Why the Incarnation Matters
Commentary
This is a set of lessons that explores why the Incarnation matters.
Isaiah 9:2-7
The First Lesson is drawn from a book that is actually the product of two or three distinct literary traditions. As part of the first 39 chapters, it is probably the work of the historical prophet who proclaimed a message to Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah in the last half of the 8th century BC, while the northern kingdom of Israel had been annexed by the Assyrian empire. (Chapters 40-66 emerged in the later period immediately prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 539 BC.) This text is a prophecy about the messianic king and may have originally celebrated the accession of a new Judean king. The king is described as a great light for those who had been in darkness, that is in oppression (v.2). Based on v.1, presumably this is a reference to the liberation of the Israelite inhabitants of areas annexed by Assyria. Darkness is a standard biblical image for oppression and light is an image for relief from such oppression. This oppression was readily applied to the Babylonian exiles of the 6th century BC, addressed in the chapters from 40 to the end of the book.
The new king, it was said, will make the nation more abundant, increase its joy, and break the oppressors’ rod, just as Gideon the great war hero of the tribe of Manasseh conquered the Mideanites (vv.3-5; Judges 7:23--8:3). Reference is made to a child born for us, followed by comments about the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (v.6). These titles were customarily coronation names given the Egyptian kings at their accession. Read as prophecy, the verse could refer to the Christ child who is identified with the Davidic line (v.7). Peace [shalom] in this Jewish context refers not just to a state in which there is no combat, but to a state of well-being and thriving, to social justice (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, p.130).
A big part of the dissatisfaction many Americans feel regarding the upcoming Presidential election is the sense that the front-runners in the sweepstakes (Trump and Biden) do not provide fresh starts for America, that we need new leadership to get us to the thriving and just state (shalom] which our Lesson seems to promise. Alas, there is not much political joy this Christmas (and the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip remind us of how bereft we are of shalom). The point of this prophecy is that the King Who will increase our joy and break the oppressor’s rod is not one of our existing or even future politicians. It is the Babe in Manger, the Messianic King, Who will and is delivering on these problems.
Sure, it would be nice to have a political fresh start in 2024. Use a sermon on this text to communicate to the flock that we face the New Year this Christmas with God’s Promise that not Biden or Trump or one of the present also-rans will deliver us. Of course God might use them. God might have someone else in mind for 2024 or down the road. But as Christians we can proceed to begin 2024 and the elections with a confidence that in the long run we have God’s Promise that justice and well-being down the road. This Word of confidence is energizing. If we hear it and feel it, it can drive us into the political trenches, to seek coalitions with others want shalom in society -- a nation and a world which is thriving and committed to social justice.
Titus 2:11-14
The Second Lesson appears in one of the pastoral epistles (Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy), so named because of their concern with pastoral leadership. This book purports to be a letter of Paul to Titus, a Gentile colleague in ministry (Galatians 2:1-3). None of the pastorals were likely written by Paul, as they differ from his authentic letters in vocabulary, style, and treatment of concepts like faith, law, and righteousness. They also differ in placing more emphasis on good works, godliness, and church order. Thus, it is likely that they may not have been written until the second century and were circular letters written not to Titus or Timothy, but to a general audience. Titus is especially concerned with maintaining fidelity to Jewish traditions (1:10,14).
The text may be a fragment of an early Christian liturgy. It moves from an assumption of the grace of God and salvation (vv.11,14) to a declaration that we have become a people of God zealous for good works (v.14). This new life is described in terms of self-control and godliness, not being caught up in worldly passions of the present age (v.12). These images are compatible with Hellenistic moral philosophy and in some sense remain in dialogue with the Gnostic asceticism critiques in the other pastoral epistles. References in v. 13 to Christ’s coming (parousia) and his glory borrow the terminology of the imperial cult. We have in this text one of the few times a New Testament writer actually speaks of Christ as God.
A least two possible sermon themes emerge from this text. One possibility is to focus on the author’s affirmation of Christ’s divinity (a theme especially important for Christmas Day). We focus on Jesus’ divinity, because since Jesus grew up to be our Savior, if he is not divine, God was not the one who saved us. Honoring God’s role in saving us is what is at stake in affirming Jesus’ divinity. Preachers could rely on cutting-edge physics to make sense of the idea that Jesus is both human and divine. A concept called complementarity has been developed in physics to explain how an electron and even an atom can be both wave and particle at the same time. These different descriptions seem contradictory. Physicists have come to the conclusion that reality is not readily explained by logic, that ordinary language is not ambiguous enough, it is too limiting. It is often not able to express how distinct ways of viewing reality complement each other, describe the same reality. Applying this concept to Jesus and it makes sense to say he is divine and human, just as we say an electron is wave and particle.
Another sermon approach, more in keeping with the overall theme of the texts, is to focus on the issue of how Christmas brings salvation and what the Christmas spirit looks like in everyday life. Because through the Incarnation we have become kin with Jesus (for he shares our flesh), we have become God’s man/woman, part of the family. And when you are part of God’s family, you are part of a family that defines itself by a zeal for good works! You just can’t get enough of them. Of course, sin/lust is still around. Use Luther’s image of Christian life being like someone who stays sober while in a saloon (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.129). While the world gets preoccupied with the haul to be made at Christmas (getting the latest gifts) and goes on fighting wars, practicing injustice, and bad-mouthing political opponents, the Christmas spirit is about love, giving, and peace. Urge the flock to hang around Jesus more during 2024 and the Christmas spirit won’t die in the next 51 weeks.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
The well-known familiar version of Luke’s (2:1-14, [15-20] account of the Nativity is drawn from the first part of a two-part history of the church, traditionally attributed to the Gentile physician Luke who was an associate of Paul (Colossians4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:1; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention in the gospel was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8). The literary context for the account is said to be a census called for by the Roman emperor Augustus (who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD) (v.1). Reference is made to Quirinius who was the Roman governor of Syria. This raises questions about the date of Jesus’ birth or the accuracy of this account, since Qurinius was not governor during the reign of Herod the Great in Judah (who according to Matthew 2:1 was on the throne of Israel when Jesus was born). Since Herod died in 4 BC, this seems to move the date of Jesus’ birth prior to the beginning of the Christian era. It is also unlikely that a spouse like Mary would have traveled with her husband to his home of family origin unless she owned property in that town (vv.1-5). The lack of historical credibility for the account is not surprising, since the birth of Jesus is not even part of the earliest narrative traditions about Jesus (note its omission from Mark’s Gospel).
When in Bethlehem (the Davidic home to which Joseph as an heir would have traveled [3:23-31]), Mary is reported to have borne her first-born son and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn (vv.6-7). It was common in Biblical times in Israel for owners to reside with their animals. Next follows the report of the revelation of the birth to shepherds. This is most appropriate in view of the fact that David was also a shepherd (1 Samuel 7:15), and it likewise makes sense given the fact that Luke’s Gospel is preoccupied with concern for the poor and lowly (6:20; 14:12-14; 16:19-31). The revelation by an angel is said to produce fear among these shepherds as they encounter the glory of God (they experienced the fear of God) (vv.8-9). The angel comforts them, bringing the Good News of the Messiah, whom they are told they can find in Bethlehem in a manger (v.12). The angel is then joined by a heavenly multitude (presumably other angels) who praise God and sing of peace among those he favors (vv.13-14). See the discussion of “peace” above in the First Lesson. That the New Testament continues to employ the term this way is suggested by some scholars (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol.2, pp.82-83).
When the angels depart the shepherds proceed to Bethlehem, finding Mary, Joseph, and the child (vv.15-17). All who heard the story are amazed. Mary is said to treasure these words and ponder them (vv.18-19). The shepherds then return, glorifying God (v.20).
Several sermon possibilities emerge. Both can emerge from telling the Christmas story in such a way that the congregation is prodded to identify with the characters in the account. Get parishioners to see that they are the shepherds and the people of Bethlehem unwilling to find a room for the holy family. Telling this story of the people of Bethlehem in terms of our [in]actions on behalf of those in need provides opportunity to condemn sin. But nonetheless, we have plenty of opportunities in 2024 to repent, not to turn away the manifestations of Jesus that will come to us in the poor and those in need. Another possibility is to identify the flock with the shepherds. Note how they praised God for the gift of the babe in the manger, went to worship him, like we do today. This did not mean giving up their jobs, for they maintained them in a new way since the encounter with Christ. So, it can be with us.
The other possible sermon approach is to return to the lowly status of the holy family. Americans of the middle and upper classes are rather put off by those of the lower class. Help flock consider that they would not have readily identified with the holy family based on our class prejudices. Then note the lower-class status of the shepherds. And yet it was to them and through the lower-class holy family that the Messiah was revealed. Get the congregation to see that to this day it is often through lower classes that God is present. No accident that poorer families are more typically ardent in faith. (Cite the results of the recent Gallup International Poll noted in the Illustrations for this text.) Remind them to look for God in the poor in the coming year. It will change their lives and outlook.
All of the sermons for Christmas should aim to move the flock to consider what the Christmas story and the baby Jesus actually mean for their everyday lives.
Isaiah 9:2-7
The First Lesson is drawn from a book that is actually the product of two or three distinct literary traditions. As part of the first 39 chapters, it is probably the work of the historical prophet who proclaimed a message to Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah in the last half of the 8th century BC, while the northern kingdom of Israel had been annexed by the Assyrian empire. (Chapters 40-66 emerged in the later period immediately prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 539 BC.) This text is a prophecy about the messianic king and may have originally celebrated the accession of a new Judean king. The king is described as a great light for those who had been in darkness, that is in oppression (v.2). Based on v.1, presumably this is a reference to the liberation of the Israelite inhabitants of areas annexed by Assyria. Darkness is a standard biblical image for oppression and light is an image for relief from such oppression. This oppression was readily applied to the Babylonian exiles of the 6th century BC, addressed in the chapters from 40 to the end of the book.
The new king, it was said, will make the nation more abundant, increase its joy, and break the oppressors’ rod, just as Gideon the great war hero of the tribe of Manasseh conquered the Mideanites (vv.3-5; Judges 7:23--8:3). Reference is made to a child born for us, followed by comments about the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (v.6). These titles were customarily coronation names given the Egyptian kings at their accession. Read as prophecy, the verse could refer to the Christ child who is identified with the Davidic line (v.7). Peace [shalom] in this Jewish context refers not just to a state in which there is no combat, but to a state of well-being and thriving, to social justice (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, p.130).
A big part of the dissatisfaction many Americans feel regarding the upcoming Presidential election is the sense that the front-runners in the sweepstakes (Trump and Biden) do not provide fresh starts for America, that we need new leadership to get us to the thriving and just state (shalom] which our Lesson seems to promise. Alas, there is not much political joy this Christmas (and the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip remind us of how bereft we are of shalom). The point of this prophecy is that the King Who will increase our joy and break the oppressor’s rod is not one of our existing or even future politicians. It is the Babe in Manger, the Messianic King, Who will and is delivering on these problems.
Sure, it would be nice to have a political fresh start in 2024. Use a sermon on this text to communicate to the flock that we face the New Year this Christmas with God’s Promise that not Biden or Trump or one of the present also-rans will deliver us. Of course God might use them. God might have someone else in mind for 2024 or down the road. But as Christians we can proceed to begin 2024 and the elections with a confidence that in the long run we have God’s Promise that justice and well-being down the road. This Word of confidence is energizing. If we hear it and feel it, it can drive us into the political trenches, to seek coalitions with others want shalom in society -- a nation and a world which is thriving and committed to social justice.
Titus 2:11-14
The Second Lesson appears in one of the pastoral epistles (Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy), so named because of their concern with pastoral leadership. This book purports to be a letter of Paul to Titus, a Gentile colleague in ministry (Galatians 2:1-3). None of the pastorals were likely written by Paul, as they differ from his authentic letters in vocabulary, style, and treatment of concepts like faith, law, and righteousness. They also differ in placing more emphasis on good works, godliness, and church order. Thus, it is likely that they may not have been written until the second century and were circular letters written not to Titus or Timothy, but to a general audience. Titus is especially concerned with maintaining fidelity to Jewish traditions (1:10,14).
The text may be a fragment of an early Christian liturgy. It moves from an assumption of the grace of God and salvation (vv.11,14) to a declaration that we have become a people of God zealous for good works (v.14). This new life is described in terms of self-control and godliness, not being caught up in worldly passions of the present age (v.12). These images are compatible with Hellenistic moral philosophy and in some sense remain in dialogue with the Gnostic asceticism critiques in the other pastoral epistles. References in v. 13 to Christ’s coming (parousia) and his glory borrow the terminology of the imperial cult. We have in this text one of the few times a New Testament writer actually speaks of Christ as God.
A least two possible sermon themes emerge from this text. One possibility is to focus on the author’s affirmation of Christ’s divinity (a theme especially important for Christmas Day). We focus on Jesus’ divinity, because since Jesus grew up to be our Savior, if he is not divine, God was not the one who saved us. Honoring God’s role in saving us is what is at stake in affirming Jesus’ divinity. Preachers could rely on cutting-edge physics to make sense of the idea that Jesus is both human and divine. A concept called complementarity has been developed in physics to explain how an electron and even an atom can be both wave and particle at the same time. These different descriptions seem contradictory. Physicists have come to the conclusion that reality is not readily explained by logic, that ordinary language is not ambiguous enough, it is too limiting. It is often not able to express how distinct ways of viewing reality complement each other, describe the same reality. Applying this concept to Jesus and it makes sense to say he is divine and human, just as we say an electron is wave and particle.
Another sermon approach, more in keeping with the overall theme of the texts, is to focus on the issue of how Christmas brings salvation and what the Christmas spirit looks like in everyday life. Because through the Incarnation we have become kin with Jesus (for he shares our flesh), we have become God’s man/woman, part of the family. And when you are part of God’s family, you are part of a family that defines itself by a zeal for good works! You just can’t get enough of them. Of course, sin/lust is still around. Use Luther’s image of Christian life being like someone who stays sober while in a saloon (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.129). While the world gets preoccupied with the haul to be made at Christmas (getting the latest gifts) and goes on fighting wars, practicing injustice, and bad-mouthing political opponents, the Christmas spirit is about love, giving, and peace. Urge the flock to hang around Jesus more during 2024 and the Christmas spirit won’t die in the next 51 weeks.
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
The well-known familiar version of Luke’s (2:1-14, [15-20] account of the Nativity is drawn from the first part of a two-part history of the church, traditionally attributed to the Gentile physician Luke who was an associate of Paul (Colossians4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:1; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention in the gospel was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8). The literary context for the account is said to be a census called for by the Roman emperor Augustus (who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD) (v.1). Reference is made to Quirinius who was the Roman governor of Syria. This raises questions about the date of Jesus’ birth or the accuracy of this account, since Qurinius was not governor during the reign of Herod the Great in Judah (who according to Matthew 2:1 was on the throne of Israel when Jesus was born). Since Herod died in 4 BC, this seems to move the date of Jesus’ birth prior to the beginning of the Christian era. It is also unlikely that a spouse like Mary would have traveled with her husband to his home of family origin unless she owned property in that town (vv.1-5). The lack of historical credibility for the account is not surprising, since the birth of Jesus is not even part of the earliest narrative traditions about Jesus (note its omission from Mark’s Gospel).
When in Bethlehem (the Davidic home to which Joseph as an heir would have traveled [3:23-31]), Mary is reported to have borne her first-born son and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn (vv.6-7). It was common in Biblical times in Israel for owners to reside with their animals. Next follows the report of the revelation of the birth to shepherds. This is most appropriate in view of the fact that David was also a shepherd (1 Samuel 7:15), and it likewise makes sense given the fact that Luke’s Gospel is preoccupied with concern for the poor and lowly (6:20; 14:12-14; 16:19-31). The revelation by an angel is said to produce fear among these shepherds as they encounter the glory of God (they experienced the fear of God) (vv.8-9). The angel comforts them, bringing the Good News of the Messiah, whom they are told they can find in Bethlehem in a manger (v.12). The angel is then joined by a heavenly multitude (presumably other angels) who praise God and sing of peace among those he favors (vv.13-14). See the discussion of “peace” above in the First Lesson. That the New Testament continues to employ the term this way is suggested by some scholars (Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol.2, pp.82-83).
When the angels depart the shepherds proceed to Bethlehem, finding Mary, Joseph, and the child (vv.15-17). All who heard the story are amazed. Mary is said to treasure these words and ponder them (vv.18-19). The shepherds then return, glorifying God (v.20).
Several sermon possibilities emerge. Both can emerge from telling the Christmas story in such a way that the congregation is prodded to identify with the characters in the account. Get parishioners to see that they are the shepherds and the people of Bethlehem unwilling to find a room for the holy family. Telling this story of the people of Bethlehem in terms of our [in]actions on behalf of those in need provides opportunity to condemn sin. But nonetheless, we have plenty of opportunities in 2024 to repent, not to turn away the manifestations of Jesus that will come to us in the poor and those in need. Another possibility is to identify the flock with the shepherds. Note how they praised God for the gift of the babe in the manger, went to worship him, like we do today. This did not mean giving up their jobs, for they maintained them in a new way since the encounter with Christ. So, it can be with us.
The other possible sermon approach is to return to the lowly status of the holy family. Americans of the middle and upper classes are rather put off by those of the lower class. Help flock consider that they would not have readily identified with the holy family based on our class prejudices. Then note the lower-class status of the shepherds. And yet it was to them and through the lower-class holy family that the Messiah was revealed. Get the congregation to see that to this day it is often through lower classes that God is present. No accident that poorer families are more typically ardent in faith. (Cite the results of the recent Gallup International Poll noted in the Illustrations for this text.) Remind them to look for God in the poor in the coming year. It will change their lives and outlook.
All of the sermons for Christmas should aim to move the flock to consider what the Christmas story and the baby Jesus actually mean for their everyday lives.
