Several weeks ago I came back home one afternoon and cuddled together with my wife on our bed. As has become our common practice recently, we began to watch for visible signs of our baby’s kicks and movements inside the womb. Occasionally there would be a bump here or there, signaling a tiny foot or maybe a fist, stretched out to test the limits of that tight confinement and rejoice in the security offered by it. Now that we could actually see signs of the living human being that was growing in there, we thought with amazement about how incredible it is that it actually has a life of its own, moves, feels, hears… (Medical research shows that the baby can hear outside noises and grow accustomed to those it hears most often. Parents are advised to speak to their baby even during the period of gestation since that allows it to recognize them after it has been born. Those familiar noises become a source of comfort after the moment of birth, when the baby is still dazzled by this new and threatening environment, which is our world.) Isn’t it a miracle that something - or rather “someone” - so fragile and totally dependent on another being for its whole existence can at the same time show such strength (for only a mother knows how strong those kicks really are) and individuality? For example, a recent ultrasound-3D picture of our baby captured it smiling and waving its hand happily, while at the same time its mother was nervously watching for any signs of trouble on the screen!
Lying comfortably on our bed, I was observing a small-scale image of the paradox that has perplexed even the greatest minds on earth. With the approaching Christmas season I was reminded of that other little baby in the womb of a Palestinian woman more than two thousand years ago. And I thought with amazement of what it must have been to carry the Son of God, the Almighty incarnate, within one’s womb. It is no wonder that later on, after the birth of Christ, Luke reports Mary as treasuring up “all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, ESV). It must have been too much for grasping in so short a period of time. I am sure there must have been even more to ponder before the child was actually born. What must she have felt sensing those movements inside: little hands grasping to hold or little feet making their first impulsive kicks off a surface? For us the truth of the Incarnation is taken mostly for granted but could she even begin to comprehend the implications of the angel’s message and the fact of the Immaculate Conception? And yet there could be no one else more confident of the truth of that.
For most men during the past twenty centuries the Incarnation has been an abstract statement of faith. For Mary it was a miracle that had changed her life once and for all. A virgin girl, for whom the experience of sexual intercourse was yet unknown, was now carrying a baby inside her womb. A child proclaimed by a supernatural being to be the Son of God. How could she reconcile the contradictions? For example, was she ever afraid of harming the baby like every ordinary mom is, especially during the long trip to Bethlehem? Was she ever worried that it might catch cold? How did she feel about the weight of responsibility that had been placed on her shoulders?
It is easy for us to think that nothing could have gone wrong because of the power of God. However, do we really grasp the extent to which God had humbled Himself in the incarnation? For he truly became a man! This is what allows the apostle Paul to make the appeal:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…” (Philippians 2:5-11, ESV).
What a glorious truth! The Lord of the Universe became a tiny human baby, dependent on a human mother for everything within the womb, and then on her and her husband for care and protection. Wasn’t God afraid that they might spoil Jesus with their inadequate disciplinary measures? For certainly no human parents are perfect. I do not doubt that God was fully in control then, just as He always is, being the Sovereign Ruler of all Creation. However, I think that maybe we often miss the majesty of His sovereignty in action.
The way that God enacts His control over everything is less similar to a machine than to a master musician. I was once able to attend the concert of a renowned pianist. At one point during the evening that famous man asked for a child from the audience to accompany him on the stage. He knew there were children from the local School of Music present in the hall. The audience fell silent, as the sense of excitement grew. Finally, after a lot of hesitation and encouragement from surrounding adults, a boy, probably six or seven years old, came up and shyly approached the master. The musician kindly made place for him on the stool behind the piano, exchanged a few words, and asked him to play anything he felt comfortable with. The boy, with his hands trembling, started playing a simple melody, rather cautiously. After hearing the tune once, the renowned musician joined the child on the piano and began adding to the melody a beautiful torrent of accompanying sounds. The result was a wonderful piece that nobody had ever heard before. There had been no preparation before hand, any rehearsals or previous arrangements. The child made mistakes and played quite a number of wrong tunes. It was the genius of the master musician however that he could play around the mistakes and follow the sudden twists and turns in the melody so that at the end everything seemed right where it should have been. Of course, the analogy is not perfect. But there can be no doubt that there was nothing automatic about the birth of Christ and the experiences of Mary and Joseph. The sovereign power and majesty of God were revealed through the daily outworking of his plan of salvation within the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. And I can think of nothing better to remind me of the true glory and meaning of Christmas than the gift of God’s grace to my family in particular.
It was the thought of our little baby, and how grand and awesome God reveals Himself in taking care of it that reminded me of the true significance of Christmas. Because what could be more symbolic of the giving of life and hope to a barren world, than the birth of a child? Could there be a greater miracle than that of two people united in love and with their bodies, leading to the formation of an entirely new human being? Could there be any other source of that but God? What majesty there is in the fact that this little baby is taken care of by its Maker, and alone in the darkness of the womb is given everything necessary for a life of creativity and worship. For my wife and me this child will indeed forever be a sign of God’s grace and a reminder of that Other Child, God’s incarnation in Christ. The immense privilege of God’s allowing us to raise this child and teach it the ways of its Heavenly Father will forever be reminiscent of the honor that Joseph and Mary had of raising the Messiah, God’s only Son. And last but not least this period of anticipation before the birth of our baby reminds us of the intensity with which we are to expect the return of the Perfect God-Man, our Lord and Savior.
What is the true meaning of Christmas indeed? First of all, it is an amazing, paradoxical, unbelievable historical fact. An event, that gives meaning and perspective to all other events - both personal and universal. I am reminded of C. S. Lewis’ description of his own conversion to Christianity: “If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this … Here and here only in all time the myth must have become fact; the Word, flesh; God, man. This is not “a religion,” nor “a philosophy.” It is the summing up and actuality of them all.” (C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, 1955, Ch. XV)
Whatever else Christmas is, it is nothing less than a fact of history. But it is also so much more. It is the presence of God in my own life and in the lives of my family and friends. God’s amazing grace made evident in every single moment of our lives and within the tiniest “ordinary” circumstances, including the preparation of the holiday meals, the decorations in the house, the meetings with friends and relatives and the opportunity to share one’s blessings with those, who are poor or destitute. For isn’t it only by grace that we have food, homes, life and goods to share? And isn’t it the presence of God with us – Emmanuel – that makes all of this worth anything?
It is because I know that my Redeemer lives that I look forward to this Christmas. And this year particularly my wife and I will be reading and listening to the Nativity stories, and singing “Mary Did You Know?” with empathy that we have never known before. If you have never really paid attention to those lyrics before, read them thoughtfully now (you can also read the story behind that song here and download a wonderful contemporary rendition by Jason Gray from the album "Bethlehem Skyline" (2006) here).
Mary, Did You Know?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.
Oh, Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM.
by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene © 1991 Word Music/Rufus Music/ascap.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.
Oh, Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM.
by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene © 1991 Word Music/Rufus Music/ascap.
© 2006 Andrew Nedelchev
