Three Revelations that Will Enhance Christmas
We might feel forced to forfeit our traditional Christmas gathering, but we're also in danger of missing out on the best parts of Christmas. And it’s not our fault.
We’re distracted by the politics, the commercialism, the pressure, and even the superficial message of many of our churches. But this year can be different. The joy of our traditional church events, social gatherings, and Christmas morning Santa surprises can be amplified if we pause the party and ponder three profound revelations that Jesus brought.
I recently read a description of Christmas as,
“The day on which we commemorate the most staggering and stupefying miracle that ever came to pass: the miracle of God becoming a human being.”
And I thought, Do I believe Jesus’ birth is that spectacular, more so than Good Friday, Easter, or creation? Is it more stupefying than what’s in that oddly wrapped present?
I started thinking about where we live, which helped me appreciate what Jesus did.
We live in a beautiful place. From my window, I can see artistic architecture, dazzling bits of nature, deep blue skies, luscious grass, and spunky palm trees. If I go for a short stroll, I can admire all sorts of magnificent automobiles, including the newest Toyota 4runner and two white BMW 3 series that hang together like twins. There's always a variety of Teslas parked at the charging station, sometimes with their futuristic doors raised like eagle's wings, just to show off, I think. There’s a silver Porche that’s so new I don’t know its name, but my mouth drools when I watch it corner.
Around the corner is a run-down trailer park with broken trees, where people sometimes duct-tape the siding on their houses and park old pickup trucks with more rust on them than paint or Hyundais without bumpers. Some of the trailers have air conditioners falling out the windows. A lot of the residents walk down the road for groceries.
I’ve been thinking and praying about how to get to know the people who live there, wondering if they know Jesus, wondering if Jesus wants me to know them. I’m curious if any of them need a guide or a friend, someone who could light their dreams back on fire or at least make sure they know the one who gives us good dreams.
But there is one thing I haven’t let myself think about too much.
I even hate to mention it here because I know some will start thinking about it and maybe call me and tell me I should do it. Or, worse, you might send me a text that says God said that I should do it, and then I’ll be forced to discern what I think about your ability to hear God. What I haven’t let myself think about is moving into the trailer park.
It comes to my mind because it seems like the best way to get to know the people who live there, to become one of them, and to join their community. Moving into the neighborhood is always better than visiting or sending a card if you want to be a part of someone’s life. And the real question is, “Can you truly guide someone if you aren’t part of their life?”
A trainer can give tips for the weight room. A dietician can email recipes. A teacher can invite us to a webinar. But no one can sustainably assist our transformation until they know us, our thoughts, our history, or the real reason we live where we live.
Instinctively, we don’t trust outsiders. Our lives aren’t deeply changed by strangers or periodic guests. We certainly can’t feel loved in an office visit or even a first-time worship service because no one knows us yet. And the folks in the trailer park probably wouldn’t feel loved or listen to me if I only occasionally dropped in for a chat or to do some noble missional project.
Before anyone gets too focused on where I should hang my next shingle, let’s think about Jesus’ relocation at Christmas and how stupefying it truly is.
Jesus Moved In
Eugene Peterson translates a core New Testament passage about Christmas like this:
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message).
To move into our neighborhood, Jesus first had to become a human, which is what Christmas is about. These four words, “The Word became flesh,” dissolve our silly ideas that Christmas is a soft holiday about a cute event, a baby in a manger, shepherds with bath robes.
“The Word” is John’s nickname for Jesus, who has existed forever and is God but separate from God the Father (see John 1:1). Those realities are mind-blowing. But then we are told that he became flesh. God chose to become a human.
He didn’t appear momentarily as an angel. He didn’t make declarations in a dream. He didn’t even beam himself down as an adult. He miraculously and vulnerably began in a womb as a cell dividing and dividing. He was attached to life by an umbilical cord. He entered the world gasping for air, relying on someone else to feed him, and the Word spent several years learning to speak languages.
He moved into the neighborhood, and nothing has ever been more wonderful and helpful. The Greek word translated “moved” could also be translated as “he tabernacled” among us. It references the physical Tabernacle in the Old Testament, an elaborate tent in the center of camp where God’s presence mysteriously and vaguely resided. When Jesus became the tabernacle, he was easily seen. He was relevant. It wasn’t just a man named Jesus who lived next door. It wasn’t just an adorable baby who cried in the hay. The eternally existent, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-entitled, awesome God gave up his majesty and majestic amenities and moved in.
Three Profound Revelations
It’s enjoyable to tell children the simplified Christmas story version or discuss which details are historical or fictional. But we’ll miss the point if we don’t ponder these three profound revelations of Christmas.
1. Jesus revealed God’s grace and beauty.
Jesus revealed God, and he’s exactly who we need.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18, NIV).
I’m afraid many of us hear or infer things about God that aren’t accurate.
Jesus fixed that. He uncovered the mystery of God. We see the beauty of God in the way he speaks, the life he inspires, and the kindness he reverberates. We see his grace in his acceptance. We feel our purpose in his challenge. We understand his good gifts and encouragement in the wake of evil, especially when we read about his death to provide forgiveness.
At Christmas, we can look beyond Bethlehem and see many gracious and beautiful things about Jesus that delight and draw us. That he came tells us so much about God, and how he lived reveals more.
2. Jesus revealed our value.
An editor covered one of my articles with red-ink the other day, and I didn’t only think I couldn’t write, but I doubted I had anything worthwhile to say–to anyone, ever. I despise insecurity and self-doubt, but they come around often, especially when I base my value on my performance or other people’s opinions. That’s a fatal formula for all of us.
While we’ll fail often and be rejected for all sorts of reasons, we can maintain a strong sense of value if we believe what Jesus believes about us. He values us just as we are and not for who we can become. There is nothing we can do to make him love us more or cause him to love us less. I know that is difficult to accept, but that’s because we have spent our whole lives chasing victories and applause to boost our feelings of acceptance. But Christmas can change our view.
Mary, Jesus’ mother, must have struggled to believe the angel’s words, “You are highly favored by God” (see Luke 1:28). She knew her failures. She wasn’t the most popular. But she was valuable. And so are we.
Jesus showed us how much he thinks about us by moving into our neighborhood.
When Jesus came to earth, he gave up heaven for a while and his non-human form forever. He stepped away from safety and comfort and into the darkness, looking for us. And he is still chasing after us. We’re that important to him.
When we sing a Christmas carol about Jesus, recall that he became a human to bring us to himself. He’s very fond of each of us.
3. Jesus revealed the criticalness of choosing him.
A lady on the radio said, “I love Thanksgiving, but Christmas is the best. I love the trees and the lights, the cookies and the childlike fun of getting presents.” It’s the nostalgia that the world endears. The coziness. The tradition of family. Christmas is indeed a wonderful time of year, but the heart of Christmas is disruptive.
Jesus’ followers knew this.
King Herod’s RSVP to the baby announcement was infanticide.
John tells this angle of the Christmas story by calling Jesus light and saying that the light shines in the darkness. It’s a reminder that our predominant culture and the people in it are opposed to Jesus. People love Christmas, but most despise Christ. John says, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11).
But we have to receive him. Everyone does. If we want any hope of life the way it is meant to be and life after this life that is not spent forever paying for our failures. Jesus is the unique Son of God, the world's only Savior. The primary reason he came to earth as a baby was so that he could do what was necessary to rescue every human being back into a relationship with him. There’s no other way. There’s no other Savior.
Sometimes, the people at the Christmas parties I attend set the ground rules, “No discussions of politics or religion.” At a Christmas party? We’re celebrating our neighbor who moved in, and we can’t talk about him?
It’s critical that we talk about him. It’s vital that we accept him and persuade others to, but we’d be wise to do so in the manner in which he came, with grace and truth. It’ll help if we’re willing to live with people for a while, understand them, love them, and get invited into a Christmas discussion.
I’m not sure if I’ll move into the trailer park. For now, I’ve got a lot of people in my new neighborhood to meet. If I’m a good neighbor, we’ll celebrate Christmas together, the most staggering and stupefying miracle ever. And that’ll allow me to reveal Christ’s beauty and grace, expose my new friends’ value, and invite them to consider following the one who was born for them.