Today Christians celebrate the birth of the greatest X-Man of them all. In the minds and hearts of his followers, on Christmas Day, Jesus, the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem to a young virgin, Mary, wife of Joseph, a humble carpenter. A wondrous star in the heavens led wise men from the East to the manger where he lay. He was the Messiah, the Promised One, who fulfilled the prophesies of the Old Testament. By his Incarnation the Second Person of the divine Trinity assumed a human nature: Two natures in one Person . A mystery worthy of an X-Man.
He would grow into manhood , preach, perform miracles, call together a community of faith, suffer and die for the salvation of all of humankind, and his disciples would spread his good news and plant churches throughout the world and time.
He was called the Christ, Greek for ‘the Anointed One’. The ‘Ch’ being the Greek letter ‘chi’ or ‘X’. This is the reason why his day of birth,’ Christmas’ was often abbreviated in ancient times to’ Xmas’. Xmas for Christmas became especially widespread when, in 1436, Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, used it to economize on typesetting.
In a suspension of disbelief, pop culture may imagine the preternatural powers of a Wolverine or a Magneto. But over two millenia ago, a real X-Man was born, with the powers of God.
Filed under: art, etymology, Family Life, history
Tags: Johannes Gutenberg
