CHRISTMAS EVE 2020
     During Advent I read the book Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller. In the last chapter the author reflects on this passage from the New Testament book of 1 John: “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us . . . .“ (1 John 1:1-2). 
     Although this is not one of the familiar Christmas texts, the passage offers a concise explanation of what Jesus’ birth means. Jesus does not come into the world as just a role model for us to imitate; he comes as the source of  life to be shared. And he brought this new life into the world of space and time as we experience it, as a person others could see and touch and know. John uses the language of the court. He is speaking as an eyewitness swearing a deposition. He is testifying on behalf of his community: what you have heard about Jesus, these things did really happen. Our lives are different because of him, because in him we see God. Through Jesus God has made himself known to us, not from a distance but up close and personal. 
     Pr. Keller writes, “The claim in 1 John 1:1 that ‘our hands have touched’ him never ceases to amaze. How could the infinite become the finite, the extraordinary become that ordinary? Yet that is the very heart of the Christmas message — unimaginable greatness was packed into a manger. . . . Jesus was born not in a civic arena but in a stable. He did not go to live in a palace but was immediately made a homeless refugee. The guests at his birth were not A-listers but shepherds. [I] once heard a Christian speaker tell this story. During the halftime of a football game, he watched the Blue Angels precision flying team perform their daredevil feats at supersonic speed over the stadium. At the end a helicopter flew them from their landing field to the 50 yard line, where they disembarked to wild cheering, dressed in silver flight suits. The speak observed, ‘ If I were God sending my son into the world, that’s how I would have done it — with spectacular special effects, a cheering crowd, and of course those silver flight suits. But that is not how God did it.’ At every point Jesus defied the world’s expectations for how celebrities should act and how social movements should begin.” 
     The chorus of angels filling the sky and the arrival of wisemen from the East bearing costly gifts might well qualify as spectacular special effects, but they were fleeting. Mary is left pondering these things in her heart, while her son’s life unfolds with unspectacular ordinariness. So unremarkable, in fact, that the years between his birth and the beginning of his public ministry decades later are shrouded in silence.
     That ordinariness is off-putting. We look to those with worldly power and influence as the ones positioned to save us from our enemies and keep us safe. We admire those whose resources and wits make and keep them successful. They feed our hopes for ourselves. As for those who suffer misfortune or court failure, they embody our fears. At best we pity the losers; often we stand in judgment over them. 
     For a while it looked like Jesus would be one of the A-listers. The child whose birth we remember tonight grew up to be an influential person in his corner of the world. Although he was not a member of the ruling class or the social elite, he still taught as one who had authority and boldly confronted the hypocrisy of the establishment.  Jesus had a heart for those judged unacceptable in his community; he listened to the pleas of those seeking his help. He made a stir; he had a following, a cheering crowd even. But it didn’t last; the bottom fell out of his world. Jesus took risks and suffered devastating consequences. 
     This is not the road any of us would choose for ourselves, but it is one many of us know. Disappointment, loss, failure. The God made known to us in Jesus is not above and beyond these things. He is in the midst of them. God embraces the life of Jesus of Nazareth and through him the all too ordinary human experience of vulnerability. He deigns to touch the raw wound of our suffering and not turn away. He walks the valley of the shadow of death with us; he leads us through. His love for us is more powerful than death itself.
     On this holy night God is asking us to see our ordinary lives as God does. The baby in the manger assures us that they are precious in His sight. His story blesses ours with healing and hope. Amen.