December 13, 2010

I preached for a pastor friend yesterday; it isn’t often that a “guest speaker” has the chance to do one of the lead-up-to-Christmas Sundays…

Between you and me, that’s tough duty. Everyone knows all of the details of the Christmas story, so there isn’t much mystery left to be explored. How would you maintain the interest of a well-informed crowd, on the subject of Christmas?

I threw a change-up; instead of referencing Matthew or Luke in their historic treatments of the birth of Jesus, I drew the Apostle Paul into the discussion. In his many letters – now NT books – he did not spotlight the birth of Jesus often. Here is his signature statement: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

The conventional approach to Christmas casts the story with some predictable characters: Mary, Gabriel, Joseph, the Innkeeper, Shepherds, Wise Men, Herod and the Angels all get rolled out onto the stage as the Sunday School kiddos don bathrobes and say their lines. None of those notables are found in Paul’s A-List of Bethlehem’s stars…

Paul leaves the visible details to the Gospel writers; he, instead, pulls back the curtain to expose the heavenly forces at work around the manger. Who were the leads in Paul’s story of Christmas?

“God sent his Son, born of a woman…” Three stars, and one co-star. First up: it was God, the Father, who set the drama in motion. He designed the strategy that incorporated Christmas into a grand plan for rescue. Then – interestingly – the Holy Spirit plays the “off-screen” second part. How so? “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) In a procedure never performed before – or, since – God the Holy Spirit fertilized the egg of Mary to produce the incarnation of God. Third in the line is the Son, Himself: out of Heaven, into Mary’s womb… and delivered into the manger, in the stable.

The co-star in the drama was none-other than Mary, though Paul does not name her in his brief. You have to have the awareness of Matthew and Luke’s accounts to see her “…born of a woman…” in the summary offered by Paul.

Mary was chosen by God to house His Son for nine months. Chosen by the Father, enabled by the Spirit, and occupied by the Son: that was God’s plan. Mary could have said, “no thanks,” but she did not. With the least of details, she stepped forward in faith and found her place in the great drama of God’s plan for the redemption of humankind.

For the folks at Inland Hills Church, I drew that story into real time: God is still choosing people to be part of His plan. Mary heard the news – scant details, but enough to make a cogent decision – and she stepped forward by faith. Today, we hear the news – God’s plan for salvation – and have the opportunity to make our own decision, as well. When we say yes, the Holy Spirit sets in motion a supernatural action…

For Mary, it was the Holy Spirit placing the physical body of Jesus into her womb. For us, it is the Holy Spirit placing the Spirit of Jesus into our heart. For Mary, it was a temporary stay; for us, He takes up residence and never leaves.

The Christmas Story has great power, whether told from the Gospels… or, from Paul’s retrospective. In the next 10 days, you’ll be around people who know the story from the ground-level view; the perspective of heaven – from Galatians 4 – might be the missing piece in their Christmas mosaic. That may be the greatest thing you could give them, for Christmas 2010…

Bob Shank