The Christmas story is one of contrasts. Specifically, it is the response of men to the incarnation of the son of God that is contrasted. And the Christmas story involves more than just that one night in a Bethlehem stable. The wise men seem to have come two years later, but they are properly included in the infancy of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
But notice the contrasts. The angel appears to shepherds, not to nobility. And the priests and scribes, who surely knew of our Lord’s birth -- they even explained it to Herod --, the priests and scribes didn’t even go see the Lord, let alone worship him. And Herod, fearful of what the birth of Israel’s true king would cost him, sought to put him to death. The shepherds, on the other hand, went to see the Lord, and the wise men travelled from a long way off just to bow the knee before him. Simeon and Anna spent their lives waiting hopefully for these events, but the earthly powers lived in fear of them.
How will you respond to our Lord’s incarnation? Will you celebrate it, worshipping the king who stepped down from glory to take on the infirmities of human flesh, or will you ignore it, treat it as insignificant. You cannot be neutral. To ignore the Lord is no better than to persecute the Lord. He who is not with us is against us; he who does not gather to Jesus scatters.
The angels gave a two-fold declaration when they appeared to the shepherds. They extolled the glory of the heavenly king, and they proclaimed peace among men. But this is no simple resolution of conflict, this peace is a wholeness to our entire being. And it is not showered indiscriminately upon mankind. It is specific to those who are favored by God. As john says in the opening of his gospel, “to those who believed, he gave the right to become sons of God.”
How will you respond to Christmas? Will you be a favored one, receiving the gospel with joy and faith, together with its consequent peace? Or will you allow the world to choke out the awe that Christmas should inspire? God himself, king of the universe, creator of all that exists, has humbled himself to be our servant, that we might be kings, and that we might have peace with God and peace with each other. Praise the Lord and Merry Christmas.
Real HOPE ... to Real PEOPLE ... for Real TRANSFORMATION
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Reflecting on the Incarnation
John 1:14
John is very subtle and yet so very clear. The ‘Word’, by which he means the second person of the eternal Trinity, the creator of all that is, seen and unseen, stepped down from his lofty and glorious perch to humble himself in a radical way. The omnipotent and independent and omnipresent One stooped to take on a human nature, complete with all of its infirmities, being dependent on food and drink and nurture, being limited by location in space, etc. It would be impossible for us, creatures that we be, to fathom the gravity of the humiliation that is involved in the incarnation. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our savior, remember that it is not just what he would do that should take our attention. The gospel involves the manger no less than the cross and the crown. Already in the incarnation, the Son had exhibited his glorious grace.
His glory was concealed in the humble form of a baby, but the glory was there nonetheless. And at the transfiguration, John, the author of our text, had beheld his glory. Surely even in the transfiguration that glory was muted, as John lived to tell the tale.
So as you celebrate this year, remember that, as you picture the cozy and sentimental picture of a darling child in his mother’s caring arms ..., remember that there was, in those swaddling clothes, the Sovereign Lord of the universe, graciously stooping, taking the form of a servant ... coming not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
That fragile child was the very One who spoke the world into existence. That fragile child is the very One who calls you brother and friend. And it is to Him that you owe your all. Merry Christmas.
John is very subtle and yet so very clear. The ‘Word’, by which he means the second person of the eternal Trinity, the creator of all that is, seen and unseen, stepped down from his lofty and glorious perch to humble himself in a radical way. The omnipotent and independent and omnipresent One stooped to take on a human nature, complete with all of its infirmities, being dependent on food and drink and nurture, being limited by location in space, etc. It would be impossible for us, creatures that we be, to fathom the gravity of the humiliation that is involved in the incarnation. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our savior, remember that it is not just what he would do that should take our attention. The gospel involves the manger no less than the cross and the crown. Already in the incarnation, the Son had exhibited his glorious grace.
His glory was concealed in the humble form of a baby, but the glory was there nonetheless. And at the transfiguration, John, the author of our text, had beheld his glory. Surely even in the transfiguration that glory was muted, as John lived to tell the tale.
So as you celebrate this year, remember that, as you picture the cozy and sentimental picture of a darling child in his mother’s caring arms ..., remember that there was, in those swaddling clothes, the Sovereign Lord of the universe, graciously stooping, taking the form of a servant ... coming not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
That fragile child was the very One who spoke the world into existence. That fragile child is the very One who calls you brother and friend. And it is to Him that you owe your all. Merry Christmas.
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