Thanksgiving weekend marks the beginning of the Christmas season for many people in our community. The "Black Friday" price-cutting may seem deeper than other years as anxiety about the economy will probably ring from now through Dec. 25th. With multiple pressures and concerns facing all of us this year, it is more important than ever to remember that, within the Christian tradition, the 25 days preceding Christmas are a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ and its significance in our lives.

When I was a boy, my family always set up a nativity scene during the weeks leading up to Christmas. I remember staring at the different figurines, trying to understand just what it all meant. While I knew the story well, I never could quite figure out why we made such a fuss over a baby, born 2,000 years ago in a stable and sleeping on hay.

It was difficult for me to imagine God as a baby. I would ask my parents questions, but their answers always led to more questions and those seemed unanswerable. Those childhood memories - along with the loving conversations and rich holiday experiences we enjoyed together - are still rich in my memory every Christmas season. But they are inadequate for strengthening the belief in God I need to live in and make sense of the real world.

Today, I no longer begin my Christmas meditation by focusing on the baby in a manger. Instead, I begin in Matthew's gospel with a prophecy he quotes from Isaiah that was proclaimed hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, " and they will call him Immanuel," which means, "God with us." (1:23b) I have come to understand that a truly unique perspective of a Christian world view is that God came to Earth to live with us, as one of us.

One common picture of a journey toward God is that of a mountain with many paths leading to the top. From this picture, many conclude that all religions seek the same goal, and that all paths lead to the top of the mountain, or to God. But at Christmas, Christians celebrate something quite different. We celebrate that God came down from the top of the mountain and met us - actually becoming one of us - in the person of Jesus Christ. We discover we no longer need to struggle and find our way up the mountain. Our joy is to recognize and believe in Jesus, who came down from the top of the mountain to meet us. And He knows the sure path back to the top.

With this image in mind, I now look at the baby in the manger with new eyes. God loved us so much that He became one of us - even to the extent of letting Himself become dependent upon others for His basic necessities. The thought that God would so identify with us is cause for amazement. The idea that He would be born as a dependent infant is unthinkable. Unless, of course, He wanted us to know Him and to understand that great love which prompted Him to give Himself to us.

On Thanksgiving, as a nation, we gave thanks for many of the good things in our life. The next day, we began the Christmas shopping season and many of us will hardly take the time to catch a breath between the two. Perhaps this year it should be different. Maybe this year, with all of the concerns we face in our country and around the world, we need to rethink what Christmas really is about.

Here's what I'm thinking as I reflect on the Nativity scene: Christmas is the time of year when we remember that God came to Earth to help us, to meet and rescue us on our journey in life. He came as one of us. His name was Jesus.

"God with us" is as real today as it was 2,000 years ago. This is the greatest gift we can receive and share as we gave thanks on Thursday, and prepare ourselves to realize anew that God, through love, came to Earth to be with us.

Dennis Baril is the senior pastor of Community Covenant Church in Rehoboth, a position he has held since 1989. Community Covenant Church is a non-denominational Christian Church, where preaching is biblical, practical and applicable to everyday life. Baril was born in Pawtucket, and has lived in Southern New England for most of his life. Before his pastoral appointment, he was a national account manager for AT&T. He and wife, Donna, have two children and five grandchildren, and enjoy sailing and skiing.