“Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness.”
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and Jana Riess. God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.
Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 1:46–55.
Abba,
My father once observed that no offspring of any living creature remains as dependent upon their parents for as long as a human child does. Animals in the wild birth their babies and see those babies reach independence MUCH faster than a child of man. Children are utterly dependent upon their parents or another adult well into teen years and often beyond.
This is a powerful observation, one that ought to be applied to Your coming as a babe, Jesus. You came in the most helpless and lowliest manner possible. You did not come as a full grown adult, mighty and powerful. You came as a helpless and needy babe. One who remained dependent upon his earthly parents for a long time. For you, God in time, it must have felt like an eternity. Course, in Your perfection, You certainly would not have railed against it, but I imagine it must have been…odd for You. Almighty, omnipotent God…lowly and needy. Dependent and helpless.
This manner of coming…
…how are we truly to embrace the significance of it? ALMIGHTY GOD, being made low.
No.
Willingly making Himself, Yourself low.
For me.
For us.
To do what had to be done SO THAT You could offer us a way back to Yourself. So that You could show us Yourself.
Indeed…this is why Bonhoeffer’s words ring so powerful and true. The ONLY true stance in light of this truth is one of humble bowing, bending the knee, and checking all pretense of our self worth at the door. There is no worth, no wealth, no honor, no power, no position, no success, no approval that can surmount the glory of God in a manger.
But…
Until we, until I check those things at the door, I will never fully appreciate the weight of an infant in a manger, come for me.
The true depth of my ability to delight in You and enjoy intimacy with You is found in a humble stature.
Hmm, is this not also true of all relationships? The more self righteous and self focused I am, the less I am able to enjoy deep and intimate relationships. The more humble my heart, the more I are free to know and delight in others as You intend.
This is profoundly true in my relationship with You. My ability to know and enjoy intimacy with You is in direct proportion to the stature of my heart.
Grant then, that my heart be humble in order that I might delight more in You and revel in the mystery of Your being. Grant that I would come humbly and lowly matching the stature of Your own heart and being. Make me like You.
I love You, Abba.
Amen.
A Singular Passion 