Ps. 116:5, NIRV
Not everyone sees what the fuss is
all about regarding the Christmas
story. It takes a certain childlike openness of heart and mind to
see the eternal treasure shining, yet hidden, in a humble stable among the
lowing cattle. “A little child shall
lead them,” Isaiah says (11:6). And
although this refers to a distant wondrous day, it is also true of the only
fruitful approach to the Nativity story.
In the Christmas story we look for God’s mind-boggling, everlasting
gift, and it comes hidden amongst the humblest things of life.
The Christmas
story is also the epitome of God’s coming among us in defenseless, tender
vulnerability. “[O]ur
God is tenderness” Psalm 116 tells us. [1] And this is never clearer than in the humble
story of the Nativity where, except for two loving parents, the Babe was
utterly vulnerable. (He would always be
vulnerable—right to that dark end on a rugged lonely hill outside Jerusalem.)
Part of God’s
tender vulnerability in the Incarnation is “landing” in humble “disguise,” as C.S. Lewis says—or
“incognito,” as Kierkegaard phrases it. [2] God comes to us purposely “emptied” of God’s
self as the Epistle to the Philippians tells us (2:7). Or as 2 Corinthians states it, “Christ is
humble and free of pride”—filled with “gentleness and sympathy.” [3]
And then also, as
Frederick Buechner comments, God’s way is to come to us mixed in the
“commonplace”: “hiddenly . . . leaving you room to recognize him or not to
recognize him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more
compellingly and hauntingly [sending the message] ...” [4]
All of this can
be called the “Scandal of the Incarnation” (Josh Bales).[5] R. M. Edgar writes of this scandal:
[T]he precious Child had, so to
speak, to steal into the world in a
stable and among the cattle. It was humiliating [for one divine] to
be
born, even had palace halls received him; but how humiliating
to be born in the
common cattlepen, because there was no room
[for him] ...! And yet, in thus making his advent, he
identified
himself not only with the poorest, but also made common cause
with
the beasts [themselves]. [6]
Indeed, “our God
is tenderness” and this is never truer than in God’s hidden, humble, gentle
descent in the Incarnation. Here we
begin to see the very heart of God. John 1:18
begins by bluntly telling us: “No one has ever seen God.” But then the verse continues with a great
change in Jesus’ (the Son’s) coming among us: “It is God the only Son, who is
close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (NRSV). Jesus is close to the
“Father’s heart”; Jesus reveals the “Father’s heart”!
So then, in the
nitty-gritty day-to-day of our lives,
what does all this mean? It means that
God comes to us and makes “common cause” with us in our ordinariness. Furthermore, God comes to reveal a “Father’s
heart.” We are meant to be familiar with
the “Father’s heart”—to draw near to this LOVE. And we are also meant to make our very
ordinary needs, concerns, sorrows, and joys known to this One who LOVES us with a “Father’s heart.” Helmut Thielicke sums it up: “[I]t was his compassion that drove him [Jesus]
to leave the glories of heaven and come to us.
So, because he is our brother and companion, let us talk with God ‘as
beloved children approach their dear father’.”[7] And then,
let us help all to know: they, too, are “beloved children” of the Father and thus
our brothers and sisters, as well.
Furthermore, as
Pope Francis says, “May we stop before the Child of Bethlehem and allow the
tenderness of God to warm our hearts”; for this is indeed “the Messiah in whom
the tenderness of God is made flesh.” [8] And all
of this is for us! As Hildegard of
Bingen sang: “Loving tenderness abounds for all / . . . Exquisitely loving all /
. . . [it] bequeaths the kiss of peace. . . .”[9]
But only those with childlike, open hearts (at least in some beginning measure!) can
hope to know—to see—the tender romance of
God’s Love for us in the great, simple story of the Nativity.
⭐⭐⭐
We close with thoughts for Advent/Christmas meditations:
“Heart-strings (a Meditation)”
(With meditation upon Lk. 2, Gen. 2:22-23, and Christina Rossetti’s poem “Love
Came Down at Christmas.”)
⭐⭐⭐
☀ “When Hearts were New (Advent meditations)”
⭐⭐⭐
“Meditating upon an Angel Visit & a Snowy
Christmas Morn”
(With reflection upon “wings of angel love”--messengers in
the Christmas story: Lk. 2:9, 1:26, 1:11; Mt. 1:26, 2:13, 19. And
with reflection upon tiny experiences in our own lives when
somehow "The Story" is born anew.)
⭐⭐⭐
(The next selection offers a "homey" meditation on the Christmas
story. The author grew up on a farm. But anyone/everyone can
meditate upon this story--making it uniquely familiar in their own
special way. Such meditation has a long tradition as a Christian
practice; see our 12/1/18 post. [11]
“A Christmas Eve Prayer/meditation”
“[T]ell the old, old story… 📖 ” - K. Hankey
I am familiar with the Moist Breath from the cattle’s nostrils
making Clouds in the cold, winter air.
I know the smell of Fresh Hay and the smell of Damp Straw.
I know the little sounds the cattle make, even when they're
being Still.
I know the sense of presence they give against the icy cold.
I know that it is comfortable; I know that it Is Good!
These were among YOUR few comforts:
fresh straw, if YOU were lucky;
the reassuring presence of cattle;
a touch on the cheek from a spent and weary mother;
Joseph wrapping YOU in swaddling clothes and snuggling
YOU in beside Mary,
covering YOU both with straw against the night and the cold.
From the Dawn of my Memory
I have known the familiar scent of the cattle
and the Story of YOU.
Oh, what gifts, what Incomparable Gifts were given to this child--
the simple aura of cattle
and the Story of YOU, 📖
that Homely, ⭐ Sacred Story ⭐
telling me First . . .
of YOU !
“Meditation upon the ‘Prince of Peace’ --Now We Are Never Alone!”
(With reflection upon Isa. 9:6; Jn. 10:11, 15:15; Phil. 4:7;
Math. 28:20; and Charles Wesley's great hymn “Jesus, Lover of
My Soul.” These are also themes developed throughout this blog.)
“Grand Signature”
Evergreens this Christmas night--
Spun in lacy wreaths of snow,
Tiny diamonds on your hems,
Shadows traced amidst your glow. . . .
What tender hands have transformed you
Into a fairy tale’s delight?
Who etched out such fragile lines
And decked you now in soft moonlight?
Through the window panes you seal
My heart in your hushed grandeur,
And all my soul is still inside
In sign of some Grand Signature.
⭐⭐⭐
Meditation upon the Book of John's introduction to the
Incarnation (quoted & selected from Jn. 1:1-18, WEB [12]):
“In the ♥ ♥ ♥ beginning
was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was
God. . . . All things were made through
him. Without him, nothing was
made that has been made. In
him was life, and the
life was the light
of [women &]
men …
♡
“The light ♥ ♥ ♥ shines in
the darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it. . . . The true light that
enlightens everyone was coming into the
world. . . . The Word became flesh, and lived
among us. We saw his glory, such glory
as of the one and only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth. . . . From his
fullness we all received grace upon
grace. . . . Grace and truth were
realized through Jesus Christ.
No one has seen God at any
time. The one and only
Son, who is in the
bosom of the
Father, has”...
“ made God
known.”
♡
⭐⭐⭐
(See additional blog posts after the “Notes” in Newer/Older Posts,
including more Christmas posts.[13])
……………………..
Notes:
1. Ps. 116:5, NJB (also see NIRV).
2. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan Pub., 1952), p. 65; Søren
Kierkegaard, Concluding Unscientific Postscript.
3. 2 Cor. 10:1, NIRV and Phillips translations.
4. Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life, compiled by George Connor (HarperSanFrancisco,
1992), p. 2 (from Buechner, Now and Then).
5. Josh Bales, “God In The Physical World: The Scandal of The Incarnation” (audio);
www.joshbales.com/audio-god-in-the-physical-world/.
6. R.M. Edgar, Lk. 2:1-20, “The Savior’s Birth And Type Angel’s Sermon,” Pulpit
Commentary Homiletics; http://biblehub.com/commentaries/homiletics/luke/2.htm.
7. Helmut Thielicke, Life Can Begin Again: Sermons on the Sermon on the
Mount, trans. John W. Dobertein (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1963), p. 144.
8. Francis@Pontifex, 10 Jan. 2014 (tweet); and Vatican Radio,"Pope Entrusts Fruits of Voyage to Our Lady of Guadalupe";
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/07/19/pope_entrusts_fruits_of_voyage_to_our_lady_of_guadalupe/1159451.
9. From Hildegard of Bingen's chant "Caritas Abundat in Omnia."
10. Meditations and prayer/poetry/proverbs by Lorraine B. Eshleman (the third to
last--with memories of a northern Wisconsin farm).
11. See "Why Christmas? Why Christ?" and Note 14 there;
12. Last two lines CEB translation. I see greater beauty of language here in these
lines in the CEB. ("Hasn't" changed to "has not" in WEB translations [v. 5] for
the same reason.)
“A Christmas Eve Prayer/meditation” 
Very fresh Christmas imagery.
ReplyDeleteUsed some in a Christmas sermon.
ReplyDeleteI love Buechner too. So glad to find someone else who has discovered him. Have you tried his "Telling the Truth"?
ReplyDeleteYes, "Telling the Truth" is our favorite F. Buechner book.
ReplyDeleteI have never before heard this strong Love Story emphasis. Have I been missing something?
ReplyDeleteWell, yes! See all our December posts!
ReplyDelete