One day, we received a newsletter from a Christian organization, and much to my surprise, there was a Christmas postage stamp on it. This year’s Canadian Christmas stamp has a simple line drawing of an angel blowing a trumpet over a Christian church with a cross on the steeple. I was so intrigued that I looked up on the Canada Post website how the publication of this stamp came about. It was put on sale on November 1, 2021, and this is what the article said:
Beloved symbols at Christmas, angels played an integral part in the Nativity story. In the Bible, these celestial beings, whose name derives from the Greek word for messenger, often serve as benevolent intermediaries between God and humanity. According to the Gospel of Luke, it was the archangel Gabriel who told Mary she would give birth to Jesus, “Son of the Most High,” and when the day arrived, it was an angel who announced the good news to shepherds tending their flocks in the region. A choir of angels singing God’s praise appeared around the messenger angel, and then the awed shepherds departed for Bethlehem to worship the newborn king.
Canada Post website
This past month or so, we have again been reminded of the commercialism of this season. There are different online ways of buying presents now, and we are confronted with them on a daily basis, but still, people flock to the various stores to buy their presents. In many cases, it causes a financial hardship, but we are so used to it. Then, there are the articles in the paper and on television showing the putting up of lights and Christmas trees, and the virtual Santa Claus parades. I notice that other writers make mention of how these events bother them as well, and they, too, remind the readers that Christmas is and should be about the birth of Christ.
Then, what a surprise it was, for me at least, to see such a stamp on an envelope, and how encouraging it was that a government organization is reminding us that this season is about the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, announced by the angels to the shepherds:
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'” (Luke 2:10-14 NKJV)
May I suggest that if you live in Canada and need stamps, ask for these stamps specifically, and that any philatelists among you also purchase these stamps. If you live in another country, ask whether your postal service provides Christian Christmas stamps. They are a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. We thank You for all those who proclaim this good news in words, pictures, and actions. We thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2021, by Joel Jongkind <austria67@bmts.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Meaford, Ontario, Canada
Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission