In Jesus Holy Name December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve– Matthew 2:1-4 Redeemer
“The Finger Prints of God....Visible”
Each and every Christmas I am amazed at the impact of the old, old story of God’s incarnation has on people. We have not grown weary of this ancient story. A baby in a manger. Shepherds in a field. The light and music of angels filled the dark sky. After 2000 plus years of exhausting repetition why do the events in the small Jewish village of Bethlehem still intrigue us?
Is it the momentum of long established traditions? Homes are decorated with juniper and holly. We deck our shrubs and frame our homes with tiny white lights. Our living rooms display a decorated tree. Ornaments commemorate vacation memories past or family history. Nativity scenes grace our lawns and mantles.
Ironic, all this decking and glitter when the movement of God that Christmas recalls is away from glitter and tinsel.
The event of Christmas is about remembering who is responsible for this whole Christmas thing. The truth of Christmas is wrapped in the words of the angel. “Today a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” It was and remains a message of joy. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever would believe in him might have eternal life.”
It was a very bold thing for God to do. God chose to take upon Himself human finger prints. Unique. Special. The baby, born in Bethlehem, to Mary and Joseph, like every other human baby, was born in the normal way. Yet, at the same time God Himself, the Creator of the universe decided to enter human history and possess his own special and unique finger prints. Mary and Joseph gave him the name Jesus, just as the angel had told them.
Did you know that Christmas was originally a worship service called the Christ Mass, a celebration of the Incarnation? It was and is a celebration of the first in kind event when God became a human being; deity put on flesh and blood. For a period of time, the invisible Creator of all things came to live on earth as a human being.
The great theologian G.K. Chesterton correctly called the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem an “enormous exception”, something absolutely unique.
We realize that in this economic driven culture in which we now live, the word “incarnation” does not sell toys. The celebration of the “Christ Mass” will not bring human eyes to view the windows in the stores of merchants.
To be sure most people believe that there was some kind of Creator or “Intelligent Designer” who made the universe and then stepped away. The scientific fact that galaxies don’t crash into each other and the knowledge that gravity holds things in place cannot be a random accident.
But to acknowledge that an omnipotent Creator would take the form of a helpless infant, in which the hands that made the universe would become hands too small to reach beyond a crib, staggers the human mind. Yet this is the miracle of the Incarnation. This is the celebration of the Christ Mass.
Never before, nor sense, has any religion ever even hinted that the One invisible maker of all things became a human being and dwelt on earth, but this is what Christianity claims for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It was a bold thing for God to do in order to be known.
He chose to have the fate of the world rest upon the response of a small town teenage girl and her 20 plus year old fiancé. How many times did Mary go over the words of the angel, as she felt the growing infant kicking against the wall of her uterus? How many times must Joseph have second guessed his own encounter with the angel – just a dream?
How easy it would have been for Joseph to explain away a dream while living under the gossip of neighbors who could plainly see the changing shape of the woman he planned to marry.
I am impressed that when the Son of God became a human being he played by the rules, harsh rules. For we all know small towns do not treat kindly young boys who grow up with a questionable paternity.
When the story of the “incarnation” was told the Romans laughed at the idea of a “god” becoming flesh with real finger prints. Oh, sure, a Roman “god” might have a fling with a mortal woman and then disappear to a better realm. But then, you know your side of the tracks and the gods know theirs. The Creator of the Universe taking upon himself flesh and bone, born into the world as an infant…Hilarious!
The celebration of the Incarnation; the celebration of the Christ Mass… is politically incorrect. The word Christmas may work very well if one has lost true reason for the season. Growing up did you ever think that even the word “Christmas” would become a political hot potato? And so, in a world that does not want to dig deep into the meaning life and death and God’s offer of eternal life seeks a new word: Holiday Trees. Holiday Lane. And Happy Holiday.
Christmas is not about a colorful package with a bow under a glittering tree. Christmas is not about what one finds in a stocking hung by the chimney with care. Christmas is about a baby! A crying infant desperate for the need of a warm breast, loving eyes and a soft voice. How foolish for the Creator of the world to choose his own set of finger prints.
Even the Devil could see God’s foolish decision. In the wilderness he offered Jesus the opportunity to be a real King with real geography and adoring crowds. Jesus declined.
One of the Christmas cards we received several years ago reminds of true joy that fills our hearts at Christmas.
“If our greatest need had been for information
God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money
God would have sent an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure
God would have sent an entertainer.
But our greatest need was the forgiveness of sins
So God sent a Savior.”
The angel’s message had come to Mary. The angel’s message had come to Joseph, “Mary will give birth to a son by the Holy Spirit…”you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) It is appropriate that we sing the hymn Isaac Watts wrote almost 300 years ago. “Joy to the World, the Lord has Come, Let earth receive her King.”
The ancient words of the Apostle’s Creed …… conceived by the Holy Spirit born of a virgin Mary …… points to the fundamental fact of the Christian faith. In Jesus Christ, God became one of us. In becoming flesh, God did not delegate salvation to a surrogate. He came himself.
The event of Christmas recalls the moment in human history when the Almighty God deliberately put himself in such a state that Satan could tempt him, demons could taunt him, and lowly human beings could slap his face and nail him to a cross. What a fool hardy thing for God to do?
Against the claims of religious relativism, Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds accepted the angel’s message. The Apostle Paul explains the mystery of the incarnation this way. “God was pleased to have all of his full Deity dwell in Jesus. He is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) through this infant born of Mary. God the Father through Jesus “reconciled to himself all things, whether things in heaven or on earth by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.”
“Once you were alienated from God because of your evil behavior but now – through faith” in the Child of Bethlehem who was crucified on a cross – God has again established and secured forgiveness and brought about “reconciliation by the physical body of Jesus through his death on the cross to present you holy and without blemish and free from accusation for your sin – IF you,” (Colossians 1:20-23) like Mary and Joseph continue in your faith, trusting the words and promise of God through the angel. Unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord. The baby in Mary’s arms, the baby in the manger is God in flesh.
Listen to the story again as told by Walter Wangerin as taken from “The Book of God”.
On a cold and damp night the midnight fires of the shepherds had collapsed into sparks and red embers. The shepherds shared the long night watch and felt the silence of the stars, tiny dots in the sky. All at once the stars began to explode. The shepherds became wide awake. Frightened. The sheep began to bleat, looking for an escape into the dark. The stars, tens of thousands began flashing like white fires in the black sky.
The shepherds were immobilized. Between the glorious notion in the heavens and the dark earth below there now appeared a single endless pillar of pure white fire. The fire spoke: “don’t be afraid.” Within the fire a brilliant human form, smooth, huge and very beautiful, his feet upon the mountains.
The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy which shall come to all people. Unto you is born this night in the city of David, A Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign for you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Suddenly a swarm of fiery heavenly hosts swooped down and filled the skies praising God. The air itself was the music of the angels. The shepherds pushed the gate shut, testing the latch and began to walk up the valley. Their legs were light. They saw the fires of Bethlehem. There they found Mary and Joseph and the Baby.
“Does the baby have a name?” They asked. “Then Joseph remembered the words of the angel: “You shall call him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.” Yes, His name is Jesus.”
The Creator of the Universe, who has the power to create life from nothing, the power to destroy the universe with a breath, chose to take upon himself His own personal set of finger prints. A mystery my mind cannot understand. God dwelt among us. By faith my heart acknowledges this historical event. God was about the task of bringing those of us who were separated from His holiness by our sinful behavior back into a relationship of love with Himself.
“Christmas demands faith, because the “incarnation” is a mystery. Our reason can not succeed in trying to understand how God could have loved us to such a degree. Martin Luther penned these words to describe the “incarnation”:
“O Lord, you have created all!
How did you become so small?
To sweetly sleep in a manger bed
Where lowly cattle lately fed.”
Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that he gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have eternal life.”
(Corrie ten Boom)
