God—inhearted, enmeated, immarrowed

WISHING ALL WHO READ HERE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS! 

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hebrews 2:1-18

TO CHEW ON: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same…” Hebrews 2:14


Today we celebrate the incarnation—God taking on human flesh, a human body and mind in Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible we find footprints leading to and from this event.

Isaiah prophesied it:

“… Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son…” - Isaiah 7:14.  

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” Isaiah 9:6 

“The LORD has called Me from the womb,
From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name” - Isaiah 49:1.

He would be born of David's kingly line:

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots" - Isaiah 11:1

Mary was the Hebrew girl God chose to be Jesus’ mother:

" And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus" Luke 1:31.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" Luke 2:7.

The New Testament writers understand and communicate this incarnation in a variety of ways.

Paul draws our attention to the humbling plunge of this event:

“…but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men” - Philippians 2:7.

In another place He calls it a “mystery”:

“…great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh…” 2 Timothy 3:17.

John adds a layer of significance by calling Him the "Word":

“… the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” - John 1:14.

Paul affirms that He is from David’s line:

“Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” - Romans 1:3.

Paul and the writer of Hebrews also tell us the purpose of His coming—to deal once and for all with all of mankind’s sin, exposed by our inability to keep the law:

“For what the law could not do … God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh" - Romans 8:3.

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil” - Hebrews 2:14.

And this belief in the incarnation is a pillar of the Christian faith:

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” - 2 John 1:7.

It’s really mind-bending—God, creator of all there is, humbling Himself to become a person… I have found in a book of Advent readings a wonderful poetic expression of it. Here is a snippet:

Incarnation

I
Inheart yourself, immensity. Immarrow,
Embone, enrib yourself….
… Enmeat
Yourself so we can rise onto our feet
And meet. For eyes, just take two suns and shrink them.
Make all your thoughts as small as you can think them...

- by Amit Majmudar (read entire)

PRAYER: Thank You, Jesus for inhearting, immarrowing, emboning, enmeating Yourself for us—for me. May I never lose my awe of and gratitude for this. Amen.

MORE: The Feast of Christmas

Today the church celebrates the Feast of Christmas.
The Christmas day liturgy has a choice of beginning prayers. I leave you with this (third) collect:

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See His glory!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 97:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness
And all the peoples see His glory." - Psalm 97:4-6

Today's description of God's awesomeness as He sets foot on planet Earth scarcely fits with the quiet events of the first Christmas that were witnessed by a few shepherds, a few astrologers, maybe the innkeeper's wife (if we believe the Christmas plays!). So why this reading about God coming with brilliance and terror? Didn't our reading guide writer make a mistake in assigning Psalm 97 for Christmas day?

On further thought, the words of this psalm in the context of Christmas do this celebration a great favour.  For though Jesus' coming was humble and quiet, it was destined to rock the planet too.  Dennis McCallum in his book Unlocking the Mysteries of Satan says:

"Although God apparently has been passive in the face Satan's evil actions, he hasn't really been. We can rest assured that he saw the whole thing coming. Before he ever created Satan or humans God knew about their future rebellion, and he formed a colossal, startling plan that suddenly and shockingly burst onto the world....

To the casual reader, it may seem like the biblical story meanders; that God was reacting to events that came up, trying this, trying that, being let down by people, blessing, judging, and eventually, after exhausting other options, sending Jesus. But this is not the case. Right from the beginning, God hinted that his plan was afoot" (Genesis 3:15) - Kindle location 96.

The Christmas chapter of God's plan is only one link—but a most vital one—in a chain of events that will culminate in God someday coming as conqueror to an awestruck, trembling world, as pictured in our reading.

We need to ask ourselves, whose side are we on in this epic clash? The choices are simple:

"You who love the Lord hate evil!

He preserves the souls of His saints

He  delivers them out of the hand of the wicked" - Psalm 97:10.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your overarching plan to defeat Satan, and for Jesus coming as part of that plan! Help me to live my life loving You and hating evil. Amen.

MORE: And the Glory of the Lord - from Handel's Messiah (London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus version)

Today the church celebrates that Feast of Christmas. The liturgy for Christmas Day begins with this collect:

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

  

Wishing a blessed Christmas to all who read here!