A Christmas Message of 2021
BEING BORN OF GOD
Gospel of John 1:
“ 12 … to all who did receive him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ………………………………………………………………………
What do we really want or should we want around Christmas, it is easy to answer, that be every day Christmas. The miracle of the Emmanuel event, that God is with us, should happen every day. And we need it not only as a Biblical metaphor, but a tangible, moreover physical reality, just as the child was born in a stable, as it is written that: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Real sign of a real child in a real town, called Betlehem.
We want that the world should change overnight, especially during Christmas Eve from a world of trials and tribulations to the prophesied kingdom of the Messiah, the realm of full peace and providence for all. Although the time is nearer and nearer to see it really happen, still it is unknown that when exactly the prophecies will be fulfilled in this regard. However, until that, there is a certain way to experience the reality of the every day Christmas and the ultimate Emmanuel miracle of the immanent Kingdom of God, exactly in our hearts.
Christmas in the heart, moreover every day. What could this possibly mean? In the fifth century, which era codified the Holy Trinity as we know it today, one of the pivotal Christian tenet came into acceptance of the Synods of the Church, that meanwhile Jesus is equally God, regarding God the Father, still in him he had his whole human nature fully united with his divinity. United, but not absorbed, united, but not disturbed, united, but not confused. Nonetheless, meanwhile Christians adore his divinity worldwide, we tend to ignore his equally full humanity, and this is maybe a mistake.
Since divinity and humanity had been perfectly united in him, only if we take both of his natures equally seriously, then can we arrive to some interesting biblical conclusions, especially around Christmas. Like according to his divinity, he has not ever been born, because God can not be born, as the essence of the eternal God, is eternal and can not be divided. As the Father has been around since for ever, then the Son and the Holy Spirit have been around also since for ever.
Thus, the Shepherds on Christmas Eve, according to the Gospel of Luke were not able to celebrate the birth of God, because God does not have a birthday, as it would be an oxymoron, but they celebrated the very incarnation of God into a human person, who happened to be Jesus, the son of Mary.
The human nature of this child, was completely human. According to the ancient creeds his humanity was a completely identical humanity to ours, except the sin. This is the very human nature, which caused, that this child could not have been descended from Heaven in his bodily form, but must have been born from a woman, called Mary, having the privilege to bear the Christ child under her heart. This is the human child, whose birth was prophesied by the Patriarchs and by the prophets, as it is written in the book of Isaiah:
“ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.”
And this gives us an other quite interesting biblical clue.
Because Jesus told Nicodemus that “Very truly I tell you, that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” The astonishing consequence of this statement, that the term “no one” includes Jesus as well, as he was a part of the human nation. Thus, as the first fruit of the resurrection among humans, Jesus, as the Son of Man, as he called himself, he also had to be born again after his first physical birth. As an adult, he also had to have the decisive touch of the Holy Spirit on him.
The old church tradition held, that exactly that happened at his baptism in the river of Jordan, as it was prophesied in the book of the Psalm that “the Lord said to me, that ‘You are my son. Today I have become your father.’ ” This prophecy is exacerbated also in the letter to the Hebrews, which says that “also Christ didn't glorify himself to be made a high priest, but he (God glorified him), who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your father."
Jesus was not a modern type faith general, commanding the soldiers to charge forward blindfolded on the battle field against all evils, but he is the real royal leader of the whole humanity, who said and keeps saying that please, follow me. And especially at Christmas, he keeps saying, that please, follow me and be born again.
The Gospel of John declares the extraordinary good news to all, that the people will have an astonishing connection to Heaven, those who follow Jesus, or rather walk with him hand in hand, just as Enoch had walked with God before, where Enoch was suddenly taken to Heaven. The Gospel of John says, that Jesus gave the true believers “the right to become the children of God, children who were not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
It means, that the people, who were born to Earth as children of their earthly parents, they have to be born again in faith by the Holy Spirit. And this is the ultimate Christmas event in the heart, that by the spiritual birth a new life in Christ is being born in the heart of the true believer, who becomes a child of God, in faith and in spirit.
Thus, the promises of GOD came into life in Jesus at the first Christmas, as it is written, that the Word became flesh. The child, born in a manger, tells us that the Christmas and the Emmanuel miracle, which means God is with us, did not stop on Christmas Eve.
The Christmas event commissions all the people, in every generation, and commissions us also these days to make everyday Christmas by being born again of the Holy Spirit in order to have Christ in our lives not only on the High Holidays, but every day and every hour.
We must be born again in order to make the external Christmas be immanent in us. The believers must also form communities of the faithful in order to embody the Kingdom of God, which obeys only the Christmas King. May Be gratitude and exultation given to God, that the divine King was born. May God make it happen that the Christ be born in our hearts, as well, to make the Christmas happen every day.
AMEN.
