聖誕節：無與倫比的慶祝
2025年12月22日By Robert J. Tamasy
聖誕節：無與倫比的慶祝
CHRISTMAS: A CELEBRATION LIKE NO OTHER
本週標誌著我們稱為聖誕節的年度慶祝活動，它在世界上許多地方被慶祝。對許多人來說，聖誕節與聖誕老人的到來有關，聖誕老人在其他國家被用不同的名字稱呼，例如：Père Noël(法文)、Sinterklaas(荷蘭文)、St. Nicholas(英文)、Der Weihnachtsmann(德文)、Father Christmas(英文)、Noel Baba(土耳其文)、Babbo Natale(義大利文)和Kris Kringle(德文)。針對這位著名聖誕人物的傳統與描繪，有著相當巨大的差異。
在商業界，聖誕節通常意味著，爭取實現年度獲利的最後一個、也是最重要的一步。「聖誕季」通常涉及鋪張的禮物饋贈、節日派對和活動，以及其他年終活動。所有這些都能帶來大幅增長的收入，讓任何公司的財務部門感到滿意。
當然，這個節慶活動的起源，與美國所描繪的那位，穿著紅衣服、留著白鬍子、帶著燦爛笑容和爽朗的「呵、呵、呵！」的人毫無關係。也與節日促銷活動無關。它起源於中東，在某首聖誕頌歌中被稱為「小小的伯利恆」，該城鎮位於距離耶路撒冷不到七英里(約十公里)的地方。「聖誕節」這個詞指稱的是耶穌基督，祂於兩千多年前在那裡誕生。
聖經新約的馬太福音及路加福音前兩章，都記載了應許中的彌賽亞 - 耶穌基督的誕生。這些書卷告訴我們，一位名叫馬利亞的年輕女子被天使造訪，天使向她宣告：「……馬利亞，不要怕！你在神面前已經蒙恩了。你要懷孕生子，可以給他起名叫耶穌。他要為大，稱為至高者的兒子；主神要把他祖大衛的位給他。他要作雅各家的王，直到永遠；他的國也沒有窮盡。」(路加福音1章30-33節)
在第二章中，我們得知馬利亞和與她訂婚的丈夫約瑟，為了遵守羅馬皇帝凱薩奧古斯都，所頒布的戶口登記命令，從他們居住的拿撒勒城前往伯利恆。耶穌在伯利恆降生，應驗了舊約中的一則預言：「伯利恆的以法他啊，你在猶大諸城中為小，將來必有一位從你那裏出來，在以色列中為我作掌權的；他的根源從亙古，從太初就有。」(彌迦書5章2節)
然而，關於耶穌基督最引人注目的描述，則出現在約翰福音中：「太初有道，道與神同在，道就是神。這道太初與神同在……道成了肉身，住在我們中間……」(約翰福音1章1-2節、14節)這段經文的含義若不是真實的，將會令人難以置信。
神取了人類的肉身成為耶穌，在地上生活了三十三年，祂教導並傳道，樹立了生命的榜樣，被釘死在十字架上，成為人類罪惡的贖罪祭，並且從死裡復活，一次就徹底地戰勝了死亡，確保所有信靠祂的人，都將擁有永恆的生命。
正如經文所宣告的：「這見證就是神賜給我們永生；這永生也是在他兒子裏面。人有了神的兒子就有生命，沒有神的兒子就沒有生命。我將這些話寫給你們信奉神兒子之名的人，要叫你們知道自己有永生。」(約翰壹書5章11-13節)簡而言之，如果沒有耶穌的降生、祂的生命、受死和復活，就沒有慶祝聖誕節的理由。但是這些確實發生了，因此，我們可以高聲唱：「哈利路亞！」
© 2025。 Robert J. Tamasy 著有《職場大使：CBMC福音與門徒訓練使命的延續》、《卓越商道：現代職場中的箴言智慧》、與 Ken Johnson 合著的《以牧者心志追求人生》，以及與 David A. Stoddard 合著的《導師之心》。Bob 的雙週部落格為：www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com。
反省與問題討論
第一、請描述聖誕節對你來說有什麼意義。聖誕節對於你的公司或組織的生產力及盈利能力，有什麼影響呢？請解釋你的答案。
第二、你是否觀察到，在許多情況下，人們慶祝聖誕節時，並沒有直接提及耶穌基督，祂的誕生與生平呢？你認為這是為什麼呢？
第三、如果你花時間反思了耶穌基督的誕生，對於無論是你的生命，還是你所處的世界而言的意義，你的結論是什麼呢？
第四、這篇「週一嗎哪」中引用的最後一段聖經經文指出：每一位相信耶穌基督，就是真誠地全心信靠祂的人，都可以知道他們擁有永恆的生命。你認為這句話是什麼意思呢？這對你個人來說，又意味著什麼呢？
挑戰思考
如果你有慶祝聖誕節，你是否曾經注意到自己對它的感受，變得陳舊乏味，不再像以前那樣充滿熱情和興奮呢？如果是這樣，這將會是非常好的時機，去重新閱讀上面列出的經文段落，並且重新思考它們對你個人的意義。在詩篇51篇10到12節中，以色列的大衛王寫下了這些話：「神啊，求你為我造清潔的心，使我裏面重新有正直的靈……求你使我仍得救恩之樂，賜我樂意的靈扶持我，」如果對你而言，聖誕節已經變成麻木的「喔、喔、喔」(ho-hum)，而非歡樂的「呵、呵、呵」(ho-ho-ho)，那麼現在或許是個好時機，為自己做這個禱告，並且尋求重新得到認識耶穌基督，以及祂為你所做一切的喜樂。
備註：如果你有聖經，想閱讀更多相關的內容，請參考下面的經文 : (因篇幅有限，請自行參閱未列出的經文：以賽亞書53章1-12節，馬太福音1章18節-2章12節，路加福音2章1-20節)
羅馬書8章1-4節
8:1 如今，那些在基督耶穌裏的就不定罪了。
8:2 因為賜生命聖靈的律，在基督耶穌裏釋放了我，使我脫離罪和死的律了。
8:3 律法既因肉體軟弱，有所不能行的，神就差遣自己的兒子，成為罪身的形狀，作了贖罪祭，在肉體中定了罪案，
8:4 使律法的義成就在我們這不隨從肉體、只隨從聖靈的人身上。
腓立比書2章7-8節
2:7 反倒虛己，取了奴僕的形像，成為人的樣式；
2:8 既有人的樣子，就自己卑微，存心順服，以至於死，且死在十字架上。
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CHRISTMAS: A CELEBRATION LIKE NO OTHER
MONDAY MANNADec 22, 2025
CHRISTMAS: A CELEBRATION LIKE NO OTHER
By Robert J. Tamasy
This week marks the annual celebration we call Christmas, observed in many parts of the world. For many people it is about the arrival of Santa Claus, known in other nations by names like Pere Noel, Sinterklaas, St. Nicholas, Der Weihnachtsmann, Father Christmas, Noel Baba, Babbo Natale, and Kris Kringle. Traditions and depictions of famous Christmas person vary markedly.
In the business world, Christmas often means the last, most important step in trying to achieve a profitable calendar year. ‘The Christmas season’ often involves lavish gift giving, festive parties and events, and other end-of-year activities. All of these can lead to greatly increased revenues that will please any company’s finance department.
Of course, the origin of the festive event had nothing to do with a man wearing a red suit, a white beard, big smile and a hearty “Ho, ho, ho!” as he is depicted in the United States. Or holiday sales promotions. It originated in the Middle East, in what one Christmas carol called, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which is located less than seven miles (about 10 kilometers) from Jerusalem. The word “Christmas” refers to Jesus Christ, who was born there more than 2,000 years ago.
The first two chapters of both the gospels of Matthew and Luke in the Bible’s New Testament give us accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. They tell us a young woman named Mary was visited by an angel who declared, “Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of his [ancestral] father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33).
In the second chapter we learn Mary and her betrothed husband, Joseph, journeyed from their town of Nazareth to Bethlehem in accordance with a census decree by the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. Jesus being born in Bethlehem fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).
The most compelling description of Jesus Christ, however, is found in the gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…” (John 1:1-2,14). What this means would be unbelievable – if it were not true.
God took on human flesh as Jesus, living on earth for 33 years, teaching and preaching, setting an example of how to live, being crucified as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of humankind, and being resurrected from the dead, achieving once and for all victory over death and assuring that everyone who trusts in Him will have eternal life.
As the Scriptures declare, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). To summarize in a few words, if it were not for Jesus’ birth, His life, death, and resurrection, there would be no reason for Christmas. But they did occur – so we can sing, “Hallelujah”!
© 2025. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; and The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.
Reflection/Discussion Questions
1. Describe what Christmas means for you. What impact – if any – does it have on the productivity and profitability of your company or organization? Explain your answer.
2. Have you observed that in many cases Christmas is observed and celebrated without any direct reference to Jesus Christ – His birth and life? Why do you think that is?
3. If you have taken time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ and its significance, both for your life and for the world in which you live, what have been your conclusions?
4. The last Bible passage cited in this ‘Monday Manna’ states that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ – has sincerely placed their faith and trust in Him – can know they have eternal
life? What do you think that means? What does it mean for you?
Challenge for This Week
If you observe Christmas, have you ever noticed your feelings about it becoming stale, that you do not have the same enthusiasm and excitement about it that you once did? If so, this would be a very good time to reread the passages listed above and reconsider what they mean for you.
In Psalm 51:7-9, King David of Israel wrote these words: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” If Christmas for you has become ho-hum, rather than ho-ho-ho, this might be a good time to pray this prayer for yourself and seek to regain the joy of knowing Jesus Christ and all He has done for you.’
NOTE:
If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:
Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18-24-2:12; Luke 2:1-20; Romans 8:1-4; Philippians 2:7-8
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