“The Lord Himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Christmas is kerygma! It is the joyful proclamation that God has entered our history in Jesus Christ. Emmanuel, God with us, is God’s definitive sign to humanity, to you and me.

In Isaiah 7, God invites King Ahaz to ask for a sign without limit, revealing a God who longs for our trust, a living relationship, a relationship of love that embraces each of us personally in this Child. Even when Ahaz refuses, God remains faithful and gives the sign anyway.

 

That sign finds its fulfilment in the Nativity. The angels announce it not to kings but to shepherds, revealing the charismatic action of the Holy Spirit, who calls ordinary people and stirs their hearts to respond. The shepherds go, they see, and they are transformed.

Their encounter leads to koinonia. Having met Emmanuel, they return glorifying God and sharing the good news together.

A sign is never neutral; it always calls for an answer. That is why indifference and discouragement are the greatest enemies of evangelisation. When we welcome Christ and testify Him, we become the sign ourselves: Emmanuel made visible in His Church, in our community. How will you answer the sign given to you?