God coming to us

Old Testament : Mic. 5:1-9 Psalm : 89:1-4, 19-29 Epistle : Rev. 21:1-5 Gospel : Jn. 1:1-14

 

Verse for meditation:

 

“The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

God has sent his son Jesus Christ to this world for the redemption of the whole creation. Before the birth of Christ on this earth God has declared this through his prophets. This is found in the Old Testament texts for today (Is. 32:1-20; Ps. 8:1-4, 19-29). Jesus Himself claimed that it is written about him in the Psalms and in the books of the prophets and in the laws of the Jewish people (Lk 24:44; Jn. 5:39). The birth of Christ, His ministry, death, resurrection, ascension and the second coming – all are already prophesied. The birth of Christ is a unique and the greatest event of history, the incident of God coming down to intervene in human history. A God who is spirit and not visible to necked eyes came to this world as a person in form. It would be good to meditate upon the divine purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ. He came to save sinners, to preach the good news of the inauguration of the kingdom of God and the message of deliverance. As Saint John says, he came to destroy and put an end to the works of Satan. And finally Jesus came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

1. To save the sinners (Mic. 5:1-9)

Jesus came to save the sinners as prophesied to Judah, the smallest clan, Bethlehem Ephrata (Mic. 5:2). Micah prophesied during the time of B.C 742 – 687. He was a contemporary of Hosea, Amos and Isaiah. He prophesied the seriousness of the judgment that is to happen to them due to their sin, the sons of Samaria (Mic. 1:5-7) and Judah (19-16) who declares the final blessings, the coming and rule of the Messiah. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph prior to the birth of Jesus as follows: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Paul records that ‘Christ has come to save the sinners’ (1 Timo. 1:15-17). All the synoptic gospels witness the words of Jesus, “I have come to call for repentance not the righteous but the sinners (Matt. 9:12, 13; Mk. 2:1; Lk. 5:31, 32, 19:10). The prime message of Jesus is, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Lk 19:10). The message of Christmas is the message of the forgiveness of sin.

2. To preach the Kingdom of God (Ps. 89:1-4, 19-29)

The Old Testament depicts Christ as a king who does his ministry with an ever lasting anointing. “I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure” (Ps. 89:27-29). Jesus declared that he has come to preach the gospel (Lk 4:43; Mk. 1:38). The main content of the preaching of Jesus was kingdom of God. Jesus divided the history of the world into two as the time of the law and the prophets up to John the Baptist and then the time of preaching of the gospel (Lk. 16:16). Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but it is justice and peace and the joy of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Kingdom of God is the sharing of justice, peace, truth, joy and care for others. If such a status will arrive, there will be no one in the society without food, water and clothing. That is why Jesus taught that you seek first the kingdom of God and all these will be there for your (Matt. 6:33). We should remember the words of Isaiah that He will not falter or be discourage till he establishes justice on earth (Is. 42:4). Jesus declared to Pilot that his kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36, 37). Jesus taught his disciples to pray always without ceasing “Let thy Kingdom come”. Thus, the message of Christmas has become the message of the kingdom of God.

3. For a total deliverance (Rev. 21:1-5)

In this text though we find the reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ, these verses imply the main message as a total deliverance that He gives to his people “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk. 4:18, 19). The reference that we find in Lk. 4:18,19 which has been quoted by Jesus from Isaiah, has became Jesus’ famous vision of the Nazareth ‘Manifesto’ turned into the message of Christmas.  The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

 To preach deliverance to the captives.

 To preach sight to the blind.

 Setting free the intimidated people.

 Preaching the year of message of the Lord.

When we put together these five messages the majority of them talk of the liberation that it is not only spiritual but also physical, social and moral. Thus the message of Christmas becomes the message of a total deliverance.

4. To topple down evil forces (Ps. 89:1-4, 19-21)

As said earlier when the kingdom of God is established the evil forces need to be toppled down. The constant fight of Jesus against the evil forces during his earthly ministry is seen in the words of John when he says ‘the son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 Jn. 3:8). All strictness and forms of oppression need to be demolished. Then only the work of the kingdom of God will start. Jesus said, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28).

5. The word became flesh and came to us with full of Grace (Jn. 1:1-14).

Christ is the word incarnate when commandments, religion and law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ to the world. It was given as ‘grace upon grace’. It is the grace of ministry and committed servanthood. The selfless word Jesus says, “The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many”, is the message of Christmas. “I am coming to do your will” (Heb 10:9). He appealed to God through these above words and took upon himself the horrible cross and demonstrated the selfless nature of God. Therefore, Peter preached that God has sent him that every one should turn away from wicked ways (Acts 3:26). The message of Christmas is the message of ministry and self denial.  

Prayer:

  Eternal God, Who has sent His only Son to the smallest of the towns in Judah, to bring peace to the whole world, Grant us the grace to recognize Him, receive Him and believe in Him, as the Word, incarnated and lived among us full of grace and truth, so that we would become Your children, always living with You. Through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever more.  

Amen.