Birth, crucifixion, resurrection or Pentecost?

If you ever want to get your head round all the different groups there are in Christianity, try the following exercise. Look at any church stream and try to gauge which part of the life of the Lord Jesus is the main inspiration of its followers. It will either be His birth, His death, His resurrection or the sending of His Holy Spirit. (There may be groups that focus on the Ascension or on Jesus’ earthly life, of course. But these and any others will probably be subsumed under one or other of the Big Four.)

Of course, spokespersons for each church stream will be careful to insist that Jesus’ birth isn’t everything (nor His crucifixion, nor whatever else it happens to be). To hold that opinion would, they realise, be heresy and error. Heresy actually means “picking and choosing” – highlighting the doctrines you like and ignoring the rest. That will not do for any church that places itself in the Christian mainstream. A church with an “incarnational” mindset, in whose eyes Christmas is the time of year when we really get into the heart of God, will be very careful to give Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost due weight as well. Typically this point of view would be held by Catholics and by many in the Church of England.

Yet somehow those stressing the incarnation always come back to the amazing truth that God was born as a human being – that He became incarnate in our world. It is, they affirm, an amazing condescension on the part of the everlasting God that He should voluntarily limit Himself to the straight-jacket of our time and space. Though His existence is from all eternity and to all eternity, He let Himself be tied down to a precise period in human history. An ancient statement of Christian belief states that Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate”. Pilate is a real historical figure. We have specific dates when he was in charge of Judaea: 26-36 AD.

Whatever part of Jesus’ career we lay stress on, we can all agree that His incarnation is a comfort beyond measure. For many of us, time hangs heavy. The frail elderly person in slow decline, battling pain and loss of powers, may long for her release from this earth as day follows uncomfortable day. The addict may wonder how many more days and nights he will have to endure where he must stifle his craving. The long-term prisoner dare not mark the passage of time overly closely; it is too depressing to think about. Time is a pitiless master.

Now I agree that the Lord Jesus did not have to endure suffering in quite the same ways or for quite the same extended periods as the people I have mentioned above. As far as I know, He had no catastrophic illness, no addiction and no lengthy imprisonment. He died in His prime, like the casualties of war who grow “not old as we that are left grow old;/age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn”. Yet His sufferings were on a divine scale. I cannot begin to imagine what an infinity of suffering went into those three hours on the cross. He absorbed suffering not just as man but as the God who could take charge of any and every situation in the universe if He chose. To refrain from retaliating, moment by moment, takes a humility and a self-restraint that I cannot fathom.

The letter of Hebrews puts the implications across in superb fashion: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Perhaps the late Poet Laureate John Betjeman captures the incarnational spirit as well as any mortal can, in his Christmas poem:

… And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all,

Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,

A Baby in an ox's stall?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,

No carolling in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare -

That God was man in Palestine

And lives today in Bread and Wine.

Many lights, one Light

At this time of year it is common to see great arrays of Christmas lights festooning the outside of people's homes. I can't remember this being the case when I was a child. The occasional enterprising householder might put a string of coloured standard light bulbs on a tree in the garden, but that was about as far as it went.

Nowadays many homes spend fortunes on illuminations specially manufactured for this season of the year: lights that blink on and off; lights making Santa or star shapes. Sometimes they are intended to attract a wider audience than just family, neighbours or passers-by. They may be a spectacle that folk come from a distance to admire. Visitors will often be encouraged to give something to a good cause if they appreciate the display.

Personally I don't quite know what to make of it all. It could express joy or exuberance or just an urge to cheer up the long dark nights.

A recent article by Our Daily Bread writer Julie Ackerman Link helped me make better sense of this new phenomenon. She spoke of one such display in her neighbourhood, a spectacular one to which many neighbours contributed. She commented:

“The sound-and-light display is so elaborate that it requires a network of 64 computers to keep everything synchronized.

“When I think about these holiday lights, I am reminded of the Light that makes Christmas a holiday for many — a single Light so bright that it illuminates the whole world with truth, justice, and love. This Light — Jesus — is everything that the world is longing and looking for (Isaiah 9:2,6-7). And He has told His followers to display His light so that others will see and glorify God (Matthew 5:16).

“Imagine if Christians worked as hard at shining and synchronizing the light of God’s love as the families of that neighborhood work when they illuminate their street with Christmas lights.”

This makes sense to me. We should point others not to superficial pinpricks of light but to the great Light of truth, our Saviour Jesus. How badly people need a reliable truth source today! Lies and half-truths are found on every side and at all levels, from heads of state to local families. Even churches, that are supposed to be the foremost bodies to represent Jesus Christ, are not without their lying and devious leaders. Spiritual darkness seems to brood and to reign supreme in many corners, as though it were midwinter all year round.

Of course, when all is said and done, the sun is always shining even when we cannot see it. It takes faith to keep believing that the light is there even though all around seems to be darkness.

Jesus is the true light of the world. John 1:5 reminds us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” He, the living Word, was of a piece with the written word of God, the Bible. Psalm 119:105 gives credit to that word as light: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Quotes are from the ESV.) What a comfort and an assurance it is to walk in the light of Jesus Christ! “I am the light of the world,” He announces. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Just a final sobering thought: the light is not there just to attract and intrigue us like fairy lights. It is truth and love, but it judges us too. John 3:19: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.”