Bishop Mathes’ Christmas Message

“For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

I don’t know about you but every time I hear those words, at least in the King James version, I hear them in the voice of Linus. And I find myself wondering, where would Jesus be born today? Probably not in my neighborhood. Maybe not in yours. Maybe Jesus would be born in one of our churches if they were hosting the Interfaith Shelter. More likely Jesus would be born under a bridge where the holy family had sought shelter, or maybe making camp on one of our beaches.

We need to remember that the family was traveling at the demand of the principalities and powers of that day, going to the City of David for that census. They were on the margin, at one with the poor and the outcasts. They were migrants of their day. And so Jesus coming today would likely be found amongst the poor. Unto you is born this day, in your city, in your town, in your village, a child which is Christ the Lord.

This morning, our registrar, a member of our staff, Keren Rodriguez, came to the office this morning, to show us her new baby boy and everyone was wanting to hold the child. Jesus coming to us is like that child. We want to hold Jesus. That’s, after all, why the shepherds came, to see this wondrous thing, this child, this king of kings just born, to hold the child, carry the child. That’s what we want to do and that is what we are called to do, not simply in these twelve days of Christmas, but in our faith and in our spiritual journeys, is to carry the child of Jesus into the world. This Jesus is the gift for the world. For the poor, for the outcasts. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” Jesus is born for you.