THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS)

[cappie]

Luke’s nativity story is familiar to most of us. That famous account of Jesus’ birth that we hear, year-in and year-out, begins with those recognizable lines, “ Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken.…” You know where this one is going right from the very beginning.

 The words from the letter to Titus, on the other hand, are not very well known to most of us.    And yet here is Titus, enfolded neatly into our Christmas liturgy.   Titus makes a rare appearance in our worship. In fact, because of that, and because this particular passage is so brief, it might just bear repeating.

“ God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.”

These words from Titus  are  just as applicable as we gather not only to observe the nativity but to celebrate the Incarnation.

Christmas is just as much about giving birth to a firstborn son and wrapping him in bands of cloth and laying him in a manger as it is about the grace of God appearing, bringing salvation to all. They are two sides of the same coin, one in the very same.

At Christmas, God appears like never before: in the flesh. God is making sure we understand how close to us the holy presence really is. God not only wants us to see that presence, God invites us to feel it—in the flesh!  

Sure, we may catch the occasional glimpse of grace in other places, but all such moments are fleeting, sheer coincidence. But grace appearing in flesh? That is with us always! Because the flesh in which grace appears is our flesh. Becoming one of us is God’s way of telling us that our lives matter. Through the miracle of the Incarnation,  by becoming flesh in this world, God sanctifies our flesh, making it possible for us to be agents of God’s grace – right here on earth. In other words, eternal life starts now. You do not have to wait to get to heaven to live in God’s kingdom.

Ever since God appeared in a flesh like ours, and lived a life like ours, humanity and divinity have been linked. I know it is hard to believe.  On this holy night, we  come to worship to renew our commitment to living in the world.

“A child has been born for us; a son given to us.”

“ God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race .”

“ And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

None of this means that the world is perfect. If you were not already convinced, 2020 should have taken care of that. If ever any year was filled with earthly muck and mire, it was this one. So much so, in fact, that not all Christians will be able to worship together. A year ago, we could never have imagined the number of lives that would be lost or hearts that would be broken.

Jesus does not guarantee that the world will be perfect, but he does supply the grace that we need in order to live like we ought to live. The author of the letter to Titus reminds us that it is this grace that teaches us how to live a life that is self-controlled, upright, and godly. Will this be a faultless life? No. A flawless life? No. A totally unspoiled life? Absolutely not! But it will be a life in which we can respond following the example of the one who appeared to us in flesh.

Because God became flesh and dwelt among us, each and every one of us, our bodies, our lives, our selves, are conformed to God during the good times and the bad. In the manger baby, God sanctifies all that we experience, even our suffering.

The life that God’s grace makes possible for us is a life in which we, as Christians, operate from a place of compassion and love. It is a life in which we recognize the turmoil and the tragedy, the trauma, and the deep grief of the world and simply ask how we can help.

“What do you need? Where can I meet you? Stay right there. I’m on the way!” The world cries out for a response rooted in the grace of God’s appearing. Not, “What did you do to deserve this?” More like, “Given these circumstances, where do we go from here?”

That is grace in the flesh. That is what the world needs. That is what God offers us in Jesus: the grace of gifts given, not gifts earned; grace that comes to us in our own image and inspires us to live the Christmas life.