A Christmas Baby

(This is the 4^th of a 4 part series on “Memories of Christmas”.)

John 1:1-14

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%201%3A1-14&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.         NIV

 

The Christmas story is so familiar that there’s a tendency to become immune to the amazing, miraculous story of the birth of Jesus; of the word made flesh. A tendency to be untouched by the truth of it all.

 

For many, Christmas is built on traditions. Within those traditions, there are many variations. For instance, do you put a star or an angel on the top of your tree? Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas day? Do you serve ham or turkey for Christmas dinner?

 

In addition, from about Thanksgiving until Christmas, and even the days following, when you fight the crowds returning gifts, your schedule can be very hectic. There’s office parties, church activities, family gatherings, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, getting a picture of your kids with Santa and so on.

 

Between the hectic pace, the commercialism and the routine, it’s easy to lose track of the reason for the season. So, how do you keep Christ in Christmas? What can you do next year to not lose track of what Christmas is truly about?

 

On a couple of occasions, our family attended some unique Christmas programs that

helped me to keep my focus. One such program was The Living Christmas Tree. Produced by a large local church, their choir would sing while standing on a 30 foot man-made Christmas tree. The program was complete with live animals and a real live baby Jesus.

 

Another program that we attended was called the Road to Bethlehem. There were various stations throughout the church with shepherds, wise men and Roman soldiers that lead up to the stable where Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus were. I still remember the baby crying when we entered the room. It was a real life reminder that Jesus was a baby just like this one.

 

Sometimes though, everyday life can remind us of the reality of Christmas. On December 14, my third grandchild was born - Josephine. She sat in her Mommy’s tummy for nine months until the time was right. Now she’s a beautiful baby girl that cries, eats and needs clean diapers.

 

Jesus was the same way. He sat in his Mommy’s tummy for nine months and then was born. But before that, He was the Word of God. And the word of God was made flesh at just the right time.

 

 

 

 

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Christmas is Magic

John 1:1-18 & 29

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A1-18%20&version=NIV;MSG

 

Christmas is magic. At least that’s how it seemed to me when I was a little boy. What other time of the year could you go to bed that night and the following morning find a tree brightly lit and decorated with gifts all around it? It was magic. But what makes it magical?

 

My parents had a nativity scene that one of us kids would place under the tree each

year. We would take our turn to decorate it as we saw fit. Wherever we wanted, we could place the shepherds, the wise men, the animals, but most importantly, the baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary.

 

Christmas is magic indeed, but not in the way an 8 year old boy thought. Listen to what John wrote:

 

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.            NIV

 

I like how The Message phrases verse 14:

 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

 

The Word, that is Jesus, became flesh and blood and moved into your neighborhood; into the house next door to you; maybe even into your house.

 

That’s more than the magic that I thought of as a little boy. When the creator takes residence in his creation, that’s supernatural! Who can do that? More importantly, why would he want to do that? John gives us the answer to these questions later in chapter 1.

 

²⁹ “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!     MSG

 

Christmas is about the Word who became flesh; who moved into your neighborhood so that your sins could be forgiven. Christmas is about the Lamb of God who was sacrificed to make it all happen.

 

That’s a lot for a little baby to carry on his shoulders. You might even say… that it’s magic.

 

 

 

 

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