Christmas Eve / Christmas Day
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son....
-- Hebrews 1:1-2
On Christmas Day we celebrate the in-breaking of God into our time-constrained universe. There is no logical way that one can explain how the eternal can become part of the finite. We can only celebrate this unexplainable mystery in sacramental terms -- finite words that point to the eternal truths. In this tightly packed set of verses, the author of Hebrews seeks to pull together a variety of images of the eternal God's past revelations of truth in the finite world. He shows how the images find their fulfillment in the Jesus whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day.
As a caution to Christians who can be too focused on the birth of a baby, it is perhaps important to hear Hebrews remind us that this Son transcends the historical moment of birth and finds expression in creation itself. In an echo of Proverbs 8:22-31, where the divine wisdom of God is personified as being present at creation, so now the Son is also spoken of as being present at creation.
Speaking to believers all too familiar with the sinful state of humanity that has distorted God's intentions for creation, Hebrews alludes to the assertion in Genesis 1:27 that humanity was created in the image of God and declares that in Christ we can see that image restored. "He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being...." At Christmas we are invited to recognize that in Jesus we do have a true revelation of what God expects of us. Recalling the absolute chaos that preceded creation and was only ordered by the expression of God's word, now believers are invited to have renewed hope in Christ's ability to again tame the chaos because "he sustains all things by his powerful word."
Because it is so easy even for believers to become despairing in our turbulent world, Christmas is an excellent time to be reminded that history is not out of God's control. While the intention of God for creation continues to be distorted by the sinful behavior of humanity, God is at work through Christ purifying the sins of the world and redemptively acting through Christ to fulfill God's purposes made evident at the beginning of creation. The birth of Jesus is not the end but the beginning of the story. Still, it is a good time to recommit ourselves to live with Christ through the rest of the story that God is unfolding in the universe.
-- Hebrews 1:1-2
On Christmas Day we celebrate the in-breaking of God into our time-constrained universe. There is no logical way that one can explain how the eternal can become part of the finite. We can only celebrate this unexplainable mystery in sacramental terms -- finite words that point to the eternal truths. In this tightly packed set of verses, the author of Hebrews seeks to pull together a variety of images of the eternal God's past revelations of truth in the finite world. He shows how the images find their fulfillment in the Jesus whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day.
As a caution to Christians who can be too focused on the birth of a baby, it is perhaps important to hear Hebrews remind us that this Son transcends the historical moment of birth and finds expression in creation itself. In an echo of Proverbs 8:22-31, where the divine wisdom of God is personified as being present at creation, so now the Son is also spoken of as being present at creation.
Speaking to believers all too familiar with the sinful state of humanity that has distorted God's intentions for creation, Hebrews alludes to the assertion in Genesis 1:27 that humanity was created in the image of God and declares that in Christ we can see that image restored. "He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being...." At Christmas we are invited to recognize that in Jesus we do have a true revelation of what God expects of us. Recalling the absolute chaos that preceded creation and was only ordered by the expression of God's word, now believers are invited to have renewed hope in Christ's ability to again tame the chaos because "he sustains all things by his powerful word."
Because it is so easy even for believers to become despairing in our turbulent world, Christmas is an excellent time to be reminded that history is not out of God's control. While the intention of God for creation continues to be distorted by the sinful behavior of humanity, God is at work through Christ purifying the sins of the world and redemptively acting through Christ to fulfill God's purposes made evident at the beginning of creation. The birth of Jesus is not the end but the beginning of the story. Still, it is a good time to recommit ourselves to live with Christ through the rest of the story that God is unfolding in the universe.
