“The
angel answered Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born
will be called the Son of God’.” Luke 1:34-35 NKJV
After
Tuesday evening prayers, the first thing I do on Wednesday when I come to the
church is to refill the candles with oil in preparation for Sunday worship.
There are all kinds of things going through my mind while doing this; sometimes
idle thoughts, sometimes prayerful thoughts, plans, things to do, etc.
Sometimes I’m surprised by what thoughts may cross my mind, and this morning
was no exception.
I
realize this particular portion of Scripture is out of season, but a sermon
title crossed my mind (although it may be Advent before it comes): “Ricky Bobby
and the Incarnation”. Now for those of you who do not share my juvenile
sense of humor and taste for the irreverent, there is a movie entitled,
“Talladega Nights: the Legend of Ricky Bobby”. Ricky becomes a successful
NASCAR driver and soon has more money than he knows what to do with. At
family meals, he prays in this way, “Dear Lord baby Jesus, with your golden
fleece diapers …” Constantly he refers to the “baby” Jesus! Soon
his wife challenges him: “Jesus did grow up”. Ricky shoots back, “I like
the Christmas Jesus!”
Like
the title says, just “a thought”.
No
matter how silly it all sounds (and it does in the movie!), there is a ring of
truth to the sentiment; many prefer the Christmas Jesus over the One who grew
up and began preaching and teaching. And why not? Babies are not hard to
understand. They eat, they cry, they make muddy diapers. There is a
lot to take in with a baby, possibilities we cannot begin to imagine! But
Jesus did grow up, and the Word began to spread. Often that Word
contradicted what others had already made up in their own minds. And
because the Word was dressed like a common man, it was difficult for the
scribes and the Pharisees to take the Word seriously even though our Lord’s
direct quotes came from the Torah, the whole of the First Testament, and even
what is today referred to as Talmud; as St. John writes, “The Word became
flesh”. Jesus was well versed in the Scriptures and the traditional
interpretations because He is the Word!
It
soon became clear that human interpretations of the Word, even with the best of
intentions, can often miss the mark – especially when we declare absolutes in
our own interpretations. There was plenty of piety (religious
uprightness) among the religious authorities, but righteousness was not well
understood nor humility practiced. “Love your neighbor as yourself” soon
came to be directly related to loving The Lord with all we have and with all we
are. Long story short, the grown-up Jesus became a real pain to the
religious authorities who had already decided for themselves that the Divine
Law was theirs to enforce but not necessarily to live themselves. Not
only was the Roman burden too much to bear for the common man, but the
religious burden imposed upon them by the teachers of Israel overwhelmed
them. The two became one and the same.
The
grown-up Jesus broke every legal mold without actually doing away with the
Law. The Law soon became “The Way and the Truth and the Life” into which
we are all invited, the “grace upon grace” which The Lord’s people are offered
in that same Law.
Without
a doubt, sometimes we Christians oversimply that Law to the point that it is
rendered meaningless. At other times we make the Law so rigid and
burdensome that it is rendered impossible to live faithfully. So
somewhere between the Baby Jesus and the Pharisees, we find the rest and comfort
of the Eternal Word; the very Word the Pharisees tried to destroy but
discovered soon enough the Word which will endure “though the heavens and the
earth may fade”.
There
is clear “right and wrong” in the Word, and the King of all creation does have
a Law; but this Law is not strictly about what we cannot do. It is more
about what becomes possible when we all live according to the Word; and
frankly, it is all theoretical until we actually get around to doing it.
The
Babe in the Manger required gentle care as all babies do. The Eternal
Word requires no less care because it is no less precious in our hands and in
our lives.
The
Lord is great, is He not?
Michael
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