CHRISTMAS: A CELEBRATION OF INCARNATION                                                   Dec 18, 2005

4th Sunday of Advent 2005                                                                                   Matthew 1:18-25           

 

BEHOLD, A VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE

 

If any passage of scripture has been fought over, this is it.  “Behold, a virgin shall conceive.”  The whole idea of “virginal conception” is tricky in itself.  Anti-Christian traditions floated about the ancient world that Mary had consorted with a Roman soldier, and for that reason Joseph sought to divorce her.  The skeptic cannot help but smile; this is one way of making the best of a bad situation – to blame your indiscretions on the Holy Spirit!

 

To what degree is belief in the virginal conception of Jesus a central Christian doctrine?  In what way does it fulfill Old Testament (Isaiah’s) expectations?  What is the biblical/historical evidence for it?  I do believe in the historicity of the virginal conception of Jesus and I believe this not simply on grounds of church dogma and authority, but because I think it explains the evidence best – so long as one is theoretically open to the possibility of miracles.  I’m open to miracles as a theoretical possibility, and for this reason, as a Christian, I find the evidence compelling. 

 

CELEBRATION OF INCARNATION!

 

But what interests me even more is not the belief itself, but what the virginal conception of Jesus points to.  Matthew is tying together the virgin birth with the idea that Jesus is more than a natural human being – Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us.  Jesus is the Son of God.  This is what the virgin birth implies and teaches.  The doctrine of the virgin birth points to the deepest meaning of the Christmas season.  Christmas, as I want to remind you, is a celebration of the incarnation of God.  In this season, we celebrate that God is truly “with us” – our Emmanuel.  

 

I want to talk about this idea and what it implies.  This is what I think has actually importance.  In doing this, I think we’re getting at the deepest meaning of Christmas is!  It isn’t enough to say, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  That is obvious enough.  But what makes this season’s reason so deeply meaningful to our human existence.  That is what I want to know.  This is what really makes a difference in life. 

 

First, I want to define the term “incarnation.”  Why?  Because this is truly the essence of the season.  We are not celebrating the untimely birth of a baby in a distant town.  Millions of children have been born in worse conditions.  What we celebrate is the birth of the Son of God.  The church has confessed throughout the ages that Jesus is God with us, that the birth of Jesus constitutes the entrance of God into world history.  Jesus bore the very identity and image of the YHWH of the OT.

 

Incarnation is the term we use to describe this.  Latin term caro, carnis – carnation – based on Latin term for ‘meat’ or ‘flesh.’  Carnal is an English term and carne in Spanish means ‘meat’ – Latin meaning exactly.  You’ve heard of ‘chili con carne’ – chili with meat.  Incarnation – in English is ‘enfleshment.’  Incarnation is the belief that God, who has no physical body, took up a body on the real Christmas morning, whenever that actually was.  We celebrate Dec. 25 but that was already an important date of festivities before it became Christmas.

 

There are two important implications of this great celebration for us.  Belief in the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ tells us something about God and about us.  Again, this truly gets at the very heart of what it means to celebrate Christmas.

 

SOMETHING ABOUT GOD

 

The incarnation tells us about God and who God is by what God has done.  God is humble self-giving love.  God himself has visited our planet, breathed our air, walked this earth, faced our sorrows and disappointments.  Think of what this involves.  Think of all the weaknesses of your physical condition and person.  Think of all the limitations, temptations, pains, emotional heartaches associated with your humanness.  The God of eternal bliss and perpetual joy took on all its opposites.  The God of purity and holiness entered into all the addictions and perversions of our lowly race.  God had headaches and toothaches.  God felt nervous and embarrassed.  God got irritated at his little brother.  God didn’t feel like doing his homework.  God didn’t want to leave his friends to come in to dinner.  God got dusty feet walking to Jerusalem.  God sweat drops of blood in the Garden.

 

We serve a God who knew the daily hassles of human existence.  God is humble self-giving love.  God is humble self-giving love.  God is humble self-giving love.  Got it?  Those who receive this divine spirit take on His character and likeness.  Got it?  This is the glory of the incarnation, the embrace of our humanity with all its poverty, sin and sickness.  Those who worship the God who was willing to step down into the poverty of our humanity honor Him by their participation in weakness and need of others - the inclusion of the poor, despised, downtrodden, rascals. 

 

The spirit of Christmas is in essence, the spirit of total identification with another.  The Spirit of Christmas is self-giving love; it is to enter into the suffering and misery of another, and not hold back.  God is humble self-giving love.  God enters our world with nothing but our welfare in mind.  This same humility and incarnational love can by grace characterize our lives.  It is this love by which we identify with the person that gives us nothing in return, and takes takes takes.  The Spirit of Christmas calls us to self-giving self-emptying love. 

 

This is the beauty of the incarnation that we celebrate tonight.  At Hebrew Union College where I study, there used to be a beloved Bible Professor named Chanan Brichto.  He died before I could take him – something I regret deeply.  I wish I could have studied with Dr. Brichto.  But he often said in class – and apparently he said this repeatedly – that he believed that the Christian doctrine of the incarnation of God in Christ was the most beautiful idea in all religion period.  He didn’t believe it.  But he was transfixed by its beauty and the notion of incarnation was a very important one for him.

 

I hope you can be reminded today of the beauty of the doctrine of incarnation.  God became us.  Just like us.  That helps us know him.  It makes us better than we would be because he makes us like him.

 

INCARNATION: WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT US.

 

The second lesson is this: in the incarnation, God affirms the goodness of our humanity.  God affirmed us, we humble human worms that squirm through life with all of our silly pretensions and self-absorption, all of our craven self-protection and self-deprecations.  The incarnation affirms our value, our deep and abiding worth.  We are not only not just the result of the accidental collocations of chemicals.  We are more than created in God’s image.  God saw fit to actually take on the same flesh-and-blood we have. 

 

Our humanness was not below God’s dignity.  The Christian doctrine of Incarnation speaks of a mysterious intersection of the human and divine.  It speaks of a manger, a place where cattle stick their slimy noses to eat.  This manger, this woman, this man, these shepherds, these wise men, this night, this village – all of is sanctified with the glory of God.

 

In this way, they sanctify and affirm and bless all others.  Every other woman, girl really, about to give birth is made special by Jesus.  God entered into a belly such as this one.  God the Son was raised and disciplined and loved by a father Joseph, not so different from me or you fathers.  Poor shepherds were honored to be the first to witness this miracle of God and so honors all the lowly laborers of the world.  Shepherds’ testimony was not even allowed into court in Roman law, so lowly and distrusted were they.  Now all others from lowly social strata can raise their heads with humble pride. 

 

Those from different countries and cultures are valued – they came from afar to witness this miraculous birth.  This which was truly the greatest event in human history.  The word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and honored us with his presence.  We all can realize the glory of our humanity, the goodness of this created live, the beauty of our earthly existence.  God sanctified us by coming, He ennobled us in his birth, he delivered us in his death.

 

The incarnation affirms us, and all our human weaknesses and the incarnation honors you, your body.  God took a body like yours.  The incarnation honors your home – God the Son lived in a home like yours.  The incarnation honors your profession – Jesus worked with his hands.  The incarnation honors your marriage – God obeyed his mother and father.  The incarnation affirms you, because God became just like you. 

 

[tell story of my conversation with mosque leaders in Somerset]

 

THE CHALLENGE OF CHRISTMAS

 

So what is the message of Christmas – what is its essence?  To know that God affirms you, honors you, and all your humanity.  To know that God is self-giving love. 

 

The proper response?  To affirm others in their humanity – to honor others as a matter of fact.  To never forget the fundamental dignity and worth of all humans.  To be willing to enter into their humanity and suffering and be to others an icon of God’s divine love in this world of darkness.  The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light.  May they see this light in us shining brightly.