Lighting The Luminarias

Read on December 4

Story provided by Cindy

“Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” —John 8:12

Cindy spent her high school years in a wonderful neighborhood near St. Louis. On Christmas Eve and Christmas night, Cindy’s street provided a favorite Christmas moment for her community.

One neighbor was chosen each year to gather the supplies needed (paper sacks, sand, and candles) to make hundreds of luminarias. Each family would be responsible for making enough lanterns to cover the sidewalk in front of their house. For most Christmas seasons, snow was on the ground, which helped reflect the light. Other families from the community would drive past and wave, enjoying the beautiful scene, making it part of their Christmas celebrations.

Cindy remembers helping light the luminarias and then her family would join the others as they walked along the street, wishing one another a Merry Christmas and enjoying the quiet beauty and significance of their decorations. 

The magi followed the light of a star, which led them to Jesus. Why was Matthew the only gospel author to include the story of the magi (in Matthew 2:1–2)? 

Matthew knew that his Jewish readers would know about the tragic deaths of the babies in Bethlehem after the magi had come. In this period of history, the Jewish people would have likely been the only people group that would have known about it. The deaths of those babies caused great grief in the region, and the news would have been shared among the people of the Jewish nation.

Matthew wrote his gospel to lead the Jewish people to understand and accept that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. That’s why Matthew began with a lengthy genealogy, proving that Jesus was of the lineage of King David, and therefore fulfilling Old Testament prophecies. The gospel of Matthew is often called the “bridge” between the Old Testament and the New.

Every Christmas, there are people who are led to a nativity set or church service who struggle to understand and believe that Jesus is their Savior. They wonder why we believe and even wish they could believe. As Christians, we share the same task Matthew had when he wrote his gospel. We are called to say what a person needs to hear so they can come to a place of conviction and belief in Jesus as their Messiah.

For every Christian who wants to encourage others to understand the biblical purpose of Christmas, we have knowledge that can “light the way” so that the “Christ child” will be welcomed. 

We are called to help others understand Christmas.