The true meaning of Christmas can vary depending on individual beliefs and cultural interpretations. For many people, Christmas is a Christian religious holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time for Christians to reflect on the significance of Jesus’ birth and the message of peace and goodwill that is associated with his life.

However, Christmas has also become a widely celebrated cultural and secular holiday in many parts of the world. For many people, it is a time for family gatherings, gift-giving, acts of kindness, and spreading joy. It often involves traditions such as decorating Christmas trees, exchanging presents, and sharing festive meals.

In essence, the true meaning of Christmas is subjective and can be deeply personal. For some, it is a religious observance, while for others, it is a time for expressing love, generosity, and kindness. Ultimately, the meaning of Christmas is shaped by the values and beliefs of the individuals and communities celebrating it.

Jonathan Manafo talks about the true meaning of Christmas.

Jonathan Manafo is The Village pastor. He is a husband, a father, a friend, a neighbor, and a follower of Jesus. He hopes that every day he’s a little better at it than the day before. He loves his family, his community, and God’s world.

Jonathan, please tell my audience a little about you.

I am a husband, a dad, a neighbor, a pastor, a musician, a writer, and hopefully a good friend. I love spending time with the people I love. I write and play music, it’s a long-time passion of mine. I enjoy golf, cycling, and sports of all kinds. When it’s all said and done, may others simply see me as a person who loved, who gave, and who lived a full life. 

Why did you decide to become a minister?

I didn’t choose…it chose me. In my mid to late teen years, I felt God might be leading me to at least prepare to be in pastoral ministry. (Note the difference, we all have some way to minister and serve, mine happens to be pastoring, among other things). I was accepted into a linguistics program at Concordia University. I was 100 students away from registering for my first set of classes and just knew I had to do something else. I left the line and began thinking about how I would go about this vocational calling in my life. Becoming a pastor was always gradual for me. Always felt like if God wanted to use me in this way, opportunities would arise. They did, I walked into them, and here we are, over 20 years later.

Share a little about the village and what you want to accomplish.

The Village is a church community in Whitby that is discovering what it means to love God, love others, and make the world better. We started 6 years ago with a hand full of people. We are now well over 100. We simply want to be a fresh expression of the local church where people who need to discover Jesus can do so alongside other people who are discovering Jesus. The Village wants to be connected in our communities – helping, loving, being present and being Jesus. I feel at home in my church community. Being part of a church like The Village makes me better.

During Xmas, we focus on shopping, stress about meeting people, and all these expectations. Explain what it is all about and the true meaning of Christmas.

I think we all know that Christmas is more than gifts, spending, and hectic schedules. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being generous with your family, friends, and especially those in need. Let’s keep this party going. However, we do get caught up in what becomes a rat race, when we forget that Christmas, specifically, Advent, is about waiting patiently for God to arrive on the scene.  If we would simply incorporate Advent into Christmas, we would have a better perspective of things. Why? Advent slows us down. It makes us think. We learn to wait. We learn to stay present. And if we slow down just enough, we will then be able to appreciate what this season is really about – Jesus, the God, moving into our neighborhood (s).

Please challenge my audience to do something completely different this year during the month of Christmas.

Well. Since you asked. Don’t spend any money on yourself. That’s a good start. If you are in the habit of giving gifts, look for things in your house that you can give away so the gifts that come in are at least replacing what you had and not adding to what you don’t need. One line that may help us think differently is, “less presents – more presence”

I would challenge you (if you’re not already part of a church community) to look for a local church to attend during December. Not just a one-off Christmas Eve service, but two to three gatherings in December. The only way that your personal Christmas story can become more meaningful is if you make time to experience THE Christmas story. If you’re not into Christianity, that’s okay, use it as a learning experience. It’s so worth a try.

I know Italians love food. What are your favorite dishes and how important is food in living a balanced life?

I sing The Beetle’s song, ‘8 days a week…I love you’ when it comes to pasta :). I honestly just love food. Food that is made well. If it’s been cooked and prepared well and with passion, I love it. I will spend more on food if it’s good and healthy, rather than save a few bucks to eat bad food (i.e. fast food or junk food). Life is too short to eat bad food. Now, I understand that life is not always that simple, and some people can’t afford to eat well. But we should all do the best we can, within our means, to eat healthily, and enjoy the food we do eat.

I also want to say that food is very communal. It brings people together. We get together over drinks and food. Don’t take those moments for granted, with your family or with your friends and neighbors.

Give me three tips on being a good father and on being a good husband.

First, I’m becoming a father and husband. What I mean by that is I’m hopefully better than I was, but I have lots to learn. Two, tell your kids and your spouse that you love them. In-person, via text, any way possible. If they hear it and know it from you, they will never feel like seeking it elsewhere. Three, balance providing (working hard) with pleasure (time well spent). It’s very honorable to provide for your family. Work as hard as you can to make a living and save for the future. However, know how to rest, how to stop, and how to simply be together.

You have been a minister for a long time, what have you learned about human behavior?

We are all broken. We all need a community. We all need grace.

How do you balance food faith family and finance in this busy world?

I already talked about food ;). Faith is so important – it is a reference point that is the opposite of your human selfishness. For me of course, my faith in Jesus. The family is your closest neighbor. Love them as you love yourself. If you steward your money well, you’ll have enough to live, give, play, and plan. Lots to say on this, but I’ll quote a well-known equation, 100% of your money should at least be divided like this, 10% give, 10% save, 80% live. If you can start there and increase the 10% part incrementally, you’ll be happier, more satisfied, less fearful, and very content.

Lastly, tell me a good minister joke.

They did a survey with Young Adults. They were asked to share what three topics they were most interested in hearing about at church. The top three answers were: SEX, END TIMES, and WILL THERE BE SEX IN THE END TIMES.

Jesus had to have been Italian. His dad was a carpenter, he lived at home until he was 30, and his mother thought he was God.

Photo Credits: Dan Kiefer Vidar Nordli-Mathisen  Gareth Harper Gian Reichmuth Anthony DELANOIX Carolyn V Spencer Davis

The post The True Meaning of Christmas: Less Presents – More Presence appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

 Irene Baron will talk about Christmas from a woman’s perspective. She is the author of Mindreacher, Unraveling the Christmas Star Mystery, and  Mary knew ~ A Biography of Mary from Ancient Scriptures .

Christmas has always fascinated me. There are the stories of Joseph, the three wise men, and Bethlehem. As a blogger, I wanted to see Christmas from a woman’s perspective and someone who has written about Mary.

A former teacher and current pilot, Irene Baron also worked with the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), Supreme Command Headquarters, and Research & Development Center in Thailand for four years on Top Secret work while employed by Battelle Memorial Institute as an Information Specialist in Geology & Hydrology, and as an Aerial Photographer.  In that capacity, she directed aerial photography from Air America/CIA Sikorski Helio-19 helicopters and two-winged aerial imaging aircraft. Irene authored the geology and hydrology sections of the now unclassified Mekong River Project book. She also authored the Operational Procedures Manual, Laboratory Material Division (all levels) for that ARPA facility.

I interviewed Irene about the Christmas Star and this time I asked her just one question to explain to me Christmas from a woman’s perspective.

Irene, please explain to me Christmas from a woman’s perspective.

To a Christian woman, Christmas is one of the most significant days of the year. This day celebrates the birth of Christ who was born to the Virgin Mary, the most important woman to ever be born on Earth. 

Mary’s birth was preordained by God. Prior to her conception, she was consecrated by God to be the mother of His Son, the Savior of mankind. Messenger angels instructed Mary’s elderly parents to name their daughter Mary and have their grandson named Jesus Immanuel. They were also told how to take care of their blessed daughter.

Apostle James, Joseph’s youngest son by his first wife, accompanied Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem along with two of his brothers. Unlike his brothers, James was present at the holy birth. Later in life, after Christ’s death, James became the first Bishop of Christian churches in Jerusalem. 

The woman who created Christmas through the birth of her Son, Jesus Immanuel, lived with her parents her first three years of life before going to live in the Jerusalem Temple for over a decade. When told of their future daughter, Angels directed her parents on what to feed her, how to take care of her, and that she was to be kept separate from people in Nazareth so she would never hear arguments, cursing, or vulgarities that might occur on the streets of their home in Nazareth. The few female children with whom she was allowed to play those first three years in her sanctuary had to be vetted to ensure they and their families were pure in their life and activities. 

The only time outsiders saw Mary during her first three years was during the child’s first birthday celebration. All citizens of Galilee were invited to attend. The only persons allowed to see Mary at that event, however, were the Rabbis and Priests during a private meeting. Mary was to never experience anything that could, in the future, be held against her.  The most famous woman to ever live on Earth was also the purest from her birth until she married Joseph after the birth of Christ. She became the only woman associated with the Christmas holiday.

During more than ten years that Mary lived in the Jerusalem Temple, angels daily communed with her and fed her food from heaven. These heavenly hosts ensured that health-wise, Mary’s body was nurtured perfectly to carry the Christ child. 

Christmas represents to many women a time when life could be difficult during pregnancy. Any pregnancy is filled with nine months of hope and love for the growing fetus. In Mary’s time, to be pregnant and not married was difficult for Joseph also. Upon finding Mary pregnant, the High Priest required Joseph to take and pass a life-threatening religious test by the High Priest to prove he had no sexual relations with his betrothed before their marriage and the birth of the Christmas child. His test was one of two ways it was proven Mary was a virgin.

Except for Mary, until chromosome tests originated a few thousand years later, women were not aware of the sex of their child before birth. Since all of Galilee, including every Rabbi and Priest who knew about Mary’s future by her first birthday, also knew she would bear a Son who was destined to be the Savior of mankind. As the mother of Jesus, Mary became the definitive Christmas mother figure. 

When American archaeologist, Ron Wyatt, found the Ark of the Covenant in Jeremiah’s grotto beneath the crucifixion site in 1982 after several years of excavation, he discovered a few dark drops on the surface of the Ark. He reported the blood of Christ must have dripped down after the earthquake at Christ’s death. The earth under the cross had cracked allowing a few drops of blood to drop onto the Mercy Seat below the Cross.  Angels told Wyatt to take a sample of the dark material from the Mercy Seat to the university to have it examined. 

When Wyatt returned days later to learn the examination results, those in the pathology lab hushed at his entrance.  One incredulous technician asked where he obtained the sample. When he told them about finding dark material on the Mercy Seat of the newly discovered Ark of the Covenant, they understood what they had found concerning the dark material. 

Totally in awe, they reported the dark material was not only blood, but the most unique blood ever witnessed in written history. The laboratory personnel stated the blood cells each contained the correct number of chromosomes from the mother but only one chromosome from the father. God supplied only one holy chromosome to create His Son, Jesus Immanuel, the Christ.  Mary was very important in that her body held the pure female chromosomes needed during Christ’s creation. She protected that creation in her womb through gestation.

At the laboratory, when Ron Wyatt asked for the sample of Christ’s blood to be further tested, everyone was overwhelmed that the cells began mitosis, the natural dividing that takes place in living cells. The blood, over 2,000 years later, was still alive. It is true that Jesus lives.

Although God was with Jesus for most of His life, God’s presence was withdrawn for a short time when Jesus was being crucified. Jesus then felt all the sins of mankind that had occurred up to that point in time and all the sins of the future. We can never begin to imagine the pain He felt as He became the Savior of mankind. 

Before Christ was born in human form on Earth, people could only communicate with God if they had a sacrifice at the altar. Christ became the sacrifice for all future contact with God. Prayers to God from that time forth had to be said through the name of Jesus Christ to reach our Heavenly Father. Therefore, prayers to God now begin or end with, “… I/we pray to thee in the name of Jesus Immanuel.”

The beginning of Christmas story began with the angels announcing Mary’s birth and the future birth of Christ. It is that birth of Christ which is celebrated at Christmas, the birth of a God carried through gestation by the pure human female, Mary, and born to her in Bethlehem.

Christian women know we are to love God and pray to Him through Jesus Christ. This is one of the reasons Christmas is so special. Love abounds everywhere and is shown to others as at no other time of year. We were told to love and Christmas is the perfect time to show His love to the world. 

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”   Mark 12:30-31 

 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12 

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians:6-7 

When I discovered Apostle James’ written and signed testimony about Mary, I was enthralled learning the facts about the mother of a God being born on Earth. Bible Scholars state James’ testimony was not put into the Bible because it was either too sacred or because it was ‘about a woman.’ 

As I read the facts about Christ’s birth, I could only think about how other women would be captivated to learn what miracles happened at the birth of Christ.

Many people are not “readers” and find scripture hard to read. That’s why I put his scripture in an easy-to-read ‘historical narrative’ format in the book, MARY KNEW – A Biography of Mary from Ancient Scriptures. 

The story is so phenomenal; men and women alike can’t put the book down. They report they go to read a few paragraphs to see what it is like and can’t stop. They read through meals all day and night until finished, even if it takes more than one day. They are enthralled with the story. They learn the background and facts about the birth of a God. 

Females can’t help but be proud that Jesus Immanuel, the Son of God, was born to an Earth-bound mother. God had him born to a human so the child would have the human experience. But it was not exactly a human birth. Learning the details, I think women who have given birth nod and say, “So, that’s what happened.” We women have always wondered how a child can be born and the mother remains a virgin. Being an eyewitness to the event, James cleared that up. I often wondered if men were as curious as women about that birth. 

Almost every mother I know wants all their acquaintances to know they gave birth.  I think deep down, we are awed that the birth of Christ was announced to everyone on Earth with a celestial GPS-type marker showing the birth location. There were earlier announcements showing who was being born at that location and on that date and how important that child would be to the universe. 

When I searched the skies for the Christ child’s birthplace using NASA astronomy programs, I examined the skies directly over Bethlehem at six o’clock in the morning because the ancient astronomers observed the celestial heavens in the predawn hours, not at night like present-day astronomers.  That is why current astronomers never found the Christmas star previously. They were searching for an evening star position, not dawn like the ancient astronomers.  Using the correct time, latitude (declination), and longitude (right ascension), I located not only the GPS star marker for Bethlehem but previous other star positions which told WHO was being born to Mary, the most important woman, and mother to ever be born on the earth.  

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