And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Mathew 1:21

It is the second week of Advent. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for this time of the year when  we Christians  await the   birth of Jesus at Christmas. I have childhood memories of my mother lighting our advent wreath  candles at home  the four Sundays before Christmas. Church was lavishly decorated with  greenery, red ribbons and of course candles as tall as me! I couldn’t breathe for the beauty of it all. My father’s wooden manger held the Nativity figures. I could recite  the story by heart in both German and English. Since my family didn’t celebrate Santa Claus, I always  knew Christmas was about Jesus.

It snowed a lot last week (and more snow is forecast). The white snow on dark trees is lovely in its simplicity and calls for solitude and reflection. It’s a good day to pause, be still and know God is nigh. I think of Jesus in Jesus’ time.

His was a common Hebrew name for males, like  our “Joe” or “Tom.” Since boys traditionally took on the name of the father or a relative,  there must have been countless Yeshuas in Israel during the first century. Thus, the Pharisees and Romans had trouble finding and identifying  the Jesus who was disrupting their world view. They  knew about Jesus of Nazareth from the reports of miracles and healings, from the unrest and crowds, but  he seemed to slip through their fingers  at will.  To get rid of this Yeshua  the Romans and Pharisees had to make sure He was the right person. Thus, at the end in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was identified by Judas’ kiss. 

Today there are also many Jesus’ in the world. There is the tolerant, inclusive Jesus who is all about love, who accepts everyone in their sins and demands no repentance. There is Jesus, a  prophet no  different from Buddha or Mohammmed.  There is Jesus who was a very  good man a long time ago but who is so irrelevant that no one  takes him seriously.  There is the New Age Smorgasboard Jesus, cobbled together from  every  faith, religion and cult. Most popular today is My  Designer Jesus, the one I get to fashion out of my  self centeredness. My wants. My  desires. My truth. The one I can change tomorrow because  Jesus isn’t absolute.   There’s the social justice Jesus and the climate change Jesus and the correct political party Jesus.  In fact every divergent and contrary aspect of the culture claims Jesus for  itself. At least the Romans and Pharisees understood how  dangerous Jesus of Nazareth was: to the Pharisees He claimed Messiah; to the Roman empire  He was a threat. Twenty one centuries later, the false Jesus’ are “smoke and mirrors” caricatures. In them, there is no  Savior Jesus;  there is no  cross; there is no hope.

History holds but one  Jesus, He who calls for repentance and fealty to Himself.  There is only one Jesus who was  named Yeshua by the angel Gabriel and given  the Father’s  human name for  the divine Son. There is no other Jesus  conceived by Holy Spirit in a virgin. This Jesus  was born in Bethlehem,  grew up in Nazareth and was baptized at the Jordan. It is the Jesus who was tempted by Satan in the Judean desert, who preached  the good news of God’s kingdom,  healed the sick  throughout  Galilee and  wrought miracles. It is the Jesus who was tried, convicted and crucified in Jerusalem, who  arose again in that city and ascended into the heavens on a hill top.   This Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Way to the Father, the Prince of Peace and the fulfillment of all the Scriptures.

It is He who will return to earth in the appointed time to judge the living and the dead – and every imposter claiming His Name will fall down before Him while the darkness trembles at His Words:  “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” The warning is clear. Beware of  those who preach  anything other than 2. Corinthians 2:2.

            For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

            This Advent as we  celebrate the one and true birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, let’s  also  joyfully remember  His Second Coming when  God will set all things right again. May our prayer, “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus” be heard.