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12/27/2002 Entry: "Christmas greetings"

Merry Christmas!

It is, you know. Despite the world's determination to get on with things, we're still in the Christmas season, and I intend to enjoy every moment. I took a couple of days away from the keyboard (richly deserved, of course) and I'm grateful to Ivan for his contribution on Christmas Day. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did.

What does this season mean to you? Behind all the cliches, what is it about? This is the story of the self-emptying of God. I wanted to write "the beginning of the story...", but of course that wouldn't be true. But if it is not the beginning, it is most certainly not the end. The Christmas story claims that the God who put the stars in their courses, and keeps them there, chose to reveal his glory most fully in the frailty of human flesh. And not important human flesh either. A baby of controversial parentage born to a poor family far from home is the bearer of good news from God.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us," says John. In this baby and in the man he became, God reveals himself - shows us who is, makes himself known as fully as it is possible within the limits of the material world and the constraints of the human mind. "God with us."

But what good does it do, God being with us? Doesn't he still set an impossible standard, an unattainable goal. He shows us himself, but surely the clarity of the vision makes our position in relation to him all the more difficult. At least before there was some justice in claiming ignorance as an excuse, but now we have been shown who we were meant to be and it makes our failure all the more clear. Jesus is "God's self-portrait", and he is a picture full of life, challenge and choice.

But that is only half the story. It is not just that in Jesus, God offers himself to the world but also that in Jesus our frail humanity is offered perfect back to God. Not only does God come among us and invite a response - he also makes the perfect response on our behalf. Every feeble, faltering and hesitant step of faith we make is caught up in the perfection of his faithfulness so that we are able with boldness to approach the throne of his grace. Not because we're good enough, but because he is.

He became what we are, that we might become what he is.