The Incarnation - Pastor's Column December 2021
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.
This is the first verse of one of my favorite Christmas carols, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” It is a beautiful text by Christina Georgina Rossetti (c. 1872) with an equally beautiful tune composed by Gustav Holst (1874-1934). The carol sings of the birth of Christ in the midst of the winter. However, those who are concerned with literal things will quickly tell you that no matter what time of year Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, there would have been no winter wonderland as this first verse describes. To those folks I say, “Don’t mess with the sentimental nature of my Christmas carols, thank you very much.” Besides, whether or not there was truly a frosty, frozen winter at the birth of Christ does not really matter. After all, a dark, cold, winter wilderness can be representative of the whole world that was lost and longing for the light and warmth of Christ.
While I love the whole carol, it’s the second verse that really stands out to me as a teaching moment.
Our God, heav'n cannot hold him, nor earth sustatin;
heav'n an earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
This verse teaches us about the incarnation, that is, God becoming flesh. Yes, our God is so great in majesty, glory, and immensity that heaven nor earth could fully contain him, and yet, a “stable place sufficed.” It is the great mystery of the incarnation that the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, came to us in the flesh, born of a woman, and was laid in a manger. While it may be incomprehensible to our minds how such a thing can be, it is essential to the gospel.
The incarnation—the birth of Christ—is the beginning of the good news! It is the beginning of our salvation. Surely God could have saved us from the snares of sin, death, and the devil by a simple divine command. But God preferred a right relationship with us rather than to simply save us from that unholy trio. Since sin, death, and the devil held our human flesh in bondage, it was fitting that God should take on human flesh in order to conquer those forces. God became human in order to suffer and die as a human, conquer death as a human, and rise again in human flesh. It isn’t that we are simply saved from sin, death, and the devil, but that our human flesh, once corrupted by those dark forces is redeemed and restored to God.
The incarnation also serves as a reminder of what we were created to be. We no doubt recall that we are created in the image of God. No other thing in creation shares this attribute with humankind. We were created in the image of God to be in relationship and union with God. Through sin, the image of God in which we were created became corrupted. When God becomes flesh in Jesus Christ, we see what true humanity looks like, and through him, the image of God is restored to human flesh so that we can be brought back into union and relationship with God. When we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, we celebrate the incarnation. We celebrate that our God became flesh in the Son, dwelled with us, took away the sins of the world, trampled down death, and, being raised from the dead, restored humanity to the Father.
A blessed Advent and Merry Christmas to you.