The Gift of Christmas

21.DEC.07

by Rev. Amos A. Dennie – Moderator E.C.W.I. ST. Vincent and the Grenadines

It is with great delight that I welcome this opportunity on behalf of the Evangelical Church of the West Indies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (ECWI SVG), to address you at this Yuletide season.

Greetings, fellow Vincentians. Please permit me to begin this year’s Christmas message by asking a question. What was essentially the content of the message on the first Christmas day? The obvious answer to this pertinent question is one of peace, love, hope and joy. That was the angelic announcement of the birth of Christ, Saint Luke 2:8-14, and it is very important that we bear this in mind as we celebrate Christmas 2007.{{more}}

Where is the Baby?

The story is told of two women dressed in their finest, having lunch together in an exclusive restaurant. A friend saw them and came over to their table to greet them. What’s the special occasion, she asked. One of the women said, “We are having a birthday party for the baby in our family; he is two years old today”. “Where is the Baby?” the friend asked. The child’s mother answered, “Oh, I dropped him off at my mother’s house, she’s taking care of him until the party is over. It wouldn’t have been fun if he were here”. How ridiculous – A birthday celebration for a child who wasn’t welcomed at his own party!

When you stop to think of it, that’s no more foolish than what is taking place today in our Christmas celebrations: The party going, gift shopping, family gathering and the one whose birthday we commemorate is almost completely forgotten. As Vincentians we must ask ourselves, where is the Baby, The Christ of Christmas in relation to us? Many have Xed Him out, not only of their Christmas celebrations, but will have nothing to do with Him whatsoever. To X Christ out of Christmas is to cancel Christ. All we have left then is mass. What a pity. Like other recent Vincentian events, in particular the earth tremor of 29th November, 2007, I believe it was God’s wake up call for Vincentians and the people of the Caribbean as a whole. When we think of the magnitude of the tremor that we escaped without a scratch, it must be the hand of God that brought us through. God most certainly is asking for our attention as we celebrate the birth of Christ in 2007. Let us take time to reflect on the central message of Christmas and stop the senseless killing and the other hideous forms of violence towards each other. Christmas means “God with us”. Seek help from the One above.

Many people around the world claim that they have been abducted by extraterrestrial beings; researchers refer to it as a new psychological disorder. Jeff Kanipe, an authority in this field of study, says and I quote: “Some people become so obsessed with their desire of help from another world that they hallucinate for help from the skies of aliens saviours that often times behave sinisterly”. The Bible in Isaiah 45:22, God said look to me and be saved all you ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other. It is as if people create their own God to give meaning and purpose to their lives. Such thinking, however, is an illusion and cannot help us. The earth tremor of 29/11/2007 most certainly is a wake up call for us all one month before Christmas. Vincentians, God is trying to get your attention.

Over the centuries, man has not changed. In Isaiah’s day, the nations worshipped gods of their own making. Thus the living and true God commanded people everywhere to discard these false and powerless gods and look to Him alone. He drew sharp contrast between Himself and all other saviours when He said: look to Me and be saved for I am God, Isaiah 45:17. The imaginary god then and now does not tell us who we are, why we are here and how we can be delivered from our sins. However, the one true God does. He became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ John 1:14. Let’s seek our help from Him. Our only hope here below is help from God above.

During this Christmas season in all your good times with family and friends, ensure you do no X out the Christ of the Christmas, because all you will celebrate is mass. Remember, He is the reason for the season and be aware of keeping Christmas and not losing Christ. Give Him the honour He deserves only then you can have a blessed Christmas. With all God’s richest blessings to the church family and the entire nation.