As Pastor Jym was preaching the first sermon in the advent series titled “Born to Die,” I was struck by the dark side of Christmas that we often overlook with sugar binges, happy carols, and holiday decorations. Sure, I know that Good Friday is only a few months away and that ultimately this little baby that we romanticize in that manger will be sacrificed for my sins, but when you stop and truly consider all that is going on in the incarnation, it is not just a feel good story. It is an indictment on all of humanity and its inability to fill its greatest need.
Sunday night I was pondering some of these things and found myself reading Isaiah 9:1-7, which is a tremendous passage on the theological implications of the incarnation given hundreds of years before the actual event. Two things in particular struck me. The first reality is that man was in darkness. Isaiah 9:1-2 tells us that “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” John echoes that same sentiment in the first chapter of his gospel account. We were in darkness and should God have remained hidden, there would be no hope at all. There was absolutely no possibility of us finding our way. We would have remained lost ships at sea headed straight for the rocky shoreline with no lighthouse to give warning. So as you drive around and see all of the lights that frame houses and adorn trees, stop and realize that they are theological and not just decorative. The Light of the World has come!
The second observation came in verse 6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” I think we ponder the first part of that verse far more than the second. The fact that Jesus was born does not really seem to threaten us, but the fact that he is a gift says something striking about the helplessness of mankind. It sounds good to package Jesus as a gift until you realize what it ultimately means for us. Imagine being someone who struggles with anger issues and then opening a gift certificate for ‘10 free anger-management classes.’ It would take a tremendous amount of humility to admit that you needed this gift and even more to be grateful for it. A statement is being made by the nature of the gift that is being offered.
That is where Christmas gets really dark. To accept the gift of this child means that you must admit you need it. It means that you realize that you are sinner, lost in darkness, an enemy of God and unable to save yourself. It means that you were without hope and needed God to break into the world and provide a way that you could not see and a gift that you could not earn. The fact that Jesus is a gift reminds us, yet again, that grace is not something we work toward. It is not something we deserve. It is the unmerited favor of God to sinners who had lost their way and who were stumbling in darkness. So, as you look at lights and exchange gifts, I encourage you to stop and ponder all that is conveyed in these traditions and what it says to us and about us…even the dark things.
