GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR THE CELEBRATION AND COMMEMORATION  OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST ON CHRISTMAS DAY…SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS..2

The prophecies of the Old Testament all speak of the arrival of the Messiah, starting from the Rod of Jesse. But let’s leave for a while the Holy Book and appreciate the pagan testimony  about the coming Messiah.

Tacitus speaking for the ancient Romans, says: “People were generally persuaded in the faith of the ancient prophets, that the East was to prevail, and that from Judea was to come the Master and Ruler of the world.”

Suetonius, in his account of the life of Vespasian, recounts the Roman tradition thus: “It was an old and constant belief throughout the East, that by indubitably certain prophecies, the Jews were to attain the highest power.”

The Greeks expected Him. Not only were the Jews expecting the birth of a “Great King”,   “A Wise Man and a Saviour”, but Plato and Socrates also spoke of the “Logos” and “The Universal Wise Man” yet to come. Confucius spoke of “The Saint”, the Sibyls, of a “Universal King”. All these were the Gentile side of the expectation.

What separates Christ from all men is that first He was expected, even the Gentiles had a longing for a deliverer, or redeemer. This fact alone distinguishes Christ from all other religious leaders. His Birth split History into two distinct periods; before His coming, BC (BeforE Christ), and after His coming, AD (Anno Domini … The Year of the Lord).

We need a Christ, today Who will make cords and drive the buyers and sellers from our new temples; Who will blast the unfruitful fig tree; Who will talk of crosses and sacrifices and Whose voice will be like the voice of a raging sea. But He will not allow us to pick and choose among His words, discarding the hard ones, and accepting the ones that please our fancy.

We need a Christ Who will restore moral indignation, Who will make us hate evil with a passionate intensity, and love goodness to a point where we can drink death like water.

Adapted from ‘The Life of Christ’ by Fulton Sheen