Skip to main content

Our Advent Redeemer

After a few days of travel, I wanted to return to some of my Advent musings.  As I traveled I kept "musing" on the announcement of the angels to the Shepherds on that glorious night when Christ was born that the child is Christ the Lord, our Savior.  In the account of Luke the angels declare who Christ is:

Luke 2:7 - 11
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.   
 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the fieldkeeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to themand the glory of the Lord shone around themand they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear notfor beholdI bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is 
born this day in the city of David a Saviorwho is Christ the Lord.
 

In the newest version of Catechisms, the New City Catechism, Who is the (which I highly recommend reading) asks the question:  Who is the redeemer? 

The answer:  The only redeemer is the lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin himself. 

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

John Chrysostom was a 4th to 5th-century Christian church leader - a Bishop in the city of Constantinople - at that time a leading city in the Christian church.  He has been referred to as "the golden mouth" for his ability to articulate so beautifully and clearly the glories of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As I read some of his writings over the last 40 years, I've been struck by the depth of his theological reflections that became practical in their application.  On the coming of Christ at his birth and what it means for us that Christ was born as a redeemer, John Chrysostom wrote:

 "The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt. . . . The Ancient of days has become an infant. 

He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal (meaning not visible in form), now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners is now bound by an infant’s bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.
For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit, and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He may save me.  (From Christmas Morning in Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, vol 1, Preservation Press)

Here is what I want us to remember.  Our redeemer was born to the Virgin Mary to be both God and man.  The eternal son of God, is the word became flesh.  Yet, not as Adam who was created as a fully grown man, but rather as a baby who suckled at his mother's breast and kicked little legs as he was cleaned and changed.  Who began to walk and learned to eat on his own.  

Jesus is called "the redeemer" because he "re-deems" us.  I remember as a child my Mother saved stamps from grocery shopping, and after having a full book of stamps she took them to the story to "redeem" them.  We gave the full stamp book to the owner and in exchange my mother got something of value in return.  

Jesus came to give himself in exchange for our life.  He is our Redeemer. He took away Adam's curse and "deemed" our value as God's creation a second time. Without his life and death, our value would have remained as "sinners" alienated from God; but, Christ Jesus took our place.  

The infant born to the virgin Mary, and Joseph, that night in Bethlehem, 2000+ years ago, is "our Savior, which is Christ the Lord".  We need to let that sink in... "Unto US, a child is born".  It is not just that Christ came into the world, but he came for US, for you, for all who would put their trust in him as their Savior.  The announcement the angels made that night was not to a King, or a ruler, or a wealthy land-owner, but to peasant shepherds who drew night duty watching over their sheep.  There are no insignificant people - you are not insignificant.  To US a child is born, to US, a Son is given.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime.  But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing.  God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next.  He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly.  He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but let us not forg

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad