|
The Rev. Frank
Logue
This Will Be A Sign The night when Jesus was born was unique in all creation as God took on human flesh in Jesus. And yet, when you arrived at that stable in Bethlehem, all there was to see was a poor Israeli teenager and her husband with a new baby lying in the feed box, which we try to clean up with the word manger. It would have been dirty, smelly and while every new baby is miraculous and beautiful, there should have been nothing more to it than the miracle of birth. God came into the mess of a stable with the message of Good News and that same Good News breaks into the mess of our world. Notice the words of the angels to the shepherds that night as they kept watch over their flocks outside Bethlehem. First the news is momentous, “Do not be afraid; for see— I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” This is astounding for many Jews were looking for a savior and here is the announcement of The Messiah, God’s promised anointed one. And then to underline the import of the event, we hear that the one born is “The Lord.” The Lord. That’s how Jews referred to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Moses at the Burning Bush. Lord. They wouldn’t even say the personal name of God Yahweh. In all references they called the one true God, The Lord. And now the shepherds are told that the baby is The Lord. This is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” There is power in God made human. Amazing power. The 50-cent word theologians use for this is Incarnation. Incarnation means to be enfleshed and God took on human flesh in Jesus, becoming fully human and fully divine. This is a mystery. The most thought provoking theological discourse I have heard on the mystery of the Incarnation came this year in a roundtable discussion among amateur theologians. You may have heard it as the theological discourse was featured in the movie Talladega Nights: The Legend of Rickie Bobby and if you’ve seen the movie you already know what I mean. But for those who haven’t, let’s look in as champion NASCAR driver Rickie Bobby says grace with his family. [Show the scene with Rickie Bobby saying grace. In the prayer he prays to “Dear Lord Baby Jesus” and continually mentions “infant Jesus” until his wife and father-in-law remind him that Jesus was a grown man. The group goes on—mid prayer—to discuss other images of Jesus including Christmas Jesus, Teen Jesus, and Bearded Jesus as well as Ninja Jesus fighting Samurai and Jesus with giant eagle’s wings.] Rickie prays to “Dear Lord Baby Jesus” because he wants an 8 pound 6 ounce Jesus. Forget the grown man with a beard, “Teen Jesus” or even “Ninja Jesus fighting Samurai” and “Jesus with giant eagle’s wings.” Rickie wants nothing to do with them. He wants his infant Jesus. This 8 pound 6 ounce Savior is exactly what was promised to the shepherds in our Gospel reading this evening. First they were told to find a Savior, The Messiah, The Lord. Then the angels said, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” Pause and notice what a shock this should have been. We already know the story and so we expect a stable and a manger. We expect sheep and shepherds and on Epiphany we will expect Magi from the East. But no one was expecting The Messiah to come in such a lowly way. Jesus would be born to the poorest of the poor in a borrowed room among the livestock and before the Christmas story is over he will be a refugee in Egypt, hiding from King Herod. And this infant Jesus is the one with the real power in the story. That’s where Rickie Bobby was right. Why not pray to the “infant Jesus?” Even as an infant, somehow the fullness of God rested with him that night. So remembering in prayer that vulnerable little child teaches us something very important about our omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God: God takes risks. It would seem like there are no risks for an all powerful, ever present, all knowing God. But being a baby makes one helpless and God was willing to take the risk and be vulnerable. This is what people in love act like. They take risks for the ones they love and God loves you enough that God took a risk in the infant Jesus. If you don’t believe that being a baby is risky, read Matthew’s account of Jesus birth and you will see that every male child in Bethlehem two years old and under will be put to death in an attempt to kill the baby Messiah. If no one else did, at least Herod understood a threat when he saw one and like Rickie Bobby, he knew the infant Jesus had power. Having already killed off more than one of his own sons to stay in power, King Herod was willing to kill the young sons of everyone in the village of Bethlehem to stay in control. But then here is where Rickie Bobby went wrong, for he is after all a fictional race driver and not a theologian. Rickie seems to like the control he has in praying to a Jesus who can’t speak, a Jesus who just lies in a manger in golden fleece diapers, lending cosmic power to Rickie’s racing career without complaint. No, Jesus is Good, but he is not safe. Jesus can not be controlled, not even by trying to visualize him back in the manger. You can’t tame God, even by placing him back in the manger in the form of “dear lord baby Jesus.” For even on that Holy Night, the babe rapt in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger was already a savior, the Messiah, the Lord. This same Jesus was present in creation as God spoke the word and everything that is came into being and this same Jesus will be present at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. The same Jesus is every present through time and at every point in time he is both all powerful, because he is God, and always vulnerable, because you can always say “no” and not return his love. This night, we follow the sign the shepherds did to find the infant Jesus lying in the manger. We come to worship, not because he is safe or tame. We come in our mind’s eye to the manger once more. We come to gaze with the eyes of our hearts in wonder that the maker of all that is did not stand over and against us, but entered in to human history to become one with us by being born in human likeness. This is the wonder of the Incarnation. The miracle of the manger. And so we return to this night each year to wonder at the love that knows no bounds, a Lord so mighty that he could become powerless. And a love so strong, that it could become weak. Once more Jesus is coming into the mess of our world with his message of love for all humanity. Whether your life is neat and tidy or a full blown, out of control mess, this is your night. This is your message. Make room for the infant Jesus, the grown Messiah and the Cosmic Christ. For he is at all times and places the dear baby Jesus who is the creator becoming fully present within the creation. He is also the maker of all things, and the judge of all men. But more than anything, he is the lover present this night to his beloved. Jesus loves you enough to return once more in power to your heart. Prepare him room. Make room in your heart and in your life for a Lord so mighty he could become small and love so powerful that he could become weak. Open yourself up to him in our worship as we gather at the altar knowing that the one we have awaited has been here all along. Jesus is present in our midst, come let us adore him.Amen.
|
|
