One of the great things about America (for now) is the freedom of speech, of faith, of religion. Not everyone who reads this post today shares my faith, but for those who do, you understand my joy! Today is the birthday of my savior. Whether Jesus Christ was born in April, July, August, December - doesn’t matter as much as the fact that on THIS day we celebrate His birth. You get it. It’s not a religion - it’s a relationship with a living God.

If you haven’t heard or read the story - it’s pretty awesome.

First of all, no one ever really tells you who Joseph was. He’s the guy in the robes standing next to Mary in your church Christmas play right? Nobody says much about him. But he was a descendant of David, King David - who was the second King of the united Kingdom of Israel. Maybe you’ve heard of Israel? There’s a reason it’s in the news all the time. Anyway, David, by the way, was ALSO born in Bethlehem. According to the Talmud and the Old Testament, God promised David that one of his direct descendants would be the Messiah or Mashiach, come to save God’s people from their sins. “Sins” is where most non-Christians begin to tune out, but that’s where it just starts to get interesting. More on that later. My point is, if Rome hadn’t kicked butt and taken over most of the civilized world at the time, Joseph was in line to be KING of Israel, and Jesus his heir - and the last king - the one that would rule Israel forever. So Joseph wasn’t just a carpenter. He was a direct descendant of King David, and Jesus, his son, also in line to be King. NOW you know why Herod was so freaking paranoid when the Magi came through town looking for “The Christ Child.”

Herod, a sick, dying, evil S.O.B, having been put in charge of Judea, isn’t happy about his lot in life. He’s willing and does kill even his own children when he feels threatened with the loss of his throne. Unlike many parts of the world at the time, the Jews were allowed to continue to worship God as they had, as long as they paid their taxes and didn’t aggravate the Romans. So you can imagine the fuss the Magi stirred up with their talk of a Jew being born that was prophesied to become KING of Israel! We’re not talking some random nice couple God picked out. We’re talking about a genealogy that went back to the beginning of TIME!

The Jews were waiting and watching for the Messiah. The problem is, after you wait for something for 400 years you maybe get used to the status quo. After all, the Rabbi’s of the time were like the doctors and PhD’s of today - respected by the people, honored, treated pretty darn good. They circulated in the top power structure of the city and among the Romans. They were the elite, the ruling, aristocratic upper class. They were mostly concerned with politics and rubbing elbows with the Romans and currying favor and influence, and not so interested in worshiping God. Which, of course, pissed God off. It pissed Jesus off too. If you read the New Testament Jesus spends a lot of time calling the Pharisees and Sadducees what they were - players - hypocrites and thieves. Jesus didn’t mince words - another reason I like Him. He went around upturning tables in the temple, and confronting hypocrites at every turn and yet also fed the poor, healed the sick, cast out demons, walked on water - all kinds of miracles.

That made the whole claim to be the Son of God even more upsetting to everyone but poor people. Jesus was a rebel who claimed what was His. He didn’t let anyone or anything distract Him from His purpose, gathering His own to Him, healing the sick, caring for the poor and proclaiming God’s love for man. So, after John the Baptist, who had spent all those years proclaiming Jesus as the Christ heard about Him partying with the tax collectors, sinners and upper crust of the region he sent a pretty polite message with a pretty pointed focus - “Um, are you the One, or should we look for someone else?” he said. (Matthew 11:3)

Jesus sent a message back. “Tell John the sick are cured, the crippled healed, the blind see, the mute speak and blessed is he who does not stumble over Me.” (meaning, I’m on it, doing my job, and just because I’m not what you expected, don’t lose your faith and doubt who I Am.) That’s GOT to be my favorite passage. I can just imagine - there’s John the Baptist busting his buns, eating honey and locusts, dressed in camel hair, spending days in the river baptizing sinners and telling people to repent and then he gets word of Jesus turning water into wine (John never drank wine), going to weddings and parties, hobnobbing with the elite, having dinner with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Yeah. I can guess if he had a collar he would have gotten a little hot under it. But Jesus had a plan and He knew it, even if the rest of Judea didn’t.

Can you see how if Jesus was the Messiah, He was going to upset the status quo in a huge way? People were going to worship HIM, and not pay so much attention to the Pharisees, Sadducees, Rabbis and established religious leaders of the day. Sound familiar? People have always hated change, but even more when it meant losing their status and their life on easy street.

THIS is the Jesus I worship. He was alive, vibrant, focused and caring. He came with a purpose - to save us from our sins - and don’t think you understand that from what you’ve heard either. Sins are the violation of a known moral rule - God’s commandments - not to kill, lust, cheat, steal, envy, be an adulterer etc. You may have heard the list - the 10 commandments? Anyway, mankind, if you hadn’t noticed, has a hard time NOT doing all those things. He promised to save us from them, and to forgive us for doing them. Ever had someone you loved forgive you for being a real bonehead? Felt good right? You were relieved, glad what you did wasn’t going to screw up the relationship right? Same thing - only with God.

So why do people hate Christians, or people who claim to be Christians, so much? Cause a lot of us are like the Pharisees. We lost sight of the fact that it’s not about power, wealth, control, telling other people what to do. It’s about love and a relationship with the creator. When asked what the two greatest commandments of all time were Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and body, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do that and keep the 10 commandments.” That’s it. That’s what Christianity is all about. That other crap? The religious wars and all? That was the church and the ruling forces of the time perverting Christ’s message in order to control the populace and keep the REAL TRUTH out of the hands of the people. Don’t believe for a minute that was what Christ intended, or what His message was. It’s still not. The Catholics and governments throughout time kept the Bible out of the hands of the people and made it a crime to read the Bible - because they feared what would happen if people read the word for themselves.

Christ said, “I am the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” That’s the message, the gift, the joy of Christianity - that we are free to love God, be loved by God, and to treat our neighbors with love. And if you oppose that message, you probably really do need God more than anyone. Either way - check it out before you make assumptions. And Merry Christmas to you….

Hallelujah Chorus