Where does the Christmas story begin? Maybe it begins when Baby Jesus born, when the angels appear to the shepherds and the wise men see the star. Maybe it begins when the angel appears to Mary and then to Joseph to tell them of the miracle God is going to perform.
Luke begins his gospel with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist. John comes first, to prepare the way.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of a Messiah seven hundred years before the coming of Christ: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given….” Maybe the Christmas story begins with this prophecy of what is to come.
The Gospel of John begins at the very beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” On Christmas Day the Word is made flesh.
Maybe the Christmas story isn’t a single moment in time. As John records in his gospel, Jesus has been with God since the beginning of everything. He has always been the giver of life. The Old Testament shows us that God has been expressing his love for us through all of history, just as he expresses his love on Christmas Day through the baby Jesus. John the Baptist helps us see Jesus for who he is—and for who he always was. On Christmas Day, God revealed another chapter in the ongoing story of his love for humankind. That is the story of Christmas.
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