Twas the Night After Christmas and…”
Well, it's the nights after Christmas. For most of us, the anticipation of the night before Christmas is vastly more exciting than the let-down of the night after Christmas. As Karen Carpenter sang, “Christmas's future is far away. Christmas's past is past. Christmas's present is here today, bringing joy that will last.” So, the Christmas that one week ago seemed far away has now become the “Christmas’s past is past.” What about the present of Christmas that was here today, bringing joy that will last? Where’s that joy that will last? Read on.
One evening, before Mary Martin, the famous Broadway musical star, was to go on stage in South Pacific, someone handed her a note. It was from Oscar Hammerstein, the composer of songs in South Pacific. He had written it to her from his deathbed: “Dear Mary, a bell’s not a bell till you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love until you give it away.”
After the performance, many people rushed backstage, exclaiming, “Mary, what happened to you here tonight? We have never heard anything like that performance! You sang with more power than you’ve ever sung!” Blinking back tears, Mary read them the note from Hammerstein and added, “Tonight, I gave my love away!”
Love is the one gift that always fits and is always appropriate. Christmas is about God giving His love away. Just one day before Christ was born, God's Christmas was still in the future. On the first Christmas day, the present in the future became God's Christmas present in the present. Prophesy and history intersected. God's revelation became a reality. The lesson for us today is that there was a time gap between God's plan unfolding and God's plan unfolded.
The Bible is a book of prayers. Out of the 667 recorded prayers, there are 454 recorded answers. Each one of those prayers started unanswered until God answered it.
There are two Greek words for time. One of the words is Kronos. Kronos signifies chronological or sequential time, seconds, hours, days, years, etc. The other word for time is Kairos. Kairos signifies the “right,” “opportune,” or “supreme” moment. Kairos is the predetermined time—the right, supreme, or opportune moment for something to occur. All those unanswered prayers were ‘prisoners’ of Kronos until the right moment for the prayers to be answered.
Such was the case over two thousand years ago in the birth of Christ. Mary, Joseph, and the Jews were waiting for the Kronos to turn in the Kairos. They were prisoners of Kronos. Perhaps you're thinking, ‘Prisoners, that’s a pretty hard word.’ Think of it. They were prisoners of sequential time waiting for the birth of Christ that had been prophesied years before. The Romans thought the Jewish people were crazy to believe in myths. But, when God’s ‘Present’ became present on Christmas, the Romans were ‘myth-taken,’ ‘myth-i-fied,’ and ‘myth-er-a-ble.’
Consider two prophetic promises to God’s people fulfilled Biblically on Christmas. Mary, Joseph, and the Jewish nation would have known these prophesies. The first verse is, “Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name, “Immanuel,” which translated means ‘God with us.’” Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23. Isaiah prophesied that Christ would be born of a virgin 750 years before Christ’s birth.
The second verse is, “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come first a Ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel.” Micah 5:2. Micah, about the same time as Isaiah, prophesied Christ would be born in Bethlehem.
Seven hundred and fifty years is a long time to wait. That’s tough on us Kronos types. The Apostle Paul summarizes, “But, in the fullness of time, God sent forth a Son, born of a woman…” Galatians 4:4. Notice the fullness of time. Seven hundred and fifty years after God foretold what would happen, the future turned into the Present in the present—a Christmas Present with a Christmas presence.
Before Christ came, Mary, Joseph, and the others in Bethlehem were like Mary Martin, just singing the songs, playing religion, and performing for the audience. But when Christ was born, just like after Mary Martin received the note from Hammerstein, the heavens and earth sang it like there was no tomorrow. There’s nothing like a fulfilled prophecy to bring joy in the morning that will last.
Perhaps you have been waiting for a prayer to be answered, a promise to be fulfilled, a prophecy to happen, or a family reconciliation. Perhaps Kronos is on the way to becoming Kairos for you. The delay may not be a denial. Most likely, there will come a day when, like Mary, your trial will turn into a smile, bringing joy that will last forever. It just took a while.
Think about it. You are only waiting for the moment to arrive when the future becomes the present. Then you will have a ‘Mary’ Christmas and a Merry Christmas like the prophesies and the Christmas songs sing about. You will understand one of the ways of God: “God has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes. 3:11.
So, how does Christmas day stay in the present and bring joy?” I think God is saying to us now, “Dear (write your name)____________, a bell’s not a bell till you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing it. My Love in your heart is not put there to stay. My Love isn’t love until you give it away.” Your response is, “Today, I gave it (God’s love) away!”
Ed Delph/December 22, 2024/CCC