Church of the Holy City

The Christmas Story

The Christmas Story
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
Christmas Eve, 2008

The Christmas story is about one of the most basic experiences known to man. It is a story about a mother and her baby. It is about the birth of new life into this world. And as all parents can testify to, there is always something miraculous about the birth of a baby. When a baby is born, its parents have participated with the creative energy of the universe. It is cooperation with the same creative power that made the moon and stars; that made the galaxies and planets, and that makes new life come into this world.
The Christmas story is about a helpless, innocent baby, as all babies are helpless and innocent. This innocent baby suckled at his mother’s bosom. This baby needed his mother’s care. And this baby needed his mother’s love.
The history of Christianity has been dominated by men. Church priests and magistrates in its hierarchy have traditionally been men. And even in much of Jesus’ life story, men dominate. The twelve Apostles were men, and Jesus himself was a man.
But in the Christmas story, it is all about Mary and Jesus. The Christmas story is a story about a woman and her baby. It is about the miracle that only women know—the miracle of giving birth. The Catholic Church has made Mary a saint. And while Protestants have done away with the notion of saints, there is much to be said for the privileging of Mary as a feminine, mother figure in Christianity. In a tradition dominated by men, it makes sense to me to hold up this unique birthing power that only women have. And the bond between mother and child is perhaps one of the most powerful and fundamental bonds humans know.
Joseph is, of course, part of this story. But Joseph is really only a minor character. And in all the great works of art that celebrate the Christmas story, you see Mary and Jesus in the foreground, in the center, and Joseph is standing back, looking at the Madonna and child. After Jesus’ infancy, Joseph disappears from the Gospel stories, although Mary comes back in several places—notably during the crucifixion.
Yes, the Christmas story is about a mother and her baby. But it is about something much more profound than even the miracle of birth. It is about the miracle of God’s love. It is a mystery, it is a challenge to our rationality, and it is a stumbling block to many. The Christmas story is about God coming to humanity. It is about a God whose love for us was so great that He came to us in a form we could understand. It is about God’s incarnation, and the Latin root for “incarnation” means, “in flesh”. It is about God coming in the flesh.
Although I have just spoken about the basic human experience of mother and child, there is something exceptional about this mother and child. This child was not born of a mortal father. The Gospel account tells us that the Holy One of Israel and the Power of the Most High impregnated Mary, by her consent. And in those Gospel accounts that treat of Mary, Jesus never refers to Mary by the word “mother.” He always calls her, “woman.” Although born of Mary, and although like all babies Jesus needed his mother’s care, as His life progressed Jesus grew ever more fully into the Divine Man of his origin.
Jesus was born as a helpless baby in need of his mother’s care and love. And this tells us much about God’s love. God laid down his infinite power and took on a frail human form to come to us. Because God doesn’t demand love from us, he asks it of us. And in coming to us, God did not come as an all-powerful emperor such as Caesar. God did not come in a form that would demand fear and awe. God came to us as one of us. In his human form, God came to us to invite our love. He made Himself subject to the complete human condition. And even as God incarnate, we know from the Easter story, that Jesus would be subject to the ultimate human condition of death.
So as you go home this evening and meet with your families and friends, leave with the Christmas story in mind. Keep mindful of that miraculous birth 2000 years ago. And how God’s love was so powerful that He came to us, as one of us, to bring heaven to earth in His own person. Be mindful that God is still inviting us to come to Him. Know that love can never force itself upon those it loves. And that is why God, when He came to bring His love to us, took on the vulnerable form of a helpless baby. A baby nurtured by a loving mother. That is the essence of the Christmas story: a mother’s love for her baby, and God’s love for humanity. I’ll close with a poem sent to all the Council of Ministers by Chris Laitner, President in the Swedenborgian Church of the United States and Canada. It was written by Christina Rosetti and the poem has been set to music:

Love came down at Christmas;
Love all lovely, Love divine.
Love was born at Christmas.
Stars and angels gave the sign.