If Christianity’s claim is wrong that the Babe born in Bethlehem is Immanuel (God with Us), the promise of Christmas is as hollow as a chocolate Santa.

But, if the testimony of Christian faith is true and reliable, which I believe with all my heart it is, then this birth marks a revolution, a divine insurgency, to dethrone the “principalities and powers” of this world and to establish God’s reign of love, joy, peace and righteousness.  In this child, God becomes one with us - one of us - to unmask and defeat our enemies, sin and death, in all their forms. 

While Shepherds and the poor rejoice, Herod and all who live in opposition to God’s reign fear this child for his birth is the beginning of the end of their power over us.  God’s revolution, as fragile as the infant’s cry and as powerful as his resurrection shout, may be sung by angels but it finds itself opposed by humanity at every hand.  Only hope, rooted in trust that God is trustworthy, sees beyond the paradox of defeated evil triumphant to grasp its certain end in God’s victorious reign.

Such hope alone fuels the worship of Burmese refugees in Malaysia as they sing, “Count your blessings.”  To sing of blessing in the face of suffering is a profoundly seditious act that undermines the reign of hopelessness.  But such hope requires an eschatological horizon anchored in the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem and the launch of a new creation, God’s new reality.

Romanticized sentimentality does no justice to this baby, this birth. Simeon got it right when he said, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed . . .” (Luke 2:34).  God’s insurgency to redeem creation and restore us in love as God’s beloved children begins in a manger.  But the way forward for the Babe lies through suffering and Calvary.  And in the salvation this Babe, who is no less than the Son of God, so accomplishes, God declares that we and all creation are his and that nothing will separate us from his love in Christ Jesus.

God’s declaration is also an invitation, an invitation to embrace his revolution-in-love by embracing and following Jesus, the Babe destined to become our crucified King.  Hollow Santas or solid hope?  What does this season offer you?

Centered in Christ and United in Mission,
 

Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
General Secretary