Today we celebrate the miracle of miracles, the gift of gifts, the love of loves...the WOW of WOWs, God becoming one with us. God becoming what God loves.
That captures the heart of the Christmas story. It is because God loves the world…loves us…that God did this. If we think about that over and over, take it deeper and deeper, then we discover something about God, and a great deal about this world and about human beings. Imagine, Christmas expresses how much God loves the world…how much God wants to be one with us.
Let's hear that again. God so loved the world...that God became part of it. So, now it's not God loving us "from afar." It's God loving us by becoming one with us, and because of that, everything is different…for us and for God.
Rather than pondering the Prime Mover who continues to create constellations beyond constellations that boggles the mind, we have God in our hands, to hold, to hug, to love. Instead of searching to comprehend the incomprehensible with our minds, we are given a babe to know and love with our hearts. WOW!
The birth of Christ is a moment of great joy…for us, and for God.
The birth of Christ is a moment of great joy…for us, and for God.
But God didn't just come to pay us a short visit. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...God pitched his tent among us! That truth, and its implications, is what we celebrate at Christmas.
Now, God was always present in creation, but God became part of it in a new way with the coming of Jesus. God is part of our history.
If we get down on ourselves, down on others, down on this world, let us take heart from the words of the angel to the shepherds: Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
If we get down on ourselves, down on others, down on this world, let us take heart from the words of the angel to the shepherds: Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
If we get down on ourselves, down on others, down on this world, let us take heart from this good news. God so loved the world that God became part of it and stayed part of it.
This is good news for us. For God it may be even more. For God, Christmas expresses God’s great joy of getting the Christmas present God wanted and wants…to be one with us. No wonder the angels sang with great joy and exultation, Glory to God in the highest…!
There was great joy in heaven and on earth.
In the fullness of love, the Lover and beloved are one - God becoming human so that we might be divine - each giving a unique part of themself to the other. And joy abounds! This is what we celebrate on this glorious day.
Now, no one wants a present just one day a year...not even God. God desires the gift of being re-born in us today...everyday.
Let's see how. I have a very dear friend, who at the age of 11 dreamed of having an orphanage in Ethiopia. This September, at the age of 20, her dream became a reality. Here's what she writes:
Last week, I had been caring for the new sick baby for two days. I had not slept or eaten for two days. He was literally vomiting constantly and having seizure after seizure. All I could do was hold him and sing to him as he cried because he was in so much pain. I thought going back to the hospital was the last resort, but he began vomiting blood, so I decided it was our only choice.
Estegenet was in a meeting and could not go with me but said she would send Yohannes with me. To be honest, I was reluctant because I thought I would have no help, which usually I am fine with but that day I could barely see straight. My thought was that God could only use who I believed He could use. I thought Yohannes would not even go in with me because no one else but Estegenet would ever go inside the emergency area with me. There is urine, blood covered linens and bowls of mucus everywhere you walk. Feces covered towels are left out in the hallways and almost every patient is covered from head to toe in severe burns. But God quietly whispered to my soul "I will take care of you."
As we walked into the hospital, I silently cried out to God that I didn't even have the strength to carry this baby. At that moment, Yohannes took the baby from me. He literally held him for the next three hours as we went from department to department getting tests and paperwork and seeing doctors. God used him to do everything. I literally did nothing. At one point, the baby sat up and vomited all over him. He wiped all the vomit off of the baby and still he wanted to hold him. He gave that baby so much love that I had no more energy to give.
God showed me His love can flow through anyone. When I am not enough, the work of the Holy Spirit is still enough. God's love is relentless. His compassion is enduring. We are only broken vessels of His perfect love.
That's how we give birth to Christ! This is the Christmas story all over again. Today we celebrate God's great love, and our response with our love ...as Mary did, and Suzanne, and Yohannes.
We are only broken vessels...and yet, though we are mere human beings, our love gives birth to God! That's what we celebrate today - God's love and our love giving life to each other.
To each and everyone, and to God, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
In the fullness of love, the Lover and beloved are one - God becoming human so that we might be divine - each giving a unique part of themself to the other. And joy abounds! This is what we celebrate on this glorious day.
Now, no one wants a present just one day a year...not even God. God desires the gift of being re-born in us today...everyday.
Let's see how. I have a very dear friend, who at the age of 11 dreamed of having an orphanage in Ethiopia. This September, at the age of 20, her dream became a reality. Here's what she writes:
Last week, I had been caring for the new sick baby for two days. I had not slept or eaten for two days. He was literally vomiting constantly and having seizure after seizure. All I could do was hold him and sing to him as he cried because he was in so much pain. I thought going back to the hospital was the last resort, but he began vomiting blood, so I decided it was our only choice.
Estegenet was in a meeting and could not go with me but said she would send Yohannes with me. To be honest, I was reluctant because I thought I would have no help, which usually I am fine with but that day I could barely see straight. My thought was that God could only use who I believed He could use. I thought Yohannes would not even go in with me because no one else but Estegenet would ever go inside the emergency area with me. There is urine, blood covered linens and bowls of mucus everywhere you walk. Feces covered towels are left out in the hallways and almost every patient is covered from head to toe in severe burns. But God quietly whispered to my soul "I will take care of you."
As we walked into the hospital, I silently cried out to God that I didn't even have the strength to carry this baby. At that moment, Yohannes took the baby from me. He literally held him for the next three hours as we went from department to department getting tests and paperwork and seeing doctors. God used him to do everything. I literally did nothing. At one point, the baby sat up and vomited all over him. He wiped all the vomit off of the baby and still he wanted to hold him. He gave that baby so much love that I had no more energy to give.
God showed me His love can flow through anyone. When I am not enough, the work of the Holy Spirit is still enough. God's love is relentless. His compassion is enduring. We are only broken vessels of His perfect love.
That's how we give birth to Christ! This is the Christmas story all over again. Today we celebrate God's great love, and our response with our love ...as Mary did, and Suzanne, and Yohannes.
We are only broken vessels...and yet, though we are mere human beings, our love gives birth to God! That's what we celebrate today - God's love and our love giving life to each other.
To each and everyone, and to God, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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