<The
Birth of Christ >
The
Incarnation; The Meaning; The Effect
Luke
2: 1 - 20
The Incarnation
We’re
familiar with Luke’s account, simply stated about the birth, And while
they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her
firstborn son – (Vv6-7a) – -[Read from Bible Luke 2:6-7-]
On
the day that the expectant parents arrived, nothing at all was available, not
even one of those crude stalls. And despite the urgency no one would make room
for them. So maybe it was in the common courtyard where the traveler’s animals
were tethered that Mary gave birth to Jesus with only Joseph attending; seeing
her pain, the stinking barnyard, their poverty, the indifference of the people,
the humiliation, feeling shame at not being able to provide for young Mary on
the night of her travail – everything that would make a man curse or cry.
Jesus was born in a freshly swept, country fair stable, we
miss the whole point. It was wretched, scandalous – with sweat & pain &
blood & cries as Mary reached to the heavens for help. The smell of birth
mixed with the stench of manure & acrid straw made for a contemptible
setting. The carpenter’s hands, trembling, clumsy with fear, grasped God’s Son
slippery with blood – the baby’s face grimacing while gasping in the cold &
His cry pierced the night.
From a poem by William Blake “Infant Sorrow” - My
mother groaned! My father wept. Into the dangerous world I leapt:
No other baby born that day into the world seemed to have
lower prospects. The Son of God was born into the world not a prince but a
pauper.
But there will be a day
when you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and
coming with the clouds of heaven, (Mark 14: 62).
What a paradox; St. Augustine said of the infant Jesus – Unspeakably
wise, He is wisely speechless. In her poem, “Mary’s Song”, Luci Shaw says: Quiet
He lies whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps whose eyelids have not closed
before.
The Meaning
Real Humanity
“I AM WHO I AM”
from Ex3:15. The name conveys the idea of
eternal self-existence. Yahweh never came into being at a point in time for He
has always existed. Jesus implicitly ascribed this divine name to himself
during a confrontation He had with a group of hostile Jews. He said, “I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Here He deliberately
contrasted the created origin of Abraham, whom the Jews venerated—with His own
eternal, uncreated nature as God.
God became man – not just someone who appeared to be 100%
man, but He is also 100% God. He will claim that He is God; He will claim
equality with God. He has all the attributes of God yet, when He was born, He
placed the exercise of His all-powerfulness & all-presence &
all-knowingness under the direction of God the Father. He did not give them up,
but submitted their exercise in His life to the Father’s discretion. although He existed in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to
be grasped, 7 but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For
this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the
name which is above every name, [Philippians 2: 6-9]
This is a mystery beyond any understanding. Truly human, the
Son subjected himself to His own creation & its physical laws, its ups
& downs. The growing pains of the Son of God were the same as they were for
each and every one of us. He had to learn to be a carpenter from his earthly
father Joseph. Jesus Christ lived with a human body, mind & soul with all
their limitations, except for sin.
A Divine Sympathy
Sympathetic resonance like when with two
similar tuning-forks, one is mounted on a wooden box. When the other one is
struck and then placed on the box, then muted, the un-struck mounted fork will
be heard.
Consider Jesus’ astonishing capacity for sympathy & understanding.
His instrument, so to speak, is the same as ours. Just as the example of the
tuning forks. Jesus’ instrument is His humanity; He was like use in every way,
except He had no sin. Now, when a chord is struck in the weakness of our human
instrument, it resonates in His!
There isn’t a note of
human experience that does not play in Christ as well! . . . we do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
(Hebrews 4:15). This goes way beyond can understanding and truly experience. He
has an unequaled capacity for sympathy.
The Wonderful Savior
The words spoken by the
angel weren’t just for the shepherds but for all of us, for all you who have an
ear, for they promised a Savior. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke
2:10-11).
It
is because
of His incarnation & perfect identification with humanity that He can save
us. He became “perfect” in regard to temptation by suffering temptation as a
real man & putting the tempter to flight. (Hebrews 5:8-9); For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -- He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been he. (2 Corinthians 5: 21; 1 Peter 2: 24).
Whatever our situation,
He can deliver us. The angel said that the good news was for all people. Right
after the angel spoke – “Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of
great joy; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. There was a heavenly flash & suddenly the
bewildered shepherds were surrounded by angels!!
The
armies, the host of heaven was there because this was the most amazing event
that has ever happened in the entire universe. It’s been imagined that they
radiated golds, pinks, electric blue, hyacinth, & ultraviolet. Milton
imagined them in serried ranks in his poem - “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” – he writes - At
last surrounds their sight A globe of circular light, That with long beams the
shamefaced Night arrayed; The helmèd Cherubim And sworded Seraphim Are seen in
glittering ranks with wings displayed, Harping in loud and solemn quire, With
unexpressive notes, to Heaven’s newborn Heir.
They lifted their voices to God, it was cosmic stereo boom
box star music beyond what you could ever imagine. Job tells us that at the
creation of the world, “the morning stars [angels] sang together and all
the sons of God shouted for joy. (Job 38:7).
God
became a man, not an angel. God redeemed us, not the angels. Think on this:
one-third of the host of heaven rebelled; there is no redemption for them. But
there is for us, for man. Ours is the best part, and we will praise God for it
for all eternity.
The
message should make us sing year round, not just once a year. It was first
upward as they glorified God in “the highest” and then outward as it pronounced
“on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Not peace as the world
defines and gives peace, but His peace, Jesus said “My peace I give to you”
(John 14:27).
On
that night the host of heaven gave the message, “peace on earth for those whom
He is pleased;” those who have been favored by God – peace, wholeness,
well-being for those who have been favored by God’s grace.
Has God worked on your
heart? Are you the object of His good pleasure? Then sing, because the best
part is yours!
The Effect
The
angels vanished and the heavens turned back to their normal appearance. But
those shepherds didn’t let any grass grow under their feet. They skedaddled
down to Bethlehem; just picture them
searching all the stalls around the perimeter; panting and out of breath until
they found the new mother and her baby among the animals. They find her; they
can’t contain their joy and go telling everyone they see about what had just
occurred;
It
isn’t enough to just peek at the manger scene and say “oh how pretty it is, how
nice it is to get such a nice feeling.” But without Christ in you, in
your heart, you would be eternally lost. All the religious sentiment, all the
family visits, all the pretty little gifts, all those happy feelings at
Christmastime, without the living Christ you have nothing.
The
Holy Spirit included this story in the Scripture so that we won’t miss the
point: the real, the true Savior of the world was not Caesar Augustus, nor is
it any other world leader. The Savior of the world if Jesus, Son
of God who came to earth veiled in Mary’s flesh, was born in human flesh, lived
in human flesh, died in human flesh, was resurrected in that human flesh, and
now lives in the same glorified human flesh at the right hand of the Father.
The incarnation was real.
Christ’s identification was complete. His understanding & sympathy are real.
His complete identification means that He can save you, whatever your
situation. Michael Francese a former member of the Mob, the only one to ever
have left it and live; was saved while in prison. Now he witnesses Christ.
That baby, God’s Son,
demands our complete allegiance.
He really came into the
world, & He can really come into your heart. The Holy Spirit resides in
your heart. Paul reminds the Corinthians and us: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? (3:26). How will
you know? Paul tells us, The Spirit Himself testifies with our
spirit that we are children of God, (Romans 8:16).
Lay your lives before
Him.
In this world of sin,
Where meek souls will
Receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.
(Phillips Brooks, Episcopal rector Boston Trinity)
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