Paul Derengowski, ThM
The writer of the Book of Hebrews, who is frequently thought to have been the Apostle Paul, wrote the following about Jesus Christ’s sacrifice:
For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself (Heb. 7:26-27).
Later, the same writer would reiterate,
For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without sin, to those who eagerly await Him (Heb. 9:24-28).
All of this is completely contrary to what Christmas is all about, which is a repeat of Jesus’ death, not his birth!
Such a statement will come as a shock to many who are accustomed to thinking that Christmas Day is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, when the reality is, it is about putting Jesus on the altar to sacrifice him all over again.
Christmas is a Roman Catholic holiday, where the Eucharist or the Mass is celebrated.
The Mass or Christ Mass is believed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy to be a day when the priest wields absolutely authority over Jesus to bring him down from heaven and sacrifice him on the Roman altar to propitiate God and alleviate sins.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was endorsed by Pope John Paul II, “The Eucharist [or “Holy Mass”] is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit” (p. 380).
The Roman Catholic priest, upon consecrating the elements, “reaches up into the heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon [the] altar to be offered up again as the Victim for the sins of man.”[ref]John A. O’Brien, The Faith of Millions (Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.: Huntington, IN, 1963), 258.[/ref]
This is Christmas or Christ Mass! This is what real, born-again Christians conveniently avoid discussing while going through all the machinations of trying to make Christmas into something that it is not.
Christmas is not about the baby Jesus, laying in a manger and waiting for a group of wise men to show up and give him gifts.
Christmas is not about the arrival of the Messiah to take away the sins of the world, once and for all.
Christmas is not about the little drummer boy, decorating the house with varied-colored lights, and giving the latest version of Play Station to your sons or daughters.
Christmas is about killing Jesus again, and again, again.
It is about keeping Jesus on the cross and calling him and his apostles liars, for daring to proclaim “It is finished” or that Jesus “has been manifested to put away sin [one time] by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Christmas, in other words, is a declaration of defeat that the devil relishes in.
For by keeping up the charade of Christmas, sin is never conquered; it is perpetuated.
Of course, once again, the distraction of making it into something that it was never intended keeps people blinded to the reality of what historically and traditionally Christmas is all about.
And the more the perversion of Christmas is ingrained into people’s thinking, the less likely the breaking of the habit of going through all the rigamarole associated with Christmas is going to occur.
Is it any wonder so many, both in and out of most Evangelical or Protestant Churches, are prime subjects for cult indoctrination, when symbols and feelings take precedence over reality and substance, with very few even caring what those symbols that stoked the feelings truly represent?
Christmas is not about Jesus’ birth, but his continual demise.
God, please help your people to see the difference, not make up excuses, and quit being the devil’s advocates by perpetuating the charade.
