Hope Incarnated in a World of Despair
A Christmas meditation
Christmas morning began very early in my childhood home. Our parents had only a few hours to assemble the toys that had to be ready by the time we woke them, usually around 5 a.m. It was one of numerous rituals of our family that I recall with considerable nostalgia.
No matter how impatient we were to attack the wrapped boxes or how difficult it was to wait for the arrival of a new bike from its hiding place, Dad always began the morning with a reading of the Luke 2 account of Jesus' birth. That practice has continued through the years, and our children have come to expect Grandpa to read the passage. When they and their cousins were younger, there were occasional sighs of "how long do we have to wait?" Now, as young adults who still have grandparents in their lives, waiting is not so challenging. There will surely come a time when they, and I, will miss hearing Grandpa read the Christmas story.
The "coming to earth" of Jesus is an essential tenet of the Christian faith. The idea that the God of the universe would come into our broken and fractured world, into our humanness, is preposterous to some and "good news" for others. The incarnation is, to followers of Christ, a unique expression of "God with us," offering implausible hope in the midst of a chaotic and dark world.
Our children's grandparents have not simply followed a baby Jesus left in a manger in Bethlehem. The Jesus of their faith called them to be disciples whose entire lives were shaped by a personal relationship to a living Lord. They understood, through baptism and church membership, that this Jesus called them to an allegiance that superseded all other commitments. Jesus invited them, and others, to walk a journey of faith that is liberating and demanding, exhilarating and challenging. It is a journey that knows both joy and sorrow.
Jesus invites His followers to live with integrity, calling us to the highest standards of individual behavior. Jesus also invites us to care for the poor, to love our enemies, to live a faith that is socially responsible. The ethics of the Sermon on the Mount are comprehensive. As a friend of mine frequently stated, "Jesus meant what he said, said what he meant, and he was talking to us."
It is all too tempting to relegate Jesus to the "sweet little boy in the manger," but such an approach is not faithful to what Jesus taught and how he lived. It is an inadequate interpretation of the Scriptures. Such is the legacy of our children's grandparents, and for that I am profoundly grateful.
Celebrating Jesus' birth in 2004 comes amid continuing conflict around the world. The very real fears that many experience on a daily basis makes it difficult to imagine the supposed tranquility of a quiet night in Bethlehem. Jesus came into a messed-up world precisely for the purpose of giving life and hope to those who would be His followers, indeed to all of God's children. Jesus offers, not an escape from appalling realities, but a way of living in hope despite the inclination toward despair.
"Joy to the world, the Lord has come!"
Loren E. Swartzendruber is president of Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va.
