The coming of Christ, the Saviour, doesn’t mean that our earthly lives will suddenly change, that our troubles, sufferings, griefs, or difficulties, whatever they may be, will suddenly cease. His coming means something far greater; it means that those things, whatever they are and however severe they might be, are—and must all be—temporary. Because all those things which trouble you and cause you sorrow and grief are all a result of sin. They are all because we are citizens of a fallen and wretched world. And each of us has been complicit in its wretchedness because we all have sinned. And yet, here is the beauty of Christmas: Christ Jesus has come to save us from ourselves, that is, to rescue us from our sins. Now, the salvation of the world is come, revealed in the person of Christ Jesus, who, here, is presented in the temple in Jerusalem, for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In the flesh means in our flesh, surrounded, as it is, with all of our troubles and sorrows and, yes, even our guilt and shame. Our flesh is what He wears. He grabs ahold of our substance and becomes one with it. And He gives His life so that we, remaining in this flesh, might be renewed, restored, rebuilt, and reborn: in the flesh.
Readings:
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-5
Epistle: Galatians 4:1-7
Holy Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
Comments