Dear Family of Faith,
Today, as you take a seat, don’t bother looking around for your coffee cup. I would like you to sit with your hands empty, open, ready to recieve. Yes, yes, I know, you’ve been told a thousand times “It is more blessed to give than to recieve.” Nevertheless, just for this moment, set aside your protestant work ethic, take a deep breath and alow yourself to rest in the grace of God. I want to talk with you about something that is central not only to your faith but to your survival.
The incarnation is one of those seventy-five cent words that reminds us that God is always moving in our direction. You probably already know this, but literally the word means, “To be made flesh, or embodied in the flesh.” For Christians, it refers to God taking on flesh and moving into our presence in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, I know, the whole idea sounds like a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo but believe me, this is an idea we can’t live without. It begins with teh idea that God is ridiculously in love with us, taht he longs to b ein relatinoship with us. It continues with the idea that God became a human being so taht we could experience that relationship flesh to flesh and not in some abstract metaphysical realm. It becomes twisted, when humans, unable to cope with the ramiifcatiosn of an unconditional and loving God (who loves both those people we have decided are unlovable and unlovable us), put him to death. It ends when God, knowing the depth and unconsciounable stupidity of our sin, raises Jesus up from the dead, and delivers a crushing blow to the sin within us that is killing us.
Sit for a moment and let this reality wash over you. God is on your side. God knows the depths of your weakness and sins. God knows your brokenness. Yet God keeps coming to us. He comes with a son who takes on flesh knowing we’ll kill him for doing so. He comes in teh midst of life-saving relationships where, for some unknown reason, people live out the unconditional love and mercy of God. He comes in his sacraments where we can actually hear him speaking to us, can feel the cool cleansing waters of his love and can taste the bread and wine of his forgiveness. Drink it in. Let this be your greatest Christmas gift. Accept it as God’s eternal, unfathomable New Year’s resolution. In this moment, let this be enough. You are loved and it is no one less than teh master of the universe who has drawn close to you to let you know how much he loves.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Your partner in wonder,
Pastor Dave Nerdig
