Are we great enough?
Commentary
Can we measure up to Christmas? When we think of Ô the meaning of the Christ child to generation after generation of believers, or of God making a new entry into earthly life, or of the new turn of human history, can we possibly keep the feast adequately? Will the festive decorations of evergreen convey Christ's eternity? Will lights and color symbolize God's glory penetrating a benighted world? Will our extra work contribute to worthy joys, loving fellowship, breaching of hardship?
Sometimes during the celebrations, or immediately afterward, we feel the incompleteness. Perhaps we confess a worldliness that fell short of the transcendence in Christ's nativity or too much selfishness in comparison with God's generosity. Honest confession is good. There is a way that we can never adequately thank God or witness to the divine goodness.
The Scripture lessons remind us that the problem is not new. No ancient king of Israel or Judah fulfilled the aspirations of the Isaiah coronation ode, which fed the messianic hope. Although the Hebrew Bible had evaluated kings and found a few nearer the mark than most, even the best of them showed their human weaknesses. Luke probably received ironic pleasure from noting how the great world power, Rome, contributed unwittingly to God's purposes, in spite of policies and leaders that were often less than commendable. The Christmas story told about people for whom the political and economic orders of the world had failed to accomplish their God-given purposes. For people who lacked the protection and material necessities that honest people should expect in earthly life, God gave a different and special blessing. Since this emphasis is characteristic of Luke, it is consistent that he would be the one gospel writer to include the story. Titus registered what effort Christians had to exert to demonstrate by their lives the salvation which they received effortlessly.
Without losing ourselves in a sense of futility or excessive relatiyism, however, any more than in overindulgence, we can still praise God through many of the Christmas customs we have inherited. Sometimes, music that the Christmas message has inspired will take over our very being in the way the heavenly chorus reached into the lives of the shepherds. More rationally, our renewed commitment to alleviating pain and want may find new ways to share our hope with others.
We enjoy Christmas best when we recognize it is greater than we are, because it is God's day, the day of God's great deed of giving us the Savior.
OUTLINE I
New hope
Isaiah 9:2-7
A. vv. 2-5. Great new blessings. Anyone suffering the indicated evils would welcome the promised deliverance. First, this hymn of thanksgiving recounts the experience of God's power overcoming oppression, like day following night or the sun breaking through storm clouds. Second, harvest displaces want with joy, best understood where hunger regularly outruns productivity. Third, oppression is people harnessed and beaten like beasts of burden until released as in the story of Gideon (Judges 7:16-25). Fourth, feelings at the end of war, we can remember! How much more, a nation overrun by an enemy, but then able to clear the battlefields and start life anew.
B. vv. 6-7. Great new ruler. Similar exaggerations of other ancient Mideast peoples, marked coronation odes. Not only was proper birth essential for succession in the legitimate dynasty. Birth symbolized the new beginning. "Counselor" suggested the wisdom needed. Since this endowment and others were considered gifts of God, the king was in a special way a son of God (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Cared for by God as by a father, the king, like a father to the people, saw to their over-all well-being ("peace"). With God so involved, the monarchy was related to the kingdom of God and encompassed its justice, righteousness and eternity. When history brought foreign rulers, only hope remained. Jesus came to transform the hope away from an earthly monarchy, yet to fulfill the qualifications of the eternal ruler, no longer an exaggeration.
OUTLINE II
God visible
Titus 2:11-14
A. vv. 11-12. Grace apparent. Of all the gifts by which God's grace, favor or goodwill, might be seen, only the supreme gift, Jesus Christ, could bring salvation. God's grace visible in a human life is an entrancing thought. In no way could God's grace be seen more explicitly than in the very God incarnate as a human person. When the perfect relationship of God and humanity is realized, there is salvation. Then new life is possible. Being "godly," not ungodly ("impiety" in NRSV) suggests that relationship with God makes it possible for God's grace to be seen derivatively in us. By Christ's teaching we may keep from being dominated by the world's normal cravings and ambitions to consciously prefer the wise and righteous ways of God.
B. vv. 13-14. Glory awaited. Christian life is both memory and anticipation. Besides what is known from the revelation of Christ in Jesus of Nazareth, Christ will return in full power. Since "Savior" was used as a title for Roman emperors and gods, Titus wants to make very clear that Jesus Christ will be revealed beyond any doubt one day as the one true God and supreme ruler. Although this latter "manifestation" will bring a drastic contrast to Christ giving his life on the cross, the earlier "appearance" brought redemption from enslavement to lawlessness ("iniquity" in NRSV). Titus was very concerned that Christ should be seen in the present in the life of Christians.
OUTLINE III
God's breakthrough
Luke 2:1-20
A. vv. 1-7. Earthly degradation. Without noticeable emotion, the story recounts a family enduring trials. Government, uncaring for the hardships imposed on those least able to bear regulations, required registry in one's native town no matter how distant. Joseph and Mary made the 90 mile trip on foot, maybe with the help of a donkey, even though Mary's pregnancy was so far along; the baby was due any day. The note on Roman rulers stands strikingly close to a reminder of great king David. Joseph's ancestry was legal basis for the child to be Messiah. There were no other indications of royalty, however, because the family had to stay in a cave. Not separated from the animals, as even in a poor family, the baby was born in a stall and placed in the feeding trough.
B. vv. 8-14. Heavenly exaltation. Shepherds, evidently too poor to take shelter for their sheep or themselves, received God's revelation. The good news of the gospel announced the birth of a Savior, Luke's favorite description of Jesus' role; of the Messiah, central figure in Jewish hope; and Lord, not only a Jewish title for God but also a term for speaking about savior gods in other religions. In addition to the word, glaring glory and music in the sky conveyed the divine presence with a promise of peace for people on earth.
C. vv. 15-20. Uplifting faith. Recounting the revelation, awakening wonder and meditation, responding in praise; life was already changing.
Sometimes during the celebrations, or immediately afterward, we feel the incompleteness. Perhaps we confess a worldliness that fell short of the transcendence in Christ's nativity or too much selfishness in comparison with God's generosity. Honest confession is good. There is a way that we can never adequately thank God or witness to the divine goodness.
The Scripture lessons remind us that the problem is not new. No ancient king of Israel or Judah fulfilled the aspirations of the Isaiah coronation ode, which fed the messianic hope. Although the Hebrew Bible had evaluated kings and found a few nearer the mark than most, even the best of them showed their human weaknesses. Luke probably received ironic pleasure from noting how the great world power, Rome, contributed unwittingly to God's purposes, in spite of policies and leaders that were often less than commendable. The Christmas story told about people for whom the political and economic orders of the world had failed to accomplish their God-given purposes. For people who lacked the protection and material necessities that honest people should expect in earthly life, God gave a different and special blessing. Since this emphasis is characteristic of Luke, it is consistent that he would be the one gospel writer to include the story. Titus registered what effort Christians had to exert to demonstrate by their lives the salvation which they received effortlessly.
Without losing ourselves in a sense of futility or excessive relatiyism, however, any more than in overindulgence, we can still praise God through many of the Christmas customs we have inherited. Sometimes, music that the Christmas message has inspired will take over our very being in the way the heavenly chorus reached into the lives of the shepherds. More rationally, our renewed commitment to alleviating pain and want may find new ways to share our hope with others.
We enjoy Christmas best when we recognize it is greater than we are, because it is God's day, the day of God's great deed of giving us the Savior.
OUTLINE I
New hope
Isaiah 9:2-7
A. vv. 2-5. Great new blessings. Anyone suffering the indicated evils would welcome the promised deliverance. First, this hymn of thanksgiving recounts the experience of God's power overcoming oppression, like day following night or the sun breaking through storm clouds. Second, harvest displaces want with joy, best understood where hunger regularly outruns productivity. Third, oppression is people harnessed and beaten like beasts of burden until released as in the story of Gideon (Judges 7:16-25). Fourth, feelings at the end of war, we can remember! How much more, a nation overrun by an enemy, but then able to clear the battlefields and start life anew.
B. vv. 6-7. Great new ruler. Similar exaggerations of other ancient Mideast peoples, marked coronation odes. Not only was proper birth essential for succession in the legitimate dynasty. Birth symbolized the new beginning. "Counselor" suggested the wisdom needed. Since this endowment and others were considered gifts of God, the king was in a special way a son of God (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Cared for by God as by a father, the king, like a father to the people, saw to their over-all well-being ("peace"). With God so involved, the monarchy was related to the kingdom of God and encompassed its justice, righteousness and eternity. When history brought foreign rulers, only hope remained. Jesus came to transform the hope away from an earthly monarchy, yet to fulfill the qualifications of the eternal ruler, no longer an exaggeration.
OUTLINE II
God visible
Titus 2:11-14
A. vv. 11-12. Grace apparent. Of all the gifts by which God's grace, favor or goodwill, might be seen, only the supreme gift, Jesus Christ, could bring salvation. God's grace visible in a human life is an entrancing thought. In no way could God's grace be seen more explicitly than in the very God incarnate as a human person. When the perfect relationship of God and humanity is realized, there is salvation. Then new life is possible. Being "godly," not ungodly ("impiety" in NRSV) suggests that relationship with God makes it possible for God's grace to be seen derivatively in us. By Christ's teaching we may keep from being dominated by the world's normal cravings and ambitions to consciously prefer the wise and righteous ways of God.
B. vv. 13-14. Glory awaited. Christian life is both memory and anticipation. Besides what is known from the revelation of Christ in Jesus of Nazareth, Christ will return in full power. Since "Savior" was used as a title for Roman emperors and gods, Titus wants to make very clear that Jesus Christ will be revealed beyond any doubt one day as the one true God and supreme ruler. Although this latter "manifestation" will bring a drastic contrast to Christ giving his life on the cross, the earlier "appearance" brought redemption from enslavement to lawlessness ("iniquity" in NRSV). Titus was very concerned that Christ should be seen in the present in the life of Christians.
OUTLINE III
God's breakthrough
Luke 2:1-20
A. vv. 1-7. Earthly degradation. Without noticeable emotion, the story recounts a family enduring trials. Government, uncaring for the hardships imposed on those least able to bear regulations, required registry in one's native town no matter how distant. Joseph and Mary made the 90 mile trip on foot, maybe with the help of a donkey, even though Mary's pregnancy was so far along; the baby was due any day. The note on Roman rulers stands strikingly close to a reminder of great king David. Joseph's ancestry was legal basis for the child to be Messiah. There were no other indications of royalty, however, because the family had to stay in a cave. Not separated from the animals, as even in a poor family, the baby was born in a stall and placed in the feeding trough.
B. vv. 8-14. Heavenly exaltation. Shepherds, evidently too poor to take shelter for their sheep or themselves, received God's revelation. The good news of the gospel announced the birth of a Savior, Luke's favorite description of Jesus' role; of the Messiah, central figure in Jewish hope; and Lord, not only a Jewish title for God but also a term for speaking about savior gods in other religions. In addition to the word, glaring glory and music in the sky conveyed the divine presence with a promise of peace for people on earth.
C. vv. 15-20. Uplifting faith. Recounting the revelation, awakening wonder and meditation, responding in praise; life was already changing.
