"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” Matthew 2:10

What excites you most about Christmas? There are many things to get excited about. Things like gifts (both giving and receiving), events (programs, plays, musicals, etc.), traditions, gatherings with family and friends, and even food (cookies, chocolate, peppermint mocha’s, Frango’s, and lutefisk, well maybe not lutefisk). And so, I am curious, when was the last time you were truly excited about Christmas… and why?

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, one can read about the wise men from the east searching for the King of the Jews. They were excited just by seeing the star (His star). I wonder what they expected. Here we have a team of scientists (for their day that is what they were) setting out on what most likely was a long dangerous journey across the wide face of the known world. They must have expected to find something extraordinary. Who was this child? What made him special?

Paul in his letter to the Christians at Colosse summarizes who this child was and is when he writes beginning in chapter 1 verse 15 through verse 22 about Christ. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

What an amazing find! Matthew’s account tells us that the star led the wise men to the place where the child was and upon entering the house after seeing the child and his mother, they bowed and worshiped him. What a truly awesome Christmas! This Christmas I hope you can look past all of the things that have become associated with Christmas and find the true reason to be excited!

Thanks for reading - Merry Christmas!