By Jim Nelson
Christmas – That time of year that should be filled with joy and celebration; and above all giving thanks to God for the greatest gift of all.I always feel sorry for those who in the hustle and bustle of buying, wrapping and exchanging presents, in the going to party after party often with too much alcohol, in the over indulgence of food; miss the true meaning of the miracle.How sad it must be for those children who are taught to spend Advent awaiting Santa Claus instead of the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Even though I may currently be an editor/writer and not serving a church, I am still primarily a pastor. And it is my pastoral heart that makes me want to share the real gift of Christmas with everyone I can.
We profess to believe that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Christmas reminds us of the fully human Jesus who came to earth and walked among us. Who emptied himself and became just like you and me.As Christians we have the privilege of worshiping a God who understands because he has been there. God chose to come to earth as a vulnerable baby, totally dependent on others to care for him. He cried when he was hungry, and had to wait for someone to feed him. He shivered when it was cold, and depended on someone else to warm him. As he grew, he passed through the awkwardness of adolescence, and the fickleness of childhood friendships. He sweated when he was hot, his nose ran when he had a cold, he bruised when he fell, and bled when he was cut.He had to deal with the temptations of materialism, power and glory; the frustration of not being able to make even his disciples fully understand his teachings; and the humiliation of living in a land occupied by a foreign invader with military installations and soldiers throughout.
Toward the end of his life, he felt failure when many turned and followed him no more (John 6:66). He suffered the betrayal of a trusted friend. His heart must have broken when his closest friend denied even knowing him. And, it comforts me to think that at times, being as isolated as the rest of us are from God, he too may have had a moment or two of doubt. It is easy to get wrapped up in the fully divine side of Jesus, but the miracle of Christmas is that it reminds us of the fully human side. Unlike other religions, we have a God who understands because he suffered just like the rest of us. What pain can we feel, what experience can we have that he did not also have? When we feel lost, alone, abandoned, betrayed, or just plain depressed; we can go to Jesus for comfort because he can relate not in some divine, all-understanding, all-knowing kind of way, but in a personal, I’ve-been-there kind of way.
In the United States we are truly blessed. Most of us did not start out in a manger, nor did we have to flee persecution. Most of us won’t end up nailed to a cross, our backs raw and bleeding from the torture of the lash. Unfortunately there are still parts of the world where people do have similar beginnings and similar endings. Because we are so blessed, we need to take extra time at Christmas to be thankful that God cared enough to come to earth as a baby, and to walk among us to show that he does understand how we feel. Merry Christmas.
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1 comment:
While it's true that most of us aren't born in a manger and haven't suffered physical persecution; all of us have a cross to bear. F. Scott Peck said, "Life is tough!" And as the daughter of a man who died yesterday said, "It isn't fair!"
Well, welcome to the real world where life is tough and almost never fair. The best football teams don't end up in the BCS championship game, the hardest working person is passed over for the promotion in favor of the bosses nephew, and the church may very well die before we realize that our politics are killing it.
But in spite of all that, God calls us to be faithful! St. Peter won't ask the size of your bank account or the square feet in your new house; he'll ask if you were faithful... if you loved him with all your heart, mind, soul, and body... and your neighbor as yourself!
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