The Birth of Something Greater

We begin the season of Advent. This is always a hectic time of preparation. In fact, it is so hectic that we often forget what we are preparing for. If we are not careful we neglect the joy and jump strait into the frenzy of mindless business. If one is Christian, then there might be a reminder of the birth of Jesus. If not Christian, then it is an excuse for a holiday. If one is cynical, it’s a time to “Remember the Magic of Christmas: Santa”. (Notice the lack of joy.)

I don’t think that the average person means to be disrespectful. It’s just so easy to get caught up in what is right in front of us. And besides, most of us have heard the story before: angels, shepherds, wise men.  Now pass the pie. It’s hard to get excited about an event that happened about 2000 years ago.     

Let me remind you why the birth of Jesus is so astounding.

Before I go farther, I would like to point out two things: 1.God pours himself fully to us all the time. He never, ever holds back. 2. At every moment, we are called to become more like God.

I know that this is a bit different than “follow the rules and you’ll be ok”. That’s the point. The ancient world was full of rules. A different set of rules did not change the course of nature and make the angels sing. So what makes the birth of Jesus so different that it is still celebrated?

The simple answer is that Jesus is Love Incarnate. But even this is problematic. After all, I can love my morning cup of coffee and love my children. Love is passionate then grown cold. Love is a feeling. Love is God. No wonder there is so much confusion.

Now I could write a theological treatise on the meaning of love and our response to love but who would want to read it? Instead, I will use 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (NIV) to illustrate my point.

What is love?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

If this is our definition of love, then it’s a pretty simple exercise to see how we measure up. Let’s take a look.

I can be patient and kind. I try not to envy, but do boast. I think that being rude can at times be justified, but regrettable, and think that looking after myself is the only way to get what I want. I only get angry when provoked and try to forgive, but never forget. I’m not always sure if there is one right way of doing things, but know there are plenty of wrong ones. I protect what I love, trust those who have proven themselves trustworthy, hope for the best but expect the worst.

Taken together these two examples look irreconcilable. And they are. It seems absurd and arrogant to think that a mere mortal can attain half of what love is. And so it is. So why even bother trying?

Because Jesus, who is Love Incarnate, was born about 2000 years ago to make up for what we lack.

For Christians, God is not simply powerful, merciful, loving. God is simply Love. This makes love the most powerful force in the universe. And don’t you want to be part of that? Jesus was born to teach us how to be more like God. He died to redeem the world. Isn’t that worth a bit of celebration?

There are many things written about Jesus. I am sure that there are many writers who are writing about the real, historical Jesus for the December issue of a magazine. But for our purposes, I will define Jesus as the following:

Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, Jesus does not boast, Jesus is not proud.  Jesus is not rude, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs.  Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It sounds rather facile, doesn’t it? But it’s not. If it were, then it would be in every article that pretends to report the “truth” about Jesus Christ. The good news, the excellent, joyful news is that Jesus does not leave us to our well-intentioned mediocrity. He lived and died in the truth of the power of Love; and we are called to imitate Him. But for now let’s focus of the birth of an age when can stumblingly say:

I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud.  I am not rude, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs.  I do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth.  I always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.