The Cosmic Struggle of Christmas--Born of a Woman

Revelation 12, Luke 1:26-38, Galatians 4:4

Today's sermon enters into the mystery of the Incarnation. To "incarnate" means to give God flesh, it means for God to become human. In the birth of Jesus, our confession is that God became man and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

How this happens is one of the mysteries of the Christian faith. We call it the Virgin Birth, and so it was, but describing how such could occur from a biological perspective is beyond us. With God all things are possible (Luke 1:37).

In the sermon I reference the Calcedonian Creed. Bishops and church leaders and pastors met in the city of Caldedon (in what is present day Turkey) from October 8 to November 1, 451 AD, and continued to hammer out their understanding of what the Bible taught about the person of Christ, specifically around the issues of the incarnation. What was the relationship of the human nature and the divine nature that resided in the one body we call Jesus? It is a tough question. After centuries of Bible study, discussion, debate and discernment, the creed of Calcendon emerged, and it has satisfied most of the church. I say most, because to this day the Coptic Church (Coptic means Egyptian), does not endorse the creed but continues to define the union of the human and divine in Jesus in slightly different ways. Wikipedia has a good entry related to this creed and council.

The sermon also deals with the identity of the woman in Revelation 12. At first read it seem easy enough to say that she is Mary, the mother of Jesus. And that is true and is the position of most Catholic scholars. Revelation 12 goes on to mention that the woman flees to the desert for protection and is keep safe for 1260 days. Matthew tells us that the Holy Family went to Egypt to escape the hatred of Herod and that they remained there until they learned of Herod's death, and then returned to Nazareth where Jesus was raised. The Coptic Church tradition says the Holy Family stayed in Egypt for three and one half years (which is 1260 days). Today, numerous churches in Egypt mark the traditional sites associated  with this event. Read about it here. Though much of this is speculation and tradition, it is fascinating to consider what Mary and Joesph and Jesus experienced during this time period.

The bottom line is that the Incarnation enraged the Devil. Until then, every human being sinned and because they did, Satan laid claim to their lives. Now, in Jesus, a perfect human being emerges, one who would not sin, and thus Satan had no claim on his life. The Devil's powerful grip on humanity was broken. Things would never be the same again. Consequently, Satan makes every attempt possible to destroy Jesus.

In future weeks we will explore more fully the spiritual war that was and is raging around Jesus and our souls.

Thanks for digging deeper.

The Cosmic Struggle of Christmas--The Sign of the Times

Revelation 12:1-17

With this week we begin the Advent Season. Advent is the beginning of the Church Year and marks the four weeks preceding Christmas.

The Bible contains several accounts of the birth of Jesus. We remember the story of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem when they found no room for lodging and thus spent the night of Jesus' birth in a cattle stall. That account is in Luke 2 and forms the backdrop for the warm and cuddly Christmas Eve moments many of us hold dear. It is a great story.

Another account occurs in Matthew 1 and 2 where sometime after the birth of Jesus, while he and his family were still residing in Bethlehem, a caravan of strange men appear, coming out of the eastern lands of Persia. They are some kind of kings or astronomers or astrologists, priests in a pre-form of Zoroastrianism, and they worship Jesus as the new King of the Jews. Herod, the current King of the Jews, becomes paranoid and seeks to kill this newborn child, as he deems Jesus a threat to his throne. Mary and Joseph, after being warned in a dream about Herod's plan, take Jesus to Egypt for safe keeping, returning to Nazareth only after they learn of Herod's death (which occurred, by the way, in 4 BC).

Matthew's account lacks the warm fuzziness of Luke's and rather contains fear, evil, violence and tragedy. While we often feature the coming of the Magi in our Christmas narratives, we rarely talk about the murder of the innocent children by the tyrant King Herod. It does not make for good bedtime stories.

The Bible contains a third account of the birth of Jesus, though this one is not well known and rarely used during Advent. It occurs in Revelation 12 and will be the focus of our Advent celebrations this year. This account is more of a look at the birth of Jesus from the perspective of the spiritual realm. What was happening in cosmic struggle between good and evil on the night of Jesus' birth, and how did his coming change the spiritual landscape of our lives, especially from the perspective of the struggle between righteousness and evil. Follow this blog and my Advent sermons as we explore these questions.

Here are some sources you might enjoy. First of all, here is a rather good article (sermon) that outlines some interpretive principles necessary to understand the Revelation, and gives good background on the meaning of this part of John's vision. As always, there are a few fine points in the article to which I would take exception, but overall it is solid. It is written from a Protestant Reformed perspective and sees the woman as representing the entire nation of Israel and her children representing the Church. There is much truth in this, and it is the primary way this symbolism is understood by Protestants.

And here is a blog also works at understanding Revelation 12. This one is written by a Catholic writer and understands the woman as the Virgin Mary. There is also truth in this interpretation. Check it out, if you want to dig in deeper.

Thanks for digging deeper with me.