In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
In Bethlehem love is displayed.
You might think that there is no news in that, that is pretty straight-forward right, everyone knows that. But remember, Christ loved us when we were his enemies…he loved us, not because we were his friends but to make us his friends, but it was going to cost Him dearly to do so, it could be done only, through sacrifice.
This is the irony of the love of God, it comes, not to those who loved HIM, but to those who did not. His love defies…it defies human reason, it defies human prejudice, it defies sin and pride. And in order for that to happen, Bethlehem had to see its purpose at Calvary.
We think we know what love really is and we think this because we are rightly critical of the way the world defines love. But perhaps we should be more careful. CS Lewis was very insightful when he said that goodness is more terrifying than we imagine. “After all, God is wild. Not like a tame lion, you know,” says Mr. Beaver of Aslan. Well, this is true of love as well.
When John says that God is love, if this does not strike in you a fearful mystery, then author Anthony Esolen says, then it is probably because you have tamed the Lion of love.
“We know what a tame lion will do: he will do what we want him to do. But if we call to mind the tremendous other-ness of God, we see that to love him and to be loved by him is to involve ourselves in a story over which we have no control…We are made to love the wild lion…” And to love His wild ways. (Esolen, 266)
Did the Lord love Mary, the mother of Jesus? Oh yes! She was highly favored by God she has a treasured place in heaven. But was this love safe for Mary? Did Mary tell God what this love would and would not do or did she merely receive from the loving hand of God what His love decided was to be?
Think about this for a moment: Did not the Lord lure you to Himself with love? Is that not why you are celebrating this Christmas morning? Not because you loved Him first, but because He loved you first? Is that not the case? Yet, how many of us, drawn by love as we were, have had the experience that love drew us in, and yet…in this life many have been made to suffer…many have been afflicted…How many of us before God loved you, or maybe I should say before we were awakened by God’s love…did NOT have to wrestle with sin like now we must? Oh maybe hide it from other people who would look down on us for it…but really, our sin, our living was not one of deep angst and struggle because of our love for righteousness! We just did what we wanted too and hoped no one would think too badly of us. But no more can we so live.
The world would say, well, if that is what being loved means then you should break off that love…that doesn’t sound so great…but we don’t do that, break off that love, do we? In fact, we would die first before we would ever break it off.
When we are asked, ‘why are you afflicted?’, we are right to say, because God loves me.
You might remember what Betsy Ten-Boom said in the concentration camp shortly before she was murdered by the Nazi’s when asked, “Why has your God put you in this camp?” And she responded, “To obey Him.” She had no doubt that she was loved, even in her affliction and she had no doubt that Love suffers all things.
Brothers and sisters, here is the bottom line: In our short-sighted, often self-centeredness, we want what we want but that is exactly what God, Who is love cannot allow…that is why He came to Bethlehem because all we did was want what we wanted and love put a stop to that! Love cannot allow us what we want because it will not be what we should want. Bethlehem fixes that.
From our perspective we are tempted to think that God is withholding love from us but that is completely wrong. He is loving us and from God’s perspective we are withholding from Him our entire heart, which is what Love demands…as He has fully loved us, keeping nothing back, so we are to fully love Him, keeping nothing locked away from Him. (Esolen)
As Mary and Joseph made their way to Bethlehem everyone thought that the big news was taxation…but in the reality of God’s love, God’s love for sinners, the beginning of the culmination of literally everything was being shaped in a cradle in a stall, in Bethlehem. The love seen in Bethlehem changes the world! This is the love that has and continues to change us!
Merry Christmas! Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King!
Prayer: This Christmas day, O gracious Father, may my heart be filled with joy and wonder at the depth of Your plan for the world and the love of the Savior to give Himself for its redemption! Help me to see, to hear, and to rejoice at the news, the King has come and done for His people what only He could do that we might live with You forever! Praise be to You my Go and Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
Hymn: Joy to the World