Hark the herald angels shouted (well maybe they just sang), “Glory to the newborn King.”

Today, maybe there are some things that will help us remember the true meaning of the season. Most years I read a little book by Barbara Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and this reminds me of what Christmas is all about. It shows me Christmas from a new perspective, from the Herdman kids who were a little rowdy, who didn’t grow up in church and were just now learning the whole story. Recently my husband and I saw the movie, and my soul was filled with all things about this season, all the real and true things! I needed that jolt from Gladys Herdman as she shouted at the church congregation: “HEY, UNTO YOU A CHILD IS BORN!” 

Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.