The two big highlights of my childhood occurred annually on
Christmas day and Flag Day. Christmas, because of the many presents under the
tree, and Flag Day because that’s my birthday. I love having birthday parties
and I really loved getting birthday presents at my birthday parties. I will
never forget getting a Mongoose California BMX bike for my 13th
Birthday; it was so cool! As a kid, there was nothing better than birthday
parties, birthday hats, cake, presents and party games!
Christmas is the traditional day we celebrate the birthday
of Jesus Christ. It is a day of celebration because God loves us humans so much
that that he took on the condition of humanity. He left the glory of heaven and
freely chose to become like us, fully human and in the mystery of what we call
the Incarnation, fully God. Christmas is the Birthday of love becoming human!
The disciple John understood, perhaps more than most, how love is the central
theme of the Christmas Birthday.
1 John 4:16
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in
his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God
lives in them.
God is love, and Christ, being God, is love in human form. Earlier,
John is clear that real love, authentic love, is what God did when he became
man. He was born in Bethlehem but he didn’t stay in Bethlehem. He grew first in
that small town, then in exile in Egypt, and finally as an adult in Nazareth
and the surrounding region. And this man/God Jesus, this author of love, was
put to death on a cross so that we could have life, forgiveness, and an eternity
with him. That sacrifice is love.
1 John 4:10
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved
us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
If God is love and it is perfectly experienced in Christ,
then Christmas is the ultimate celebration of love’s Birthday. And if our
birthdays typically have cake and presents, what is present at the Birthday of
love?
In Luke 2:8-12, Dr. Luke records what is at this party.
An angel announces the good news of the birth of Jesus in
Luke. This would be like watching your favorite Christmas special and the
broadcast getting interrupted by an unplanned presidential statement. You would
take notice. No one would interrupt It’s a
Wonderful Life unless it was of crucial importance. For the Shepherds, the
good news was all about the most important of announcements. Take notice, pay
attention, shepherds! Everything will change because of this news report.
The shepherds know immediately that the good news is
positive as the angel exclaims that this is news of great joy! Joy is so elusive
in our day. Joy is the experience of faith in Christ, when we understand that joy
is authored in Christ, joy is possible because of Christ, and that Christ is
the focal point of our joy. When we get this, we get Christ. From a prison cell
the Apostle Paul writes, “I will say it again: Rejoice!” Joy that is anchored
in Jesus Christ is tireless. One author writes, “It’s like a little child squealing,
‘Do it again, Daddy!’ to which our heavenly Daddy replies heartily, ‘Yes, let’s
do it again! And again and again!’” Because of Christ, that kind of Joy is
possible.
And the angel doesn’t stop there. In verse 11, this angel
proclaims, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” Connecting
David with Savior was significant for these shepherds. David was the greatest king
that Israel had ever had. When the shepherds heard stories of the golden years,
they would have been referring to the reign of King David. He rescued them from
their enemies and established a secure kingdom. This Savior, at least from the
perspective of the shepherds would, like David, rescue them from the oppression
and occupation of the Roman Empire that had been ruling their land. This truly
was some good news.
Yet this Jesus was so much more because the angel does not
end with the word Savior. He is also
Christ. Jesus was a common name in those days but Christ was all about the
anointed one, the chosen one. The Messiah. This was the person whom all the
ancient writers pointed to, the one who was sent by God to culminate God’s
plans for the Jewish people. Nothing would ever be the same again.
This savior Christ is the Lord, the Supreme Authority. The
current king of the land, Herod, was not the supreme authority. The supreme
ruler of the vast Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus, was not the supreme authority.
No – it was this baby surrounded by family and animals; he was the Supreme Authority
over all lands.
The shepherds could not fully grasp all that the angel was
saying. This was not some mere mortal. This was God becoming man, offering
humanity the way of love. The love of a God who provided the way of life, of
healing, and of relationship. This was the way that the Creator of all things
would provide a way for each of us to be in relationship with Jesus Christ and
to see his Kingdom and his purposes be birthed in our life and in the world. That
is the party we are invited to. As I tell my kids on Christmas morning, we give
gifts at Christmas because God gave us the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. And
because of the gift of Jesus Christ, we have purpose in our life; we have
forgiveness of all our sins (all the garbage in our life). In this gift of love,
Jesus, we can experience God’s incredible heavenly reality now and into
forever. That is all possible because God loved us so much to send us his son
Jesus Christ. That is what we celebrate on Christmas day!
Who can come to that kind of party? You would think just a
few chosen people. But this birthday was for all people. This act of love was for all humanity. I have been
passed over, by-passed and skipped when it comes to party invitations. We all
know what that feels like, especially as a small child realizing that everybody
else in the class was invited, but not you. Truly devastating. God doesn’t do
that. He never forgets, never skips you. Everyone, no matter their past,
ethnicity, economic status; everyone, no matter the choices you have made or
are making in life. Everyone - no exception - is invited to the party. Is
invited to be in relationship with the God of Love!
If we are all invited, how do we come to this party? How can
we be in relationship with the God of all Creation? We must identify with the shepherds. God could have chosen to first
announce the birth of his son Jesus Christ to kings, leaders, rulers, priests, centurions
and Caesars. But instead, God chose this greatest of news to be revealed to a
class of people one step above the lowest class. Shepherds were despised, and considered
religiously unclean and outsiders in their day.
When we, no matter our position in society, identify with
the shepherds, we are welcome to come to Jesus, to come to the party. God does
not come to the self-sufficient. The message of Christ is for those who know
they need Jesus. If you are in need, you are welcome to come to Jesus. Jesus
said:
Matt 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest.
John 6:29
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in
the one he has sent."
If this Christmas you are not sure that you are part of
God’s party; if you are not sure that you truly know Jesus Christ, and if you
sense your need for him, you are welcome to enter the party. Come to him and he
will give you rest, believe in Him and find life. Trust Him and find a love
that will last forever.
Jason Esposito,
Lead Pastor, Crossway Church, www.crosswaygt.org
