Incarnation

Posted on January 1st, 2010 by fatherneo.
Categories: Uncategorized.

As Christians we use the Old English phrase, ‘Merry Christmas,’ which means, have a ‘happy Christ’s Mass.’  It is a pleasant greeting that evokes for most of us pleasant memories.We can debate whether or not the first Christmas was pleasant at all.  Mary and Joseph travelling during her most crucial time, finding the place of birth for the King of kings in the most humble of places, fit more for a shepherd than a king.  While the first Christmas had unpleasant elements, our question tonight is, what keeps us from having a ‘Merry Christmas?’  Asked differently, what holds us back from entering into this most amazing and incredible story?  God becoming man to save us.There are many things that hold us back, but three are Distraction, Familiarity and Skepticism.First, distraction.  I need not even get too far into this one because you have just lived 30+ days of it.  There is a website called ‘Advent Conspiracy’  that has a picture of a wise man going towards the star and a person with a shopping cart full of presents going the other way.  The homepage of the website says this,The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.And when it’s all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas became a world-changing event again? Welcome to Advent ConspiracyTheir advice?Worship Fully, Spend less, give more, love all.  Great advice.  Too bad we didn’t know about the website earlier!After the angels proclaim the good news to the shepherds and they come to see what the deal is, there is a simple phrase said about Mary, repeated twice in Luke’s gospel:But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.When Simeon dedicated Jesus in the Temple at 33 days old, Luke also tells us that Mary treasured these things in her heart.  Luke is a craftsman when it comes to words and it is not a coincidence that he reminds the reader of the concept of treasure and of Jesus mother when he quotes Jesus in chapter 6: For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.We can be distracted or we can do what Mary does, treasure it all in our hearts.   God became man, and we are privileged to know the story; to ruminate on it, to treasure it in our hearts and to let it change our lives.But that might lead us to the next difficulty.  There is a Spanish proverb that goes like this:A rose too often smelled loses its fragrance.That is, when we hear something so many times, we no longer can hear it with the right kind of ears.  Familiarity breeds contempt.  However, increasingly we have forgotten the story.  We have forgotten the holiness of it, the joy of it.As one writer puts it, ‘All can be filled with joy.  Jesus may be lying in an animal trough, but heaven is present at his birth.’Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem.  It originally was named Lahem, after the pagan god of war, but the Hebrews changed it to Bethlehem, the ‘house of bread.’  From a house of war to a house of bread—‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace towards men.’  How much do we need the bread of life and the peace only Christ can give?  How much do we fill our lives and our time with the pursuits that don’t fill when we need to be given bread from heaven and peace that surpasses all understanding?St. Ephrem the Syrian said, ‘At this feast of the nativity let each person wreathe the door of his heart so that the Holy Spirit may delight in that door, enter in and take residence there.’Christ came so that we could have a real relationship with the living God.  So that Jesus enter our lives and make us new.  Lastly, you might just be skeptical that any of this happened and skeptical that it is relevant to your life.Virgin birth? Angels?  God in human form?  The star of Bethlehem?  Alaistar Begg says that there is more traffic around Christmas in church because, ironically, some come to ‘affirm themselves in their unbelief.’  In other words, this kind of thing feels good and is in many ways nice, but it really is innocuous, the Christmas story is for children and the superstitious, not for the responsible, the intelligent and those who have important things to do in the world.But when the angels are announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, all are forced to take notice.  ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy…’  The phrase, ‘good news’ is where we get the word ‘gospel.’  It is actually a loaded term because it was used in the emperor’s court to announce the birth or birthday of a Cesar himself.  A herald from Cesar’s throne brought the ‘gospel,’ the good news, that the world was about to change.There is something subversive in the angelic announcement.  The good news had new significance with a new kind of King.  And the world was about to change—for good.The birth of Christ is not innocuous.  It is the manifestation of heaven on earth, it is God coming among us to save us because we cannot save ourselves.Maybe we feign skepticism because the implications are just too huge if it is all true.  Maybe it is easier to keep it all in a crèche under the tree.The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem marks the traditional site of Jesus’ birth.  The entrance is a 4 foot door that is difficult to get in.  It is called what?  ‘The Door of Humility.’   You can only enter if you bow.The Incarnation, Christ coming into the world does not ask us to understand or to feel warm.  As one writer says, ‘To regain the flame, we must turn to him and honestly admit where we are and to open our cloudy eyes.’  Christmas is about bowing the knee and asking Christ in.Christmas asks us to do what the song says:Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! 

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