Christmas Day
Sunday, December 25th, 2005click here for past entries
Loving God, you sent your Son among us, not in power and prosperity, but in weakness and poverty. Fill us with wonder today as we ponder the humility of Jesus and celebrate your marvelous gift of salvation; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Imagine, for just a moment, that you are God. You are God, and you want to come to earth to live among your people, and to teach them, and to save them. How would you choose to do it? Would you appear, fully grown, and start working miracles? Would you appear as, say, a large talking bird? - Good mobility, and surely that would get people's attention! Would you appear in a mansion or a stable? Would you actually choose to be born as a baby to a poor family?
Perhaps you and I would not, but God did! And what a risk, wouldn't you say? To be born as a helpless baby, to a young woman who's never been a mother before and a father who knows you're not really his, but has agreed to raise you as his own anyway? Wouldn't it have been much safer to come in power, and perhaps in adulthood?
However, our God is not concerned about playing it safe. Our God knows that anything less than sharing our entire human experience could not have resulted in our salvation. Our God knows that we need somebody interceding on our behalf who can sympathize with whatever we are going through. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews observes:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:15-16).
This passage also points out the big difference between Jesus and the rest of us. Jesus shared our humanity in every way, yet did not sin.
Still, both the second reading today from Hebrews (1:1-12) and our gospel reading from John (1:1-14) reveal that Jesus is much more than an ordinary human being. He is the heir of all things - the universe belongs to him. He was present at creation, and all things were created through him. Jesus "sustains all things by his powerful word." "He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (Heb. 1:3). Jesus is the Son of God who reveals the Father's mind to the world. As such, he is called the Word of God. Jesus is filled to overflowing with grace and truth. He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Jesus is eternal - the life that is the light of all people. Yet, he became flesh and tented among us, which is what it means to be "incarnate" - in the flesh.
Of course, people have asked for years, "How can this be?" How can somebody be fully human who is also the fully divine Son of God? The Crossways Bible study courses try to illustrate this on a time line, where one colour represents Jesus' divine nature and a different colour represents his human nature. The divine nature stretches into infinity in both the past and the future. It has always been in existence and always will be. However, the human nature starts at a particular time in history - the time of Jesus' birth - and then continues from that time into eternity.
Another source - a book called The Case for Christmas - points out that some of Jesus' divine attributes don't seem to be functioning during his life on this earth (Lee Strobel, Zondervan, 2005, pp. 56-62). For example, there are some things that seem to be known only by the Father, and not by the Son (Mk. 13:32). In order to help understand this, the author points to Philippians, chapter 2. We read there that Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:7-8). The author concludes that it is this emptying of himself that allows Jesus to share fully in our human experience, while Jesus' divine attributes show through only in accordance with the Father's will.
Ultimately, Jesus - God's Living Word - the child in the manger - is God's message to us. And God's message to us, first and foremost, is that we are worth saving. It is worth it for the Son of God to be born as a human baby, live a life of service upon this earth, and ultimately be tortured and put to death - all in order to win our salvation. We are worth the birth of God's Son, and we are worth the death of God's Son!
Secondly, God's message to us in Jesus is that God is with us. One of the first words of the angel to Mary was "the Lord is with you" (Lk. 1:28). The Lord is with us, too. One of the names for Jesus is "Emmanuel," which means "God is with us" (Mt. 1:23). God not only lived among us once in the person of Jesus, but God lives among us now. For the risen Jesus remains among us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He remains "our refuge and strength" - a very present help in times of trouble (Ps. 46).
Finally, God's message to us in Jesus is a message of reconciliation. We are no longer cut off from God by the power of sin. Instead, Jesus has opened the way of salvation for all those who put their trust in him. We are now given the "power to become children of God" (Jn. 1:12), which happens when we are born from above, or born again, by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. We are no longer strangers and aliens, but members of the household of God, adopted through our participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:19).
As such, Jesus is so much more than a historical figure who was born and lived and died at a certain point in history. His power and his presence continue today through the Holy Spirit, and his life, death and resurrection were for us. And so, today, we do not just celebrate the birth of a child, but the birth of new life and salvation for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.
"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (Jn. 1:14).
This is a wonder, and it is God's love at work. Amen.
The Nativity of our Lord (Christmas Day) John 1:1-14 December 25, 2005 Hebrews 1:1-12 St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church ? 2005 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved
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