A Sinner Beholding the Incarnate Word of God

This is supposed to be my Christmas post, but with family in town and work (I work for a UPS Store, so business explodes around Christmas. And no, it is not our fault you didn't get your packages before Christmas or got stolen off of your front porch, like what happened to my new hockey pants...like that thieving jerk will ever use them!).  I usually got up around 9 AM, left for my grandparents house 45 minutes later, went to work (except on Christmas Eve and Christmas day), went back to my grandparents' house for dinner, and got home around midnight and hung out with whatever roommates were randomly home until 1 AM.  Thus, I did not have time to put my thoughts into Times New Roman until now.

Now, that paragraph should allude to the fact that I had quite a stressful couple weeks leading up to the celebration of the birth of Christ.  Pretty much since the second week of December, every external stressor decided to bolster its presence, and then family arrived, and whatever time my introversion had to recharge me was gone.  The external stress was building, causing made my internal stress from dealing with my brokenness come to the surface, and eventually caused me to compound both issues through self-defamation.  By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, my ire was one tiny spark from becoming full-blown rage.  And, that small mistake was me not calling ahead to reserve a spot for pick-up hockey that morning.  Any inanimate object and slow driver for the following 20 minutes were now the objects of my wrath--hockey equipment thrown into my trunk, trunk slammed, driver's side door slammed, speed limits scorned, lane changes hasty, and F-bombs thrown around with a liberality that would make a sailor take offence.

Thankfully (or perhaps not), time with my extended family means there is enough food, soda, and television to drown out most issues.  When there is a basketball or football game on, you're usually watching intently and stuffing your face or sleeping off what you already ate.  This would have been the case for the rest of the night, until we had to go to Catholic mass--and, I mean had; this was a "command performance."  For someone who disagrees with much of Catholic theology and has not a small bit of resentment toward the entire denomination, that is not the ideal place for Angry-Me to be.  Quite honestly, this blog post almost was almost an incendiary outrage over how "ignorant" a lot of people who claim to be Christians are about the holiday, with the minimalist Catholic who only goes to church for Christmas and Easter being in my cross-hairs, along with the Fox News-loving "Keep 'Christ' in Christmas" crowd, and those responsible for the commercial-bastardization of the holiday (can't you just feel the anger and resentment that percolating in those words?).

The resentment came to a head when I read a little note inside the hymnal saying who is welcome to take communion.  It listed a handful of denominations other than Catholic that were allowed to partake--presumably the ones which also believe that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper are transubstantiated into His true Body and Blood.  Southern Baptist was, unshockingly, left off the list.  I didn't care (nor did my mother)--no pope or priest was going to get between me and my Lord's Table, especially since these Catholics are the ones who have it wrong.  Enter Holy Spirit: "'If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.'  You will be more rebellious in partaking in Communion than in abstaining from it.  Kill your anger--find your communion with Me in your spirit."

Humbly and thankfully, I repented of my rebellious spirit, took the focus off of myself, and put it on the Christ Child.  In spite of all the shopping, culture warring, and religious platitudes, Christians celebrate the incarnation of God Himself, taking the weak form of a human being in this broken world, and truly becoming Emmanuel.  The implications of such an event are astounding to say the least.  El Elyon--God Most High--laying down low with sinners, born to be the ransom of many.  The Messiah, called "Yahweh Saves," lays in a manger.  The One born of a woman that would crush the skull of the Serpent and was prophesied throughout the history of Israel was now here.

As I soaked this in, my mind jumped to one of the people that may go overlooked during the Christmas season.  We all focus on Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, and the like, but there was a man, about a month after that night, who rejoiced over the God-Child.  His name is Simeon, a righteous and devout man (Luke 2:21-35), who was at the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was a mere 40 days old.  He was a man who knew and rested upon the promises of the Lord, awaited the consolation of Israel, and was told that he would have the blessing of seeing the Christ before he died.  On that sovereignly-appointed day, this old man took the Eternal Son of God in his arms, and sung a hymn of praise.

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
according to Your Word;
for my eyes have seen Your Salvation
that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to Your people Israel.”

All of the promises that Simeon had heard since he was a boy raised in the Jewish faith was now laying in his hands.  The One greater than Moses, the Wonderful Counselor, the Branch of Jesse, the Son of David, the Son of God-- now an infant child in his embrace.  I envy his ability to be so enthralled with the promises of God when I am rendered stagnant by disappointment or feel like I need to punish myself for my sin.  But Simeon sings that he his beholding in his eyes and holding in his hands my Salvation, the Great Light that shone to reveal the true God to this Gentile who once walked in darkness.  It is far too easy for us to fall into the chaos of the Season, to try to defend the meaning of it, or even idealize it and wonder why we don't seem so joyous during "the most wonderful time of the year."  Yet, whatever man-made joy and disappointment come crashing down at the Manger, as we marvel at Him, "the fullness of God in helpless babe."  While Christmastime is a time of giving and celebrating with friends and family, we must not forget to behold the Word who took on flesh, and dwelt among us.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King!