Faith: Reason for season rediscovered

The weather in Quay County has not contributed to the feeling that Christmas is upon us. To be sure, I’m not complaining about that, but here we are, regardless of how it feels. To all the readers of this humble column, may you be richly blessed as you celebrate the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider taking half an hour to re-read the Gospel narratives that tell the story. These are found in Matthew 1 and 2; Luke 1 and 2; and John 1. You can knock those out in the time it takes to sip your way through one cup of cocoa with your feet up by the fire.

My friendly challenge as you read is to take note of all the supernatural stuff that happens surrounding the birth of our Lord. You might be shocked by the number of angel appearances, for instance. In addition, look for how the text highlights the ancient prophecies that were precisely fulfilled.

Note all the new prophecies that came forth. There are signs in the heavens; a supernatural curse, followed by a supernatural healing; a prophetic dream; and, not one, but two miraculous pregnancies.

The strangeness surrounding the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth represents the highest concentration of miraculous occurrences since the exodus of Israel from Egypt some 1,500 years earlier.

It seems obvious that God thought this was a pretty big deal. For my money, though, these signs and wonders do not represent the truly astonishing aspect of that first Christmas. If you accept the existence of an omnipotent deity, then no miracle is out of reach. None is more shocking than the other.

The mind-blowing thing about Christmas is that God would join himself to humanity in the first place. The Apostle Paul asks rhetorically, “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14) The obvious answer is, “None.”

But then, here comes the Son of God, “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3), “made like his brothers in every respect” (Heb 2:17) to do for them what they could not do for themselves. That is, to conquer sin, death, and the devil once and for all.

The real miracle is not that God could become one with humanity. It’s that he would.

The same sort of enigma is found in Romans 4:5 where we read that the righteous God has seen fit to justify the ungodly. Wow! It makes sense to justify the godly, of course, but God justifies the ungodly.

And he shows up in a manger instead of a castle. He wears a crown of thorns, not gold. He walks around in flesh like yours and mine, to be one of us. As the hymnist wrote, “He comes to make his glory known, far as the curse is found.”

Be of good cheer, for these are glad tidings of great joy. Merry Christmas.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

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