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| Many people have nostalgic memories of Christmas -- warm remembrances of family, food, fun, exchanging presents, celebrating. What they really add up to is recalling a time when we felt the joy and comfort of being loved and extending love. I hope such rich recollections are part of your personal history. But Christmas is much more than family and friends and caring relationships. If the Bible is to be believed, Christmas marks a turning point in God's relationship with His creation. I like the way Howard Butt put it in The Velvet Covered Brick, "Bethlehem: God's Normandy, the penetration point where His invasion broke through. The beachhead for a new humanity was a baby's body, twenty inches long. The God of the telescope, author of incomprehensible vastness in cosmic space; the God of the microscope, architect of infinitesimal blueprints in atomic structure: this God had now appeared on earth in person -- a baby in a barn."
What an outlandish claim! All of the other miracles and wonders recorded in the Old and New Testaments pale in comparison! It is no wonder that many do not believe it. The humility of God taking on humanity staggers the imagination. There was no pomp and circumstance -- only a few humble shepherds and some late-arriving foreigners even knew what was happening. The biggest event since the world had been created snuck by without anyone even noticing. I find it ironic that the holiday that commemorates the birth of the Son of God, who entered the world so meekly and humbly, should now be celebrated with such extravagant fanfare. Part of the irony is that His birth is worthy of such elaborate festivities, but in the midst of our merry activities we often miss the point. It is impossible to fathom the mystery of the incarnation without understanding why God became a man. The birth of the Son of God is forever linked to His death because He came to die. John the Baptist called Him the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The allied forces' surprise invasion at Normandy determined the outcome of WWII. It came at the cost of many, who spent their lives to save the free world from the evil despotic reign of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Jesus became a man to be the sacrificial lamb who would die to save us from the evil that is part of each of us. He literally was born to die! This is God's great gift to humanity: the gift of love and forgiveness; the gift of life; the gift of hope and peace and joy. This gift is offered to all and given freely to all who will simply receive it! Don't let this Christmas season sneak by without pondering deeply about what Christmas celebrates. |
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by Rev. J. Patrick Curtis, Senior Pastor |
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