Christmas Day 2020: Michael Spencer on Christmas

Posted byChaplainmikePosted inChristmastide
The Nativity with a Shepherd. Mazzolino

Christmas Day 2020
Michael Spencer on Christmas (2005)

It is the grand simplicity of the Good News that God enters the world through an event that, apart from two Gospel accounts, would be unknown. The life of Jesus, from beginning to end, is the life of the poor, the lowly, the unknown and the insignificant. The Christian story is that God has no interest in the great schemes of history, the famous or the icons of celebrity. The Christian story is the condescension of God to the lowest levels, there to be adored by shepherds and the poor.

From this, Christians are to live out the same story. We are not to seek the seats of power, of influence or media attention. The story of numbers — votes, ratings, dollars, books sold — they are not our story. Our story continues among people the world does not notice, doing things the famous and the powerful refuse to do, in ways that confound the values of the present age, in the name of one who became low, even the lowest of the low, for us and for our salvation.

At Christmas, we lay aside the pretentious confidence of the world, and allow the story of Jesus to remake us. We turn aside from our own stories of life without Christ, and freely enter the story of Jesus as those who adore, those who ponder, those who journey, those who give gifts, and those who follow and believe.

10 thoughts on “Christmas Day 2020: Michael Spencer on Christmas”

  1. Another truly good word from Michael Spencer.

    Merry Christmas to all –

    Christ is born; glorify Him!

    Dana

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  9. There are two realities—the uncreated and the created. There is an infinite divide between them, and on this side of that divide we languish. In this condition, God has put eternity into our sinful and finite hearts (Ecc. 3:11), which is why we cannot find out the work of God. But at least we know something of what we do not know. We are consequently foundationally restless, and apart from His intervention, apart from His grace, we would be trapped in that futile restlessness forever.

    But that infinite divide was forever crossed when the Word became flesh in order to pitch a tent among us, here with us in our wilderness wandering. Born of a virgin, born to die. Not only that, but born to live forever as our elder brother.

    And because of that, the promise is fulfilled, and because we have seen the promise fulfilled, and heard the declaration of that fulfillment, our faith, like the baby Jesus, is born to live forever.

    In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

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  10. How silently how silently the wondrous gift is given.
    Jesus gift should leave a shudder in our hearts
    Susan

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