The Nativity of Our Lord:
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2024
Text:
Luke 2:1-20
“My God is so big, so strong, and so
mighty, there’s nothing that He cannot do…”
True enough. But have you ever
considered that the miracle of this night is that God does the impossible, not
by being so big, so strong, and so mighty, but so small, so weak, so vulnerable?
This was brought home to me in a
recent devotion by the Rev. Scott Murray from Houston, a meditation on the
words of Church Father, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, which I am now shamelessly
plagiarizing! (If you want the
reference, I’d be happy to give it to you.[1]) My God is so small, so weak, and so
vulnerable, there is nothing that He will not do… to save me. To save you.
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16; KJV). And so, “unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”
(Luke 2:11). “And she brought forth
her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (v. 7).
Let us ponder the great mystery of
Christmas with St. Gregory. “The holy
Virgin returned to Nazareth [after having visited Elizabeth and Zechariah and
the unborn St. John the Baptist, as we heard on Sunday] (Lk 1:56); and a decree
of Caesar led her to come again to Bethlehem (Lk 2:1); and so, as proceeding
herself from the royal house, she was brought to the royal house of David along
with Joseph her espoused husband. And there ensued the mystery which transcends
all wonders,” and listen, now, how the God who is so big and strong and mighty becomes
for you so small and weak and vulnerable… Gregory continues, “the Virgin
brought forth and bore in her hands Him who bears the whole creation by His
Word. 'And there was no room for them in the inn' (Lk 2:7). He found no room
who founded the whole earth by His Word. She nourished with her milk Him who
imparts sustenance and life to everything that has breath. She wrapped Him in
swaddling-clothes who binds the whole creation fast with His Word. She laid Him
in a manger who rides seated upon the cherubim. A light from heaven shone round
about Him who enlightens the whole creation. The hosts of heaven attended Him
with their doxologies who is glorified in heaven from before all ages. A star
with its torch guided them who had come from the distant parts of earth toward
Him who is the true Orient. From the East came those who brought gifts to Him
who for our sakes became poor. And the holy mother of God kept these words, and
pondered them in her heart, like one who was the receptacle of all the
mysteries.”[2] Thus far St. Gregory. Beloved, let us also ponder these
things in our heart, and treasure this mystery of God become small for
us.
How small does He become? Before He is a Newborn, (mystery of
mysteries) Jesus, our God, is a Zygote, Blastocyst, a Fetus… which is to say
that He is nothing less than an unborn, living Human Baby. And that is of tremendous comfort for every
Christian mother and father, especially during the stages of pregnancy… and for anyone who has ever suffered a
miscarriage, or a stillbirth… and for every woman ever told the satanic lie
that she had no other choice (if she wanted to live a happy and
fulfilling life) than to terminate her child in abortion… and for every
extended family member who has ever borne that grief. Jesus became so small as to become, in His
flesh, one of them, one of these children! Why?
Why did He do that? Never
forget the old adage of the Fathers with regard to our Lord’s Incarnation (His
coming in the flesh), first stated negatively: “What was not assumed [by the
divinity of the Son of God] was not redeemed.”
Okay, now state it positively: “What was assumed,” namely, our
humanity, our flesh, our stages of development, “was redeemed.” In other words, what Jesus has become, Jesus
has redeemed. He became thus for us,
and for our redemption.
And so, our God, to whom nothing can
be added, who is fulness in Himself… grows, the little Lord Jesus. Newborn.
Infant. Toddler. Child.
Pre-Teen. Teenager. Adult.
Our God becomes so small… and one is tempted to say, contrary to
appearances, that He grows smaller with each stage of development… After
all, if anyone would enter the Kingdom of Heaven, He must grow out of
adulthood and become a little child!...
Our God becomes so small as to become one with us in every
stage. To assume our humanity in every
stage. To redeem our humanity… to redeem
us… in every stage.
In fact, He grows smaller still. He knows the pains of life for you. He knows disappointment, heartbreak, illness,
betrayal. For you. He knows your sins. He bears your sins, becomes your sin, to
redeem you from your sin. And so, He
grows smaller still. Crucified, dead
and buried. He becomes One who is
dying. He becomes One who is dead. To redeem those who are dying and dead. The One who is the Life of the World
submits to the nothingness of death. For
you. That is why He is born in our
flesh. God, of course, cannot die. He is the Living One. But in our flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of
Mary… our God, the eternal Son of the Father… in fact dies. “My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty,”
rings rather hollow at the foot of the cross, and as they lay Him in the
grave. Rather, my God is so small, so
weak, and so vulnerable… there is nothing my God will not do. For me.
He dies for me. He dies for
you. He dies for the world. For the forgiveness of all of our sins.
That in His resurrection from the
dead… in the resurrection of the Body born of Mary… He may raise us out of sin
and death.
This little Baby, wrapped in
swaddling clothes and laid in the feeding trough of beasts, is our God. So small. So weak... So powerful to save. No wonder heaven breaks forth and the angels
sing. Let us never lose the wonder of
it. Beloved, take this into your ears,
and ponder it deep within your heart: Christ, the Lord, our God, is born for
you.
“O holy Child of Bethlehem,” be
small for us, “we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us
today. We hear the Christmas angels The
great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!” (LSB
361:4). In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment