Common Sense Reborn

Getting Into The Spirit Part 2

¹⁸This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

²²All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet:

²³“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us’.” (Matthew 1:18-23)

We are two weeks away from Christmas Day. December 25 is the day western culture has set to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. As I wrote last week, I will spend this month focusing on the story of Christmas, and doing my best to get into the Christmas spirit, which brings me to the question: what is the Christmas spirit?

To get the most common textbook answer, I went to GOOGLE and searched “what is Christmas Spirit?” GOOGLEs AI came back with this definition: “Christmas spirit is a feeling of joy, goodwill, and generosity that people experience during the Christmas season.” Then I found a secular (non-religious) article from Scientific America that attempted to explain the Christmas Spirit and their example came from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. The article (which you can read here) did a good job of explaining the overall importance of having Christmas Spirit for society, all while tip-toeing around the reason for the season: the birth of Jesus Christ.

Without Jesus entering this world 2024 years ago, there would be no Christmas. I do feel like society has hijacked Christmas and it has become more about getting and giving gifts then focusing on celebrating the birth of the Messiah and what that has meant for the history of mankind. So, I want to focus on Jesus this holiday season, and why making sure lifting up the Miracle in the Manger is so important for you and your family every December.

In the Apostle Matthew’s account from above, Matthew quotes from the Prophet Isaiah, who wrote the words of a virgin birth 700 years before the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and Joseph. In Isaiah’s prophecy, Isaiah writes that the child born of a virgin birth would be called “Immanuel”, however, the angel Gabriel tells Joseph to name Mary’s son, Jesus. Well, actually, Jesus’ name in Hebrew (the language of the time and for which Gabriel would have spoken to Joseph) was Yeshua. Yeshua means “Yahweh is Salvation”. However, when translated from Hebrew into Greek, in which the New Testament was written, the name Yeshua becomes Iēsous. The English spelling for Iēsous is “Jesus.” Now you know how we get Jesus from Yeshua, but again, why Yeshua and not Immanuel? Well, GotQuestions.org, does a fantastic job of explaining that in this article that you can read by clicking here.

Whether you call Him Jesus, Yeshua, or Immanuel, please do your best to keep the focus of Christmas on the birth of Christ. You can do so and still give gifts extravagantly, because that was one thing Jesus taught us: it is better to give than to receive. But Jesus also taught us to take care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, so instead of giving expensive gifts this year, find ways to give more meaningful presents, and use the extra money to extend the Christmas spirit to those in the greatest need. And do all you can to remind those in your circles why we celebrate this Holy day.

With two weeks left, I want to shift back to sharing Christmas songs. I have not come across too much new Christian Christmas music that has really caught my attention, however, I think Phil Wickham’s most recent cover of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” is one of my new favorites. His entire new Christmas album “Hallelujah! It’s Christmas!” is worth adding to your holiday playlist. But for today, I want to share a throwback that has been a Christmas-song-staple since its original release. Menna‘s cover of “Good King Wenceslas” is a perfect lyrical harmony to share a story that embodies the Spirit I have mentioned above. Click the image below and listen to the classic tale of King Wenceslas, a 10th-Century Bohemian Duke, who ventures through the cold night on the Feast of Stephen to share firewood and food with a poor peasant. Menna’s version has been my favorite for the last three years.