You see it in Christmas ornaments featuring crosses. It always strikes me most strongly when we sing the Appalachian Christmas Carol, “I Wonder as I Wander”:
I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
Wow, that kind of fast forwards to the end, doesn’t it? Right there in the first line.
We have a very hard time focusing in on Jesus’ birth and seeing it have anything to do with our salvation. In a Christian culture that thinks only about Christ’s suffering and sacrificial death, his birth is, ironically, an afterthought. Just a prelude to what we think has to be the main event.
In 1563, the writers of the Heidelberg Catechism seemed to think this was a reasonable question:
36 Q. How does the holy conception and birth of Christ benefit you?
It is obvious that the Cross benefits us. When we have that down it is pretty clear how the resurrection benefits us. But Christ’s birth?
Actually it was a bit of an afterthought in the early centuries of Christianity as well. First they celebrated the new life that came with the resurrection. Then they backed up a bit and celebrated the cross that preceded the resurrection.
And around the fourth century they seemed to realize that the very fact of Jesus coming to us, his birth in Bethlehem, was important too. No birth, then no death. No death then no resurrection.
They needed to celebrate Jesus birth. And thus, my friends, we still celebrate the Feast of the Nativity, a.k.a. Christmas.
So how do we get to a Christmas kind of faith? How do we think about the baby in the manger as something central to salvation? There are several roads leading to Bethlehem. Here’s the one suggested by the Heidelberg Catechism:
A. He is our mediator, and, in God’s sight, he covers with his innocence and perfect holiness my sinfulness in which I was conceived.
Humanity has a problem. The Bible calls it “sin” and it seems to be a much bigger deal than your misbehavior or mine. It seems to be something we are steeped in as a species.
The sheer innocence of Jesus shows us that in him God is solving our problem. Every little baby you hold in your arms seems so very innocent — and yet Jesus is born with innocence of a whole different dimension. Born without the stain that marks the rest of us, new creation begins in him.
Salvation didn’t have to wait for the cross — important as the cross is. The fact that Jesus was born means we have a mediator — He has come to bridge the gap between us and God by the fact of who he is.
How does it shape your faith to think of Christ as a baby?
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It gives incredible hope. The long period of waiting for that incarnation has been my focus throughout Advent. It has given me a greater appreciation for the awesome miracle of the birth. Planned before the foundation of the earth, before mankind ever made that fateful rebellious thought, The Son knew the only solution was to cloak himself entirely in our human flesh and live a perfect life. I agree that Jesus’ innocence is on an entirely different level. The hope that brings such joy to my heart. All the materialistic trappings fall away, my soul worships – a still in my heart I think “What a way to save us”. Wow. Not as a fully developed man – but as a physically dependent newborn.
Thanks Susan! Sorry it took a long while for me to reply.
Have you ever read “On the Incarnation of the Word” by St. Athanasius? There’s no one better for a genuine Christmas kind of faith — might be up your alley. My favorite translation was put out by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press in their “Popular Patristics” series. They have moved on to a newer translation but you can still get the one I like here:
http://www.amazon.com/Incarnation-Word-God-Large-Print/dp/1490388370/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388508250&sr=1-8
Forgot to mention: The preface by C.S. Lewis is worth the price of the book!