Christmas- What if it's true?
Even if you are someone who doesn’t believe in miracles, or that Jesus was divine, that is a profound effect to have on the world. This is a person who has had such an impact that most human beings record time according to the year of his birth.[1]
Jesus was born to a woman who didn’t have any particular reason for history to notice her, apart from being his mother. She was betrothed to a man, who likewise, didn’t really stand out from the crowd. He was a descendant of King David, but that might not have been that unusual. David had eight wives and ten concubines. He had 19 sons, and then there are the daughters. … Experts estimate that Genghis Khan has around 16 million descendants alive today, and he died 852 years ago. Jesus was born almost 1000 years after King David died, so that’s a lot of time for ancestors to accumulate. It’s possible that there were lots of descendants of David running around.
There are some people who will make it into history books just because they are born. For example, Henry the 8th and Catherine of Aragorn had a son who sadly only lived for 52 days- Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Jan 1, 1511). He made it into history because of his parents. … But the birth of Jesus didn’t make it into history because of his parents.
People encountered Jesus and they believed that they encountered God. People sometimes think that this is a belief that arose over time. A sort of legend that gets laid upon the historical reality. But people who knew Jesus were saying this. John sees Jesus as the “Word of God”. In the Gospel of John we read,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being”.“He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him”.“And the Word became flesh and lived among us …” (Jn 1:1-3, 10, 14a).
There are a number of other places we can point to in the Bible that express this idea that Jesus was divine.
One of John’s followers was Ignatius of Antioch (~35-107AD). He wrote a number of letters in which he uses the expression “Jesus Christ our God”[2]. In reference to Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, Ignatius uses the expression the “blood of God”. Speaking about his own impending martyrdom, he says “permit me to imitate the suffering of my God”[3] relating his suffering to Jesus’ death. Speaking of Jesus he says,
This isn’t a belief that arose over time. It was a belief that existed among those who knew Jesus, and it was a belief taught to the next generation of followers.
if we are honest, it’s a pretty crazy idea. It was a crazy idea back then, and it’s a crazy idea now. … In some way, to look into the face of Jesus, was to be face to face with the Creator of the universe. … It’s understandable that people would reject that idea.
But if I’s true, then the universe we are living in isn’t blindly indifferent, and we aren’t here by the chance interactions of matter of energy.
And if it’s true, we aren’t subject to the whims of the pagan gods like Zeus and Hera, who were driven by their passions. And we aren’t slaves to fate.
If it’s true, then the creator of the universe has come to us as a human being. And that means that if we want to know what God is like, we can look at Jesus. He is the kind of God who will honour a humble young woman like Mary, and grant her the honour of being his mother. He is the kind of God who is willing to be laid in a manger, rather than a crib in a palace. He is the kind of God who would send a multitude of angels to deliver the news to a group of shepherds in the field, rather than to the king’s court. He seems to be the kind of God that cares about ordinary people.
If it’s true, then Christmas is not just a sentimental story about a baby in a manger. It is the incredible claim that the Creator of the universe has entered into creation to be with us. If it’s true, then the Creator of the universe is so full of love, that even those who crucify him are offered forgiveness. If it’s true, then God is not distant and detached from our suffering. He has chosen to enter into our suffering, to be with us in the midst of our pain, our hunger, our joys, our sorrows. He has wept at the tomb of his friend. He knows what it means to be betrayed. … If it’s true, then the Creator of the universe has come to show us the path to Himself- He has offered Himself to us as a gift.
We gather to celebrate the birth of a man that undeniably changed the world forever, and continues to change the world through his challenge to love into places that make us uncomfortable. Christmas is the astounding claim that God Himself took on human flesh and entered into our broken world to bring us hope, love, and salvation. … And perhaps it is hard to believe for some of us in this room, but what is the alternative?
If this story is true, then we are not alone. The Creator of the universe has come to be with us, to walk among us, to share in our joys and sorrows. He has shown us the depth of His love by living and dying for us, offering us forgiveness, healing of our souls, and granting us eternal life with Him. So, tonight we are offered an invitation. Just as the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see this great wonder, we too are invited to draw near to Jesus. We are invited to open our hearts to the Light of the World, and to let His presence illuminate our lives. May we carry the light of Christ into our lives and into the world. … As we leave this place, may we go forth with the assurance that God is with us. May the miracle of Christmas fill your hearts with wonder and hope. My brothers and sisters, Merry Christmas. Amen.
One of John’s followers was Ignatius of Antioch (~35-107AD). He wrote a number of letters in which he uses the expression “Jesus Christ our God”[2]. In reference to Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, Ignatius uses the expression the “blood of God”. Speaking about his own impending martyrdom, he says “permit me to imitate the suffering of my God”[3] relating his suffering to Jesus’ death. Speaking of Jesus he says,
“there is one physician, fleshly and spiritual, made and not made, God born in the flesh, true life in death, both of Mary and of God ….”.[4]
And writing to encourage another Christian leader, Ignatius says,
“wait for him who is beyond all time, eternal, invisible; who for our sakes became visible; who was not tangible; Who was incapable of suffering, and for our sakes suffered; who endured in various ways for us” …“He is in all respects also a man, the creature of God; And therefore, summing up mankind in himself, the invisible became visible, the incomprehensible became comprehensible, the impossible became possible, and the Word became man”.[5]
This isn’t a belief that arose over time. It was a belief that existed among those who knew Jesus, and it was a belief taught to the next generation of followers.
if we are honest, it’s a pretty crazy idea. It was a crazy idea back then, and it’s a crazy idea now. … In some way, to look into the face of Jesus, was to be face to face with the Creator of the universe. … It’s understandable that people would reject that idea.
But if I’s true, then the universe we are living in isn’t blindly indifferent, and we aren’t here by the chance interactions of matter of energy.
And if it’s true, we aren’t subject to the whims of the pagan gods like Zeus and Hera, who were driven by their passions. And we aren’t slaves to fate.
If it’s true, then the creator of the universe has come to us as a human being. And that means that if we want to know what God is like, we can look at Jesus. He is the kind of God who will honour a humble young woman like Mary, and grant her the honour of being his mother. He is the kind of God who is willing to be laid in a manger, rather than a crib in a palace. He is the kind of God who would send a multitude of angels to deliver the news to a group of shepherds in the field, rather than to the king’s court. He seems to be the kind of God that cares about ordinary people.
If it’s true, then Christmas is not just a sentimental story about a baby in a manger. It is the incredible claim that the Creator of the universe has entered into creation to be with us. If it’s true, then the Creator of the universe is so full of love, that even those who crucify him are offered forgiveness. If it’s true, then God is not distant and detached from our suffering. He has chosen to enter into our suffering, to be with us in the midst of our pain, our hunger, our joys, our sorrows. He has wept at the tomb of his friend. He knows what it means to be betrayed. … If it’s true, then the Creator of the universe has come to show us the path to Himself- He has offered Himself to us as a gift.
We gather to celebrate the birth of a man that undeniably changed the world forever, and continues to change the world through his challenge to love into places that make us uncomfortable. Christmas is the astounding claim that God Himself took on human flesh and entered into our broken world to bring us hope, love, and salvation. … And perhaps it is hard to believe for some of us in this room, but what is the alternative?
If this story is true, then we are not alone. The Creator of the universe has come to be with us, to walk among us, to share in our joys and sorrows. He has shown us the depth of His love by living and dying for us, offering us forgiveness, healing of our souls, and granting us eternal life with Him. So, tonight we are offered an invitation. Just as the shepherds hurried to Bethlehem to see this great wonder, we too are invited to draw near to Jesus. We are invited to open our hearts to the Light of the World, and to let His presence illuminate our lives. May we carry the light of Christ into our lives and into the world. … As we leave this place, may we go forth with the assurance that God is with us. May the miracle of Christmas fill your hearts with wonder and hope. My brothers and sisters, Merry Christmas. Amen.
[1] The
6th century monk Dionysius Exiguus created this dating method and did
the best with the information he had, but people argue about his dating being a
few years off. There are a range of opinions from 7BC to 2BC being his actual
year of birth. 3BC sems to be most likely.
[2] letter to the
Ephesians, and letter to the Romans.
[3] Rom c6.p.28-29
[4] Epist. ad Eph c.7.
p. 13.
[5] Letter to Polycarp
c3p40
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