Matt Fleming: On Christmas, let’s thank Jesus

The birth, life and death of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago changed the world – this is true whether you believe his story or not.

For the record, I believe it but I am sympathetic to those who struggle to join me. After all, it’s hard to believe – there’s not really another story like it in human history.

The story goes something like this: God, in an effort to make Himself more relatable to humans, whom He created, came down from heaven in the form of the Holy Spirit to impregnate a poor virgin named Mary. The birth did not happen in some grand place with grand circumstances. Instead, it happened in a manger in the tiny town of Bethlehem – the most humble of beginnings.

It’s hard for our modern minds to believe in that Holy-Ghost, virgin-birth stuff. And it was hard for the Jews back in Jesus’ day to get past the idea that their King was born in a trough in a dump like Bethlehem.

It sounds crazy, but that’s why it’s special. God took the lowly form of man not only to be more relatable to us, but to save sinners, like me, who have no eternal redeemer. Jesus did what no one in the universe could do – the ultimate demonstration of love. He did all the work, and we only need to believe.

Jesus’ humble birth launched the Great Reversal. Up to that point, society valued power and status, but Jesus turned the world upside down with a focus on the poor, powerless and marginalized.

Jesus was mocked by the religious elite for hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes, but he elevated those who needed a savior. He often mocked the powerful for their lack of humility and their elitist attitudes.

Jesus defended his focus on the poor and marginalized by saying: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31-32, NIV).”

Pre Jesus, women had little value. In ancient times, females were so undesirable that many were left as babies to die. As adults, women were treated like property and were not viewed as credible witnesses, which made the fact that a few women were the ones who witnessed the empty tomb after His resurrection all the more extraordinary.

This might not sound like much, but the credibility of the event upon which His church was founded was based on the testimony of people viewed as not credible. Talk about elevating the marginalized!

Through Jesus we are saved. And with that miraculous gift and a love of God in our hearts, Christians have done some amazing things.

Higher education as we understand it evolved largely as a Christian movement. The Christian value of preserving ancient texts and languages helped promote the growth of the modern library system, and led to widespread literacy. All three are based on Jesus’ passion for teaching and for his desire to empower humans to flourish.

“The insistence on universal literacy would grow out of an understanding that this Jesus, who was himself a teacher who highly praised truth, told his followers to enable every person in the world to learn,” wrote pastor and author John Ortberg in Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus.

Jesus’ focus on healing the sick and showing compassion towards the poor and marginalized also paved the way for hospitals and modern healthcare.

“A quick tour of history reveals that the Christian church built and staffed the first hospitals during the Middle Ages, the entire nursing profession emerged from religious orders, and most physicians during early American colonial times were also ministers,” according to Dr. Harold G. Koenig, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.

Jesus spent his earthly ministry performing miracles that saved lives and even brought people back from the dead. Again, these events seem far-fetched and impossible (I guess that’s why they call ‘em miracles), but as someone who believes them how am I expressing my gratitude?

Christmas is a wonderful time for spending time with family, for giving and receiving gifts. But can I do more? Can I give more of my time, to my family, to my church, to those in need? What about my money? Is there room for a bonus to an employee or extra contribution to a charitable cause?

Jesus saved me, so how can I be a blessing to others? It’s a question I should ask myself every day, but as secularism and commercialism compete to dominate Christmas, there’s no better day than today to remind the world of who He is, what He’s done, and what He continues to do.

Thank you, Jesus! Merry Christmas to all.

Matt Fleming is an opinion columnist with Southern California News Group. Follow him on X at @flemingwords or email him at flemingwords@gmail.com