There is something which comes into our lives from time to time and has been going on like this for the past two thousand years. People need to respect it because it has our life and death in its reach. The fables around Christmas reflect it. Be good, say the fables to children, because Santa is coming. Well the message is correct though the context is contrived. Repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. Indeed. We have it at the door from time to time when the hidden saints who shine like cities built on hilltops are close to us and are under orders from God to oversee our actions and judge us for misdeeds. We are not like the pagans before the birth of Christ, or even the |Jews before he came. They could hide in anonymity or go unpunished if they had the necessary resources and connections. Now there is no hiding. The Holy Spirit is sent out to believers and witnesses to the world about all misdeeds. We cannot afford to be drug-pushers, prostitutes, thieves, liars, murderers, idolaters, vile, immorally disposed, adulterers, or the like without the possibility the kingdom of God will reach us with divine vengeance and justice. It catches up to us, if not in this life then in the next. But ideally we need to be on the inside with this kingdom. That is a most precious place to be, worth losing everything to gain it. The only door to it is through Jesus Christ's teachings and presence and intercessions to the Father. Mediating between believers and the Father, he brings people to God who believe.
