A former Muslim college roommate once gently expressed his offense at the notion of God becoming flesh. He objected to the Jesus-born-in-Bethlehem story as relayed in Christian circles.
I saw his point. How could a great, just, wholly-other sort of a Being humiliate Himself, condescending to becoming a burping, unclean-stuff producing baby human? Sort of like a President or monarch morphing into a stray dog or a flea … only far more so.
So here we are in the middle of seasonal stress. Yet still there are things out there that incite our hearts to wonder and awe. A single cell. An evening sky. Galaxies. A colorful and fertile scene shaped by water, valley, and mountain. Mocking such things may be more than in bad taste. How much more so if at an ineffable, holy, unimaginably great God.
Of course, we sometimes chide ourselves for being too caught up in material things (like gifts and presents). There has to be something more important out there than being a Scrooge. Some greater “why” than making a buck and buying your three year old more socks.
Not that socks and money are bad things in themselves. Sometimes errands and work projects are driven by relatively important “why’s.”
Question then arises whether there can be a relationship between the mundane and the wonderful, between retail stores and ultimate purpose, between the material and the spiritual, even between humans and God. Not that there always is, but is it possible?
The story of Jesus’ birth suggests there may be. For one thing, it comes in a context in which God made the material, including our bodies. As God’s creations, we are here for God’s purposes.
For another, The Birth suggests that God did graciously condescend to relate to us mere humans. The Christmas story is that God became a man for a brief period of years and showed humanity something about meaning, ultimate purpose, and that which is most awe-inspiring. He emptied Himself for us.
And that leaves open the possibility of a greater “Why” to our seasonal busy-ness and daily business.
Tags: Christmas
