A Sign: Both Isaiah 7 and Luke 2 say essentially: "this shall be a sign to you, the virgin will be with child..." A sign? A sign is something that shows us something else or points to a larger destination. A sign gets us somewhere. But when we're talking about Christmas - I thought the manger was that destination, that place where we would find the baby. Isn't he - the baby Jesus, the big payload of Christmas? Isn't he the point? Well, yes and no. Or yes, and not exactly. It's helpful for us to be reminded that Jesus' birth was not exactly about Jesus. Jesus wasn't born so we would come to Jesus; he didn't come into the world to lead us to himself. Jesus came into the world to lead us to God. God then, is the full destination. So if a sign is something that helps us get to our full destination - then the baby in the manger is a sign. The one by whom we can get to God. "God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ..." Col 1.
Heavenly Host: In a recent email exchange with a friend, we were talking about the word "host" as it describes the angels. The word host is a watered-down word. In greek the word is στρατιᾶς (stratias) and this word has a very normal translation which is "army." I suspect in our modern days where we wish away violence (but fill our minds with it on TV) we have sentimentalized ourselves away from heavenly armies and distorted them to hosts. This may have started with the King James version, but most modern translations pick up on it. Translated more accurately, the sky was filled with the heavenly "army." As my friend wrote, "this was no baby shower, this was an invasion force and this is one more reason the shepherds had to be told to not be afraid." Well that changes the scene a bit. Now we have a baby who is announced and supported by an army. This puts some teeth into what Christmas is about: Bethlehem, a beach-head stormed by the son who's come to get his people back. Bethlehem the beach-head of a battle, a cosmic war that was won through the cross and the resurrection. The baby is cute, but he's a warrior, and the sky was filled with his troops. This idea is furthered when we realize that the angel who is named in the birth accounts is Gabriel. The name Gabriel means "warrior of God."
What Child is This? I have always liked this Christmas song. If I'm not mistaken it's one of very few hymns or songs with a title that is a question. It's a good question. It suggests the answer is not obvious, and even when it becomes clear that it's Jesus, we've an eternal life to reckon with the fulness of who HE is. John says he's the one through whom all things were made, whether in heaven or on earth. Paul says in Colossians that "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." You tell me if you can grasp the fulness of that. I get the general idea, but I'm certain I have no idea of the grand scale of this. And trying to grasp the grand scale is all the harder when juxtaposed with the fact that here before us in a manger is a tiny (much smaller than us) baby. A much smaller than us baby, who is the much bigger than us creator, of everything. "What child is this?" Good question. Something to sing about, think about and grow into. Forever.
Merry Christmas Friends. Christmas is God saying, "I'm here, I'm real, I love you." In a whisper.
