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The system
of dating known as anno Domini (A.D.), "the year of our Lord,"
was introduced in A.D. 531 by an abbot from Rome named Dionysius
Exigus. In this he proposed "to count and denote the years
from the incarnation of our Lord, in order to make the foundation
of our hope better known and the cause of the redemption of man
more conspicuous."* It seemed appropriate since at that point
in history the years had been designated "anno Diocletian,"
from the first year of a Roman emperor notorious for his persecution
of Christians.
But as historian Paul Johnson notes, what matters in history is not always the things that happen but also the things that refuse to happen. At the turn of the last century, Frederich Nietzsche pronounced that God was dead. George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells and other leading secular thinkers of the time argued that the next 100 years would mark the close of history's religious phase.** The 20th century brought a lot of things, among which were terrible wars and destruction fueled by philosophies that have no place for God. Scientific and economic advances multiplied understanding and greatly enhanced life in numerous ways but were demonstrably unable to fill the vacuum of ultimate meaning, purpose, and hope in the human heart.
Despite challenges to the contrary over the past 100 years, in A.D. 2000 it appears the Bible accurately identified the one who came "in the fullness of time" to provide the needed redemption for humankind. Today's world of 6 billion people still acknowledges the crucified One in its counting of years and annual cycle. The message and influence of Jesus continues to expand where it has not been known, in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. And his name is flourishing where it has been resisted in China, the former Soviet Union, and Europe.
Malcolm Muggeridge described the cross as God's intersection of time and eternity. This is the witness of Scripture. As we are about to begin numbering the 2000th anniversary of Christ's birth on our calendars, it seems good that in our worship times this month, we examine and celebrate the significance of God's timetable in the birth and life of Jesus of Nazareth. For while the future presents Christians with as many uncertainties as anyone else, we nonetheless look to a third millenium with confidence in the one who by his visit to this planet, infuses us with hope not only for time but for eternity.
Merry Christmas!
-- Steve Wilson, Pastor
*Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine
a True and Accurate Year, David Duncan, Avon Books, 1998, p. 91.
** "Whose Millenium?", Paul Johnson, Reader's Digest,
12/99, p. 62-66