Baby Jesus - Luke 2:12

Luke 2:12 "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

I grew up singing the Christmas carol, “Away in a Manger.” I loved this carol as a child, but as I got older I came to think of it as just a children’s carol. I was happy to sing it as part of a children’s program or to sing it as a way of showing our love for children, but there was a time when I thought that I had outgrown this simple carol. Now, in the later years of my life I have come back to this anonymously written carol with new appreciation. I no longer think of it as a child’s song; today, I think of it as a simple but profound reflection upon the Christmas message.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we find the comfort that our God comes as gently as it is possible to come to anyone. A baby is not threatening. World leaders usually stand on the stage of history because they have demonstrable power. Babies are weak and dependent, not threatening, but soft and gentle.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see his universality. Babies belong to everyone. A baby has no language. A baby has no culture. In a sense a baby has no nationality. A baby could be raised in any country and he or she would become a citizen of that place, but a baby does not start life with patriotism. Babies are not aware of race or ethnicity or even gender; they learn in time to see themselves that way, but they don’t start with such markers. Babies belong to everyone. Jesus came as a baby, and he belongs to all of us.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see that our humanity has eternal value to God. Clearly, God could have appeared in any form, but God chose to reveal himself as a human baby. In that sense God is a humanist. God cares about human beings. God loves us as we are: in all our humanity. Because of God’s affirmation in the incarnation, all human beings deserve respect and justice.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we know that God chose for Jesus to die because, as we know from Scripture, it is appointed unto us humans to die. By taking on flesh and being born, God in Christ chose to die with us. When the Creator takes death upon himself we know that death’s power is broken for God is eternal. As a baby Jesus brings the promise of life eternal.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, God has invited us to take him into our lives. Just as we can reach out and lift a baby from the crib to hold in our arms, so God has invited us to take him into our lives. We can know God because God has come to us in the Christ child.

Imagine yourself, reaching out and taking the Holy Child into your arms. Feel the gentleness of God. See how trusting this baby in your arms is: he belongs to you whoever you are. This baby is flesh and blood just like you, and he has come to bless every joy and overcome every trouble that is common to human beings. This baby will die on the cross, but from death he will arise to eternal life. Take him into your arms and rise with him. He is God’s salvation for the world and for you. Amen.

Church Beloved - Ephesians 5:25

EPHESIANS 5:25        “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . .”

This statement in Ephesians that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” does not mean that Christ loved the church only or loved the church instead of the world or loved the church more than the world. The passage in Ephesians does mean that Christ gave himself to his disciples in a unique way. Jesus gave up his ministry of physical presence on earth so that the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, could begin its work of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In this sense the church is beloved. The church is not loved more than the world. The church is beloved by its being entrusted with the Gospel.

In John’s Gospel we find these remarkable words of Jesus “. . .whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these . . .” (John 14:12) No one could take these words of Jesus to mean that the church would do anything greater than the cross and the resurrection. Jesus brought salvation to the world. Through Jesus we come to know God in a personal relationship, and through his gift of the Holy Spirit we are transformed from death to life eternal. So, these words, “greater works,” mean something else.  

In only one way is the church greater. The church has taken the Gospel, the news of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to the world. Jesus went to the Father. He ascended after the resurrection. To the church he gave the ministry of evangelism. To the church was given the work of spreading the Gospel to people who never heard the voice of Jesus or saw his wonders. This truth recalls the encounter between Thomas and Jesus in one of the post resurrection appearances. Thomas made the declaration before Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus responded to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) The church has received the blessing of faith, and the church has been the means by which God has given this blessing to the world.

Nothing the church does is more important than giving witness to the death and resurrection. Nothing the church does is more important than calling people to repent and to believe. Nothing is more important than being the means by which people come to know God.

The passage in Ephesians chapter five belongs to Paul’s instruction on family life, specifically, the relationship of husband and wife. As Christ gave himself up for the church so a husband is called to give himself up for his wife.(Ephesians 5:25) However, Paul can never talk on any subject without moving to the Gospel, so he wrote in verse 32 that “this is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” We know that the relationship between a husband and wife is for this life only. One day we will be related to one another as the angels are—without marriage. Our love will transcend the limits of this world and individual families. So said Jesus. (Matthew 22:30) So, the work of the church is for this world. Like marriage it is a blessed institution between the beloved, husband and wife, which serves the purposes of God until each believer moves from this life to the next. Similarly, the church will one day fulfill its purposes and no longer be needed. It is an institution for this time only.

The relationship between Christ and the church is as mysterious as the intimate relationship of a husband and wife or better we can say that marriage should strive to be like the mysterious union of Christ and the church. As the wife is beloved of her husband so the church is beloved of Christ. As husband and wife have a special relationship in this world, so Christ and the church have a special relationship in this present time. The church exists to serve Christ by giving witness to the Gospel. Evangelism is the great work of the church; it is the “greater” work which Jesus charged his disciples to perform upon his ascension. When the church fails its “greater” work the church becomes like a wandering spouse who fails to love faithfully the one to whom the spouse has been united for God’s purposes. The faithful and beloved church will be true to its “greater” work of evangelism. In fulfillment of this purpose the church is, indeed, beloved. Christ gave up his life, his earthly ministry, for the sake of the church and its call to bear good news to the world.

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Grandchildren - Occasionally, we allow Sweetie Pie (age 7) and Mr. Happy (age 5) to watch a movie at our house. This week they watched one entitled, "A Bug's Life." At one point the movie became scary to them. I usually sit with them during movies so that they can crawl into my lap during any scary moment in a movie. This time I had gone into the other room to answer the phone, and when I returned I saw brother and sister hugging each other, cheek to cheek, as they endured the scary part. Sometimes they fuss at each other, but mostly their love is beautiful to behold.

Thanks - On Thanksgiving Day I was hospitalized in Farmville, VA with an infection. It was, as we say around here, "sub-optimal," but I am much better now, and I am grateful for all the expressions of love and all the prayers offered on my behalf. Thank you. My family, as always, was most supportive. I didn't get a big meal on Thanksgiving Day, but I did feel much loved.

Books. There is not enough time to read all the good books available to us. I find it more and more difficult to recommend books, because a book that helps or inspires or entertains us at one point in life may not be useful at all for another time in life. However, if you like literature and enjoy knowing about writers then consider reading The Autobiography of Anthony Trollope. He was a contemporary of Charles Dickens. Trollope wrote more than forty novels. Some of them provide laugh-out-loud moments and unforgettable characters. His insights to the church and to politics are amazingly contemporary.