by Zach Kincaid
The Christmas story is a puzzle, pulling together whispers from old rabbis–rumors lifted from dusty scrolls–with the surprise of shepherds and singing heavenly hosts. It sows prophecy to fact, theology to gravity, eternity to time, holy to pedestrian.
The story burst outwards in a paradox that shames the wise in understanding and humbles the fool in surrendering. No wonder the angelic hosts passed right by Jerusalem, not stopping to find a young Nicodemus, a still younger Saul of Tarsus, or an ever-stubborn Annas. They would have their moments of choosing later.
Perhaps the struggle with Zechariah some months earlier gave the angels little confidence for preacher-types and their ability to free their own arrogance long enough to listen. No. This would be a precursor to Jesus’ wedding feast parable, and the angels went to the backwoods of Judea, the highways and byways, to muster up an audience with God now incarnate.
But the providential invitation that unfolds on the first night of Christmas reopens every year as we put together our season’s trappings – the ornaments, lights, tree, stockings, and manger scene. As we spice the air with cinnamon and cardamon, gather around the fireplace, and wrap up for a cold winter’s night, our senses renew. Certainly, some of our Christmas longings are packaged in a culture far removed from Bethlehem. That adds to the puzzle. But, the human heart hasn’t changed, and our trappings are, in part, expressions of our longing, want, and hope.
If we read again the stories of Scripture, we realize that the highways and byways are where God finds us - in the wilderness, in our loneliness, in our noise and frustration. And so, we return to the puzzlement of Christmas. Do we wear masks that hide our real emotions and true depravity? Are we trying to be smart, mighty, hip, or clever with how we present ourselves to a watching world or a jealous God? Perhaps the angelic message won’t even prick our hearts. Perhaps we are comfortably smug and plan to stay that way.
Let us remember what God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26).
May we pray for that to be us.