—Phillips Brooks
Christian Science Hymnal, No. 222
IMAGINE CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY with two billion people. I mean, seriously—two billion people. Because this December 25, some two billion people around the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth—with festivals, presents, rituals, pageants, and even quiet moments of reflection—all to mark a birth that took place more than 2,000 years ago. Pretty amazing. In fact, we might describe everything concerning Jesus as amazing. And awesome. And magnificent. And wonderful.
For starters, how about the fact that the prophet Isaiah correctly prophesied this remarkable birth nearly 700 years before it happened. At the time Isaiah lived, around 650 BC, Israel suffered grievously from invasions and wars. Yet Isaiah saw a bright future ahead. He promised that when the people turned away from spiritualism and trying to commune with the dead, light would dawn in Israel—that there would be "no more gloom for those who were in distress" (Isa. 9:1, New International Version).
