Jesus Christ might very well not have been born on Dec. 25.
Some scholars speculate that his birth was in early to mid-September because the shepherds would not have their sheep outside in late December and because his cousin John the Baptist was six months older and those times are suggested by when John’s father Zechariah, a priest, was serving his regular term in the temple.
But the Revs. Vaughny Taylor and Timothy Hayter say that when Jesus was born is less important than the fact of his coming to earth to save mankind. Pope Julius I designated Dec. 25 in 350 A.D. because the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would bear the Son of God, was believed to have occurred nine months earlier on March 25.
“The first thing we should ask ourselves is, does it really matter?” said the Rev. Taylor, pastor of Central Baptist Church. “The outstanding fact is that God saw the need to have his son come and bail us out of a big mess and offer us redemption. I think any time of the year that we chose to celebrate that would be just as appropriate.
“The awesome thing is that it is the most celebrated birthday in all the world. Even people who don’t profess to be Christians celebrate Jesus’ birthday. They still find a lot of joy and a lot of meaning in Christmas.”
Citing the story of Jesus’ birth in the second chapter of Luke, Taylor said Christmas’ greatest gift “is that Jesus loves us and is constantly seeking fellowship with us.
“He came for us,” he said.
Father Hayter, pastor of St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ballinger, said the Bible does not give enough information to determine Jesus’ birthday because, for one thing, it is unknown how long Zechariah had been home before his wife Elizabeth conceived.
“There are things we can do to get an idea and come up with some dates,” Hayter said, adding that authorities in antiquity proposed various times.
“With all the variables, we don’t have a real clear, precise answer. They all had good reasons. What we do know is that the Son of God was born in Bethlehem and that is sufficient for us.
“He was with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the beginning. We do need to have a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ and highlight his coming in the flesh.
“We don’t have to know when that is and Dec. 25 is as good a date as any,” Hayter said. “At some point you have to choose a day and that’s what the early church fathers did.”
