Introspection: A Christmas Reminder

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A Christmas Reminder

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.

John 1:14a (The Message)

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail th'incarnate Deity
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell
Jesus, our Immanuel

From "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley

I had driven to another part of town with plans of eating breakfast at a mom-and-pop cafe I enjoy, as I often do when I take Friday off from work.  Ending up back at a chain coffee shop closer to my home and ordering a tiny, overpriced toaster-oven breakfast sandwich naturally put me into a bad mood.  I was already primed for cynicism when I started noticing the Christmas music playing over the speaker.  I started to wonder once again if there might be some conspiracy involving Hallmark Media, Mariah Carey, and countless other parties to do to one of the two Christian high holy days what has been done to the Feast of St. Valentine.

Seriously though, I always tend to feel a bit cynical during the Christmas season.  The senior pastor of my church recently admitted that, though he loves the meaning of Christmas, he tends to dislike the "stuff" we cram into the season.¹  I totally understood what he meant.  For me personally, trying to figure out what to give people for Christmas is a source of frustration and anxiety, and the sentimentality permeating so many Christmas songs and Christmas movies just seems empty.

My devotional reading for that Friday consisted of a section from the Second Letter to the Corinthians, in which Paul urges his readers to follow through on a commitment they made to contribute to a fund to help fellow believers in need.²  When I've encountered this particular reading in the past, I've focused on what Paul writes about giving - that one person's excess can meet another person's needs³ and that a person should give joyfully and not begrudgingly.⁴  That Friday, out of the two chapters in the day's reading, a singular verse captured my attention, a verse I've previously ignored in order to focus on the "big picture" of what Paul is writing.

Paul writes, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Although he was rich, he became poor for our sakes, so that you could become rich through his poverty."⁵

The theological term for Jesus' "self-impoverishment" is kenosis, which means "self-emptying."⁶  This concept is developed further in other parts of the New Testament.  Paul includes in his later Letter to the Philippians what is thought to be an early Christian hymn, which is commonly called the Christ Hymn.  In it, we read,

Though he was in the form of God,
he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.⁷

At the very beginning of the Gospel of John there is another early Christian hymn, which is sometimes called the Hymn to the Word.  In it, we read,

The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.⁸

The Son of God "became poor for our sakes" by divesting Himself of the power and glory of divinity in order to walk among us as a flesh and blood human being.

The mystery we ponder and celebrate at Christmas is that, in the words of one preacher, "the Infinite has become an infant."⁹  This is the whole Christmas story in a nutshell.

Singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen once mused, "There is a crack, a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in."¹⁰  That Friday morning, a reminder of the Incarnation cracked through my cynicism, or maybe my cynicism was the crack that allowed in the reminder of the Incarnation, which I admittedly glossed over previously.  I suppose I needed a reminder amid all the "stuff" that there is something worth celebrating this season.

Whether or not you struggle to get into the "Christmas spirit" and whether or not you enjoy all the "stuff" that goes on this season, may you, dear reader, remember that, in a dirty stable in Bethlehem, the Son of God once lay in a feeding trough, having become "poor for our sakes."


Notes:

1. Brian Gilmer.  "A Thin Christmas."  Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, 12/08/2024.
2. 2 Corinthians 8-9
3. 2 Corinthians 8:13-14
4. 2 Corinthians 9:7
5. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (CEB)
6. Wikipedia: "Kenosis"
7. Philippians 2:6-7a (CEB)
8. John 1:14a (CEB)
9. C.H. Spurgeon.  "The Condescension of Christ."
10. From "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen

Natività was painted by Carlo Maratta in 1655.

Perspective: How Jesus Conquered the World

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Comments are always welcomed.
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How Jesus Conquered the World

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:35, 37 (NRSV)

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
And love never fails you

From "Love Never Fails" by Brandon Heath

In the Gospel of John, we read that, during the last evening Jesus spent with the Disciples before He was arrested and ultimately crucified, He offered them many words of comfort and assurance.  At one point, He said, "In the world you have distress.  But be encouraged!  I have conquered the world."¹

By the following morning, Jesus had been arrested by the religious leaders and put on trial before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.²  Allegedly, He had claimed to be the Messiah, the long-awaited warrior king who was expected to liberate the Jewish people from their Roman oppressors.  The Roman Empire did not take too kindly to such claims, and people who dared to challenge the Empire ended up nailed to crosses.  Pilate called Jesus into his headquarters and asked, "Are you the king of the Jews?³

Jesus answered, "My kingdom doesn't originate from this world.  If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn't have been arrested by the Jewish leaders.  My kingdom isn't from here."⁴

How could Jesus claim that He conquered the world if He ended up being crucified?

I think that one way Jesus conquered the world was through His refusal to follow the ways of the world.  In two of the Gospels, we read that one day, while Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, the devil showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world and offered to give Him dominion over them if He would just bow down and worship him.⁵  In Jesus' day, the Roman Empire had conquered much of the known world and maintained control through fear and violence.  Jesus could have been a king like Caesar, but being like Caesar would have been tantamount to serving the devil.  Jesus turned down the devil's offer,⁶ choosing to be a servant instead of a tyrant and choosing to be a cross bearer instead of a cross builder.

When Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not from this world, He was saying that, though He is a king, He is not a king like Caesar and that His kingdom is not like the Roman Empire.

Pilate asked Jesus again, "So you are a king?"⁷

Jesus replied "You say that I am a king.  I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth.  Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice."⁸

In a number of translations of the Bible, Jesus' answer to Pilate's question seems rather odd, since there is no indication that Pilate ever said that regarded Jesus as a king.  According to Eugene Peterson's translation, The Message, when Pilate asked Jesus if He is indeed a king, Jesus said, "You tell me.  Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth.  Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice."⁹  Jesus essentially asked Pilate the same question He asked the Disciples in the other Gospels, Who do you say that I am?¹⁰  Jesus invited Pilate to leave behind the kingdom of Caesar, a worldly kingdom which is maintained through fear and violence, and to defect to the Kingdom of God, a heavenly Kingdom which is advanced through service and self-sacrifice.

I think that another way Jesus conquered the world was through His resurrection.  Days after He was put to death by crucifixion, He was raised from the dead, and His way of service and self-sacrifice was vindicated.  Jesus did not need to conquer the Roman Empire in order to advance the Kingdom of God, for the Kingdom of God would continue to thrive long after the Roman Empire had come to an end.

In this world we continue to face difficulties, but we can find encouragement by trusting that Christ has indeed conquered the world.  We too can be conquerors by resisting the self-serving ways of the world and by following our Risen King's example of service and self-sacrifice.


Notes:

1. John 16:33 (CEB)
2. John 18:1-32
3. John 18:33 (CEB)
4. John 18:36 (CEB)
5. Matthew 4:1-2, 8-9; Luke 4:1-2, 5-7
6. Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8
7. John 18:37 (CEB)
8. ibid.
9. John 18:37 (The Message)
10. Matthew 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20

What Is Truth? was painted by Nikolai Ge in the late 1800s.

Perspective: Be Like the Heretic

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Be Like the Heretic

My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it?  Claiming to have faith can't save anyone, can it?  Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat.  What if one of you said, "Go in peace!  Stay warm!  Have a nice meal!"?  What good is it if you don't actually give them what their body needs?  In the same way, faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity.

James 2:14-17 (CEB)

'Cause we can talk and debate it till we're blue in the face
About the language and tradition that He's coming to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don't have give a [$#!%]
About fifty thousand people who are dying today

From "What Matters More" by  Derek Webb

In the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day a religious scholar decides to test Jesus by asking Him what he must do to obtain eternal life.¹  Jesus responds by asking the scholar about the very thing he has dedicated his life to studying, the Jewish Law.  He asks, "What is written in the Law?  How do you interpret it?"

The scholar replies by quoting commandments from the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus.²  He says, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."  In other Gospels, Jesus identifies these same two commandments as the greatest and second greatest commandments respectively.³  In one Gospel, He even goes so far as to suggest that all of the instructions in Scripture are derived from these two commandments.⁴

Naturally, Jesus likes the scholar's answer.  He says, "You have answered correctly.  Do this and you will live."

Unsatisfied, the scholar asks Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus then tells a story about a man who is traveling on the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho when he is attacked by robbers.  He is stripped, beaten, and left by the side of the road to die.  Eventually, a priest comes along, but, when he sees the injured man, he does not help him but rather walks to the other side of the road and passes him by.  Later, a Levite comes along, and, when he sees the injured man, he does the same thing the priest did.

Both the priest and the Levite in Jesus' parable are required to know and understand the Jewish Law in order to carry out their responsibilities, not unlike the scholar who approached Jesus with a question.  Priests are responsible for carrying out the requirements of the Law through their work in the temple, and Levites are responsible for teaching the Law to others, among other duties.⁵  Of all people, the priest and the Levite in Jesus' story should know best that the Law requires them to love their neighbor as they love themselves, yet, when they see a neighbor in need, they do not help him as they would hope someone would help them if they were in the same situation.  Instead, they choose to prioritize their own safety and convenience.

Later on, a Samaritan comes along and sees the injured man, but, unlike the priest and the Levite who kept walking, he stops to help him.  He administers first aid on the injured man and takes him to an inn where he can recover from his wounds.  He pays the innkeeper for the man's room and board and promises to cover any additional expenses when he returns.

In Jesus' day, Jews and Samaritans hate each other.  One reason is that they disagree on a number of doctrinal issues, including where God is to be worshiped and which scriptures are to be considered sacred.⁶  The religious scholar who approached Jesus would probably consider Samaritans to be heretics, people who hold opinions contrary to established religious teachings; however, in Jesus' story, the heretic is the only person who actually does what the Jewish Law requires.

Jesus, referring to the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan in the story, asks the religious scholar, "What do you think?  Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?"

The religious scholar replies, "The one who demonstrated mercy toward him."

Jesus says to the religious scholar, "Go and do likewise."

Many Christians put a little too much importance on having correct doctrine.  In fact, many can be downright unkind in regards to their disagreements with others.  Over the last two thousand years, churches and even entire denominations have split over doctrinal issues.  In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus reminds us that being right is not nearly as important as doing what is right.  Doing what is right means prioritizing love over all things, putting our love for God and neighbor into action, and helping our neighbors in need, as we hope our neighbors would help us in our time of need.


Notes:

1. This perspective is based primarily on Luke 10:25-37.  Quotations are taken from the Common English Bible.
2. Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18
3. Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31
4. Matthew 22:40
5. Wikipedia: "Levite"
6. Wikipedia: "Samaritans"

The Good Samaritan was painted by Balthasar van Cortbemde in 1647.