Christmas is a favorite season of the year for me. As a pastor preaching Christmas sermons forces me to reflect on the person and work of Jesus the Savior. With each passing year I am becoming more and more aware of the unity of the truth of our redemptions – from the incarnation to the resurrection and return of Christ.
This year I have been reflecting on the stories in Matthew and Luke and seeing in a new way that no one expected this to happen, at least not in the way it did. Modern people look down on former generations, especially those who were pre-scientific. We think of them as superstitious or gullible. We, on the other hand, no longer find God a necessary part of explaining reality. The “’God of the gaps” has fewer gaps to explain!
But that certainly does not fit the facts of the story. Neither Greek nor Roman thought had any notion of an incarnate Deity. And while Jewish maidens may have hoped to be the mother of Messiah, no one expected a virgin conception and incarnation of the God-man.
When the news of Jesus birth was brought to Mary, she showed that she too was an empiricist, “How can these things be, seeing that I am a virgin?” The facts were clear. This was way beyond a theory. Male and female each contributed to the procreation of new life. She was a virgin and not yet married. Obviously there was a mistake here.
No, the incarnation was not expected at all. And it came to Mary with a jolt. She yielded herself to God (Behold the handmaiden of the Lord) and experienced the wonder of incarnation in her womb – but it was an idea that far exceeded her imagination.
It seems that it was only in retrospect that she understood all that was meant by the angelic messenger.
This year, we are exploring Christmas in a fresh way at Grace Church in San Diego. For sermons, look HERE.
Mark,
I'm guessing you've studied this kind of stuff before, so I am asking this out of curiosity -- were the Greek and Roman ideas of God-men uniquely different? I am wondering because the non-Christian will give a pat answer to our idea that Jesus was God in human flesh: "Oh, that's just an idea stolen from ancient Greeks and Romans."
On another note, I have missed your short theological reflections and am grateful that you have returned to writing them of late. Blessings in Christ this advent season.
Posted by: Paul Helms | December 05, 2007 at 12:42 PM