2025 Advent Devotion: Day 21

Sunday, December 21

Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25; Romans 1:1-7

Many people normally link the Advent “season” to Santa Claus and his reindeer distributing fancy presents or simple gifts. A few would associate Christmas with sign, prophecy, and dream. The Bible features sign as an important mode of communicating divine instruction or spiritual direction. Sign points to something or someone, the meaning of which depends on its intent or setting. Some people hesitate to use sign when discerning God’s will. King Ahaz, for example, refused to ask God for a sign, although God Himself instructed him to do it “whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights” (Isaiah 7:10, NIV). The king refused because he does not want to test God. However, God gave the king and the house of David a sign: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This sign is ominous for earthly kings, especially if they seek for the immortality of their legacy beyond their reigns.

We see the sign in the Advent narrative becoming a prophecy even if it takes centuries for it to be fulfilled at some point in human history. The prophet Isaiah’s prophecy provides the backdrop to the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. If we fast forward to the dawn of the first century, we read of an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream declaring: the son will be called Immanuel—“God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God uses a “message dream” to communicate his redemptive plan and work through the coming of the Messiah, a major turning point in world history. The message was so vivid and compelling that when Joseph woke up, he did not hesitate to set the divine plan into motion; he took “Mary home as his wife” (Matthew 1:24). Also, Joseph did not consummate the marriage until the birth of the child, who was and is the visible and physical manifestation of God’s presence on earth.

Years later, we read of the Apostle Paul affirming what the prophets said about the greatest miracle on earth, that is, God taking the form of humanity. While some people consider it scandalous, Paul discloses the heart of the “Advent continuum,” that is, the Messiah has come through human birth, died, and resurrected. By declaring, “Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4), the historical reality of Christmas dispels any notion of myth, legend, or folktale. Its benefits are plenty: grace, obedience, faith, peace, and belongingness, among others. All of these establish the Christmas story as powerful, meaningful, and transformational.

Have you watched the video on Santa Claus and his reindeer being shot out of the sky? That actually happened in December 2021, when the Czech military released a short clip for public viewing as part of an effort to keep the nation’s Christmas tradition. Thankfully, Santa Claus and the reindeer landed safely, but the Czech military made its point: “For us, Baby Jesus brings gifts.” Presumably, public opinion was divided across Czechia, but the message is clear: Christmas is about Immanuel (God with us) instead of Santa Claus, the adorable gift-distributing silver-haired old man with a long white beard.



Terry Casiño
Professor of Missiology & Intercultural Studies