Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus!

by Ptr. Gen Concepcion

Reading for the day: Luke 2:10-11

It’s Christmas Day! Have you greeted the Celebrant?

Although we don’t really know for sure the exact date of our Lord’s birth, December 25 is just as good as any other day of the year to celebrate His birthday. What’s important here is the Celebrant, not the date. Even more principal is the manner we celebrate, and whether our celebration is based on biblical truths or not.

Birthdays are celebrated with joy and excitement. Parents try their best to make their children’s birthday special, whether through a big party or by way of a more simple, understated way. Couples see to it that they make their partners feel extra special on their natal day. Likewise, children believe that they, too, should do something out of the ordinary for their parents on their birthday.

Today is our Saviour’s birthday. 

Pause and think about that for a moment. Today is our Saviour’s birthday. 

Now, I’d like you to say it aloud: “Today is my Saviour’s birthday.” If you can’t shout it, mutter it with deep sincerity:  “Today is my Saviour’s birthday.”

Next, I’d like you to greet the Lord. “Happy birthday, my Lord Jesus.” Say that again with a smile on your face, looking up to where He is, in heaven.  “Happy birthday, my Lord Jesus.”

Yes, that’s where the Celebrant is. He is literally in heaven, seated at the right hand side of the Father’s throne. He sees everything that people do on His birthday. He’s the One who truly knows when you’re sleeping, and He knows when you’re awake. He is Omniscient. He is the only One who is able to make Frosty the Snowman come alive, that is if He wants, to. He is Omnipotent. He is here in the wintry Northern Hemisphere, and in the Southern Hemisphere where our brethren need not to layer up on their way to church on Christmas Day. He is Omnipresent. He was sent by God the Father to become like us, to be our ultimate Mediator. He is God Incarnate. He is the same Jesus Christ yesterday, today, and forever. He is God Eternal. And more than 2000 years ago today, He was born to a virgin, miraculously, only in a way God can do.

He knows everyone’s motive for their merrymaking on His birthday. Is it because of Him? Is it for Him? Is it in honour of Him? Or have people made Christmas centred only on themselves? A mere time for personal, selfish agenda such as partying, family gatherings, food, enjoyment, and the likes? What has Earth made out of His natal day? From heaven, how do we think the Celebrant feels on His birthday? He is God, the Co-Creator of the Father, the One who was given for all mankind, the One who gave Himself for us all. He is the very first gift given and received on Christmas Day. The question, is, what has happened to the true spirit and meaning of Christmas?

Isn’t it that we make birthday celebrants the centre of attention on their special day? We go the extra mile just to make them feel special. I remember on my last birthday, my husband cooked a delicious steak with candlelight and other decor, and we had such a wonderful time dining together no other than in our kitchen! We didn’t go anywhere fancy, but it’s the effort, the thought, the work that he put in that made it very special. I certainly felt special that night.

Today, on Jesus’ very birthday, are you putting Him at the very centre, or is He only at the peripherals. There’s food, music, gathering, and all other trappings of merrymaking, but, where does He place in your heart and mind today? He is God who is worthy of all worship and adoration!

In no self-serving way, I truly believe that the Celebrant is looking for something from those who are glad about this day. And it’s not the food, not the gifts, not the music. It is faith. 

I really believe that He’s only looking for one thing today: FAITH. 

Faith is what God wants to see in us. Repeatedly in the Bible we see that God is asking about our faith:

“Where is your faith,” Luke 8:25.

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth,” Luke 18:8.

“The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts are committed to Him,” 2 Chronicles 16:9.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,” Matthew 15:8.

On this day, the Lord Jesus is surely interested in one thing only: FAITH IN HIM, faith that leads to trust, worship, thanksgiving, hope, love, and all the Christian virtues. 

On Christmas Day, a true believer in the Lord finds themselves in the house of worship, worshiping with the body of Christ, which is the church. To the one who has faith in Jesus, this is the ONLY true way to celebrate Christmas. Praising and thanking God for His greatest gift, the Lord Jesus, IS the right way to put at the centre the Celebrant of this special day.

Make this day about Him, not about anyone or anything else. Attend His “party,” which is the Christmas Day worship, and join the rest of the body of Christ in celebration.

Give Him the present that is most delightful to Him – yourself, a living offering, holy and ready to serve Him. 

So today, let us all say, “Happy birthday, Lord Jesus! We worship You! We give thanks to You, and we honour You!”

And along with our presence, like the Magi who came to see Him, we are here with our offering, a love gift that will advance the reason why He came on earth in the first place, the preaching of the Good News to all the world.” 

Reflect: How are you going to make sure you celebrate Christmas according to God’s will? How do you put the Lord Jesus, the birthday celebrant, at the very centre of this day, His birthday?