Christmas Meditations*

22 December 2011 | Donna Haerich

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As a young mother, I would often sing my baby to sleep with the song about Jesus blessing the children.

     “I think when I read that sweet story of old,
     When Jesus was here among men,
     How he took little children as lambs to his fold,
     I should like to have been with him then.”

Tears would come to my eyes whenever I got to the part in the song which said,
“I wish that his hands had been placed on my head, that his arms had been thrown around me” and I would imagine the feel of Jesus arms around me, holding me as I held my child.

Those times, alone in the dark cradling my infant child, were times when I also wondered what it would have been like to hold and nurse the son of God. How blessed was Mary to feel the touch of his tiny hands pressed against her breast and his mouth attached to her nipples. Jesus was a real baby, as real as the child I held in my arms.

This is the pledge that God will fulfill His word. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”

It was the first Christmas after becoming a mother that the significance of those familiar words, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” dawned on me. That little baby in the manger, Mary’s infant, was also my baby, he was my son too!

To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave His only-begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain His human nature.

Today my firstborn is grown and lives 3,000 miles away; my daughter is married with a family of her own. Age and time do not alter our relationship. He is still my dear son, my baby boy; she is still my precious and beautiful little girl.

By taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken.

Thorough the eternal ages He is linked with us.

Looking back, it was not only the infant days I treasure in my memory, it was those many childhood experiences when my children and I connected in serious one-on-one talks, especially when confined together in a car. Driving to and from school we would discuss the current day’s activities, our plans for tomorrow and their dreams of the future.

During those “hidden years in Nazareth” I’m pretty sure Jesus and Mary had many long conversations about his role and mission in life. I believe he shared with his mother his consuming passion to teach and to minister to his people. Perhaps when Jesus finally left home he asked Mary to come with him.

We know that early on in his public ministry, Jesus’ earthly family came to see him. (Mark 3:20-35, Luke 11:14-28) Concerned for his safety and well being, they came to encourage him to come home. A woman in the crowd upon recognizing Jesus’ mother spoke up and pointed Mary out to everyone. “Blessed is the woman who bore you and the breasts that you sucked!”

Jesus, I believe, made eye contact with his mother and looking directly at her said, “The truly blessed person is the one who hears God’s voice speaking to them and responds.”

Jesus knew how much Mary could contribute to the small group of men and women who had chosen to follow him. The ambivalence Mary had experienced about Jesus’ mission gave way to commitment. She left her home in Nazareth and joined the group of women who followed Jesus and ministered to his needs. As his disciple, Mary’s relationship with Jesus now became even closer and more intimate than it had been before.

In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.

It was during that same encounter, that Jesus clarified his familial ties. As to the question of kinship Jesus responded, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound together, Christ glorified is our brother.

When we do God’s will, Jesus sees us as his brother and sister and He is not ashamed to acknowledge us as family. When I do God’ will, Jesus sees me as his sister and mother. And he is not ashamed to call me mother!

Jesus very first thought upon rising from the tomb on Sunday morning was to reassure his followers that he was still one with them. “Go tell my brothers and sisters,“ he said to Mary, “that I am ascending to myFather and your Father. Go tell them we are still family! “

God has adopted human nature in the person of His son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the “Son of Man” who shares the throne of the universe… Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love.

*The words in italics are all taken from a paragraph on page 25 in the book “The Desire of Ages.”

David JIB - Thu, 12/22/2011 - 13:45

“In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.”

Donna, I just cannot envision this concept. It sounds wonderful but in actuality fallen humans are many times over worse than the un-fallen. The un-fallen have no disease, experience loss of honor, nor are they killed in war and natural disasters. They do not need to live by Faith Alone languishing in prison or suffering from unremitting pain, depression or disappointment.

Fallen beings are cut off from direct communication, whereas un-fallen are privileged to see the face of God. They live in peace and harmony while surrounded by love and kindness. Tell this to billions of India’s untouchables for the last several centuries, to the Jewish women and children in Germany during WWII, or to a woman forced into female circumcision. Who can say humanity at large is closer to God then if Adam & Eve never fallen? In honesty, this is not true.

Gio Marin - Thu, 12/22/2011 - 14:05

Shouldn't the title be Christmas Meditation and not Mediation? Or am I missing something.

Typo. Fixed now. Thank you. - website editor

Donna Haerich - Thu, 12/22/2011 - 14:34

Before the incarnation, God was only "other". He dwelt in unapproachable light. In Christ, God is one the human family. He has experienced the consequences of humanness in all its horror. And when we approach God - we do so knowing that he fully understands our weaknesses.

Fallen human beings are NOT cut off from God - they never have been! His voice has gone out unto the whole world, there is no speech nor language where his voice is not heard. He is the light that lighteth everyone born into this vale of tears. He is present with the untouchables, the marginalized, the outcast. He suffers along side of all fallen humanity. A bruised reed he will not ignore, a flickering wick he will not quench.

At the cross the curtain was drawn back to reveal the hurt that has been in God's heart since the inception of sin. While humans may have left God, he never left us. While we were created in his image, created to be his children, in Christ, he is our child . Christ, "who was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death." Now it is "our son" sits on the throne of the universe.

It is in this sense that we are closer to him than we were before sin. Jesus said to call God, Daddy, and Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers & sisters.

Carrol Grady - Thu, 12/22/2011 - 16:22

It is through our experience as a mother - or a father - that we begin to understand how great is God's love for us - and that is what He intended in giving us children. Yes, I have also wondered what it would have been like to be Jesus' mother.

Karen Ritz - Thu, 12/22/2011 - 19:12

Thank you so much for a most moving Christmas reading. Thank you for all the artilces you have written for Spectrum this year. Your insights are deeply appreciated.

lorenseibold@am... - Fri, 12/23/2011 - 16:53

Beautiful meditation, Donna. Thanks!

Jeff Mayer - Fri, 12/23/2011 - 17:38

Thank you, Donna, for the inspiration that your writing has given me, not this time only, but from many of the other articles you have written as well. Your articles are refreshing and I look forward to reading them every time I see them. Your writing and the writing of Jim Coffin are always enjoyed with their balance and fairmindedness.

Merry "Christ"mas everyone!

Jeff

Tom Zwemer - Fri, 12/23/2011 - 18:35

Only a mother with literary skills and a life time of Christian love, could write as you have Donna. .What great experience projected into an analogy we can all enjoy. Tom Z

Uniformity First - Fri, 12/23/2011 - 20:29

This article reads well alongside The Tree Of Life (movie).

Herold Weiss - Fri, 12/23/2011 - 20:37

Donna:

Thanks for your moving reminder that experience is what gives theology authority. No theological exposition of the incarnation can have the authority of your beautiful meditation.

Herold

Graeme Sharrock - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 15:47

Donna
I continue to be impressed with both your courage and your compassion. The Christmas story asks us to believe that there is no separation between divine Being and human Being. If the divine can become human, then the human can become divine. Its the resolution of opposites that is at the heart of all spirituality in the name of love. I don't think that the masculine viewpoint can comprehend this as well as the feminine. I'll take your word for it!

Graeme

Graeme Sharrock - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 15:57

David.

I look at it this way. Maybe those who can't believe that, as a result of sin and redemption, humanity and divinity could be closer than otherwise have never seen the power of reconciliation. We know this so well on the human level. Here's two examples. When enemies become friends, when alienation must be overcome, when forgiveness is required and emotional healing takes place, the bond created is stronger than if the break had never occurred. Bonds are also strengthened when parties experience a "near loss". A family that goes through a car accident or unexpected close encounter with illness become stronger and closer. Does this help?

Graeme

Beverly Kirby - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 17:03

Thank you Donna

David JIB - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 17:05

“In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.” (DA)

Donna Haerich, thank you for explaining yourself, I like it where authors respond to comments. I think I understand what you mean. You believe that humanity is closer to Divinity due to the fact that God became our “elder brother” in humanity. This truth reveals the heart of God and his good will toward sinful human beings.

What is not coherent to me is the EGW statement “more closely united to God if we had not fallen.” This theology is similar to Mormonism. They teach the entrance of sin was God’s plan for human progress. Now, if we are closer to God due to the fall—what is the difference?

I agree with you, humanity is not cut off from God, but we are not walking in warm security of the Garden of Eden either. Granted God suffers alone side of humankind and God is united to us through his adopted humanity, but this does not stop rape, genocide, or murder of a believers. I know of a young SDA academy girl that was raped and lost her faith due to disappointment with God’s promised love and care. To this day, she is a bar tender.

Tell the Russians during the Siege of Leningrad, they are closer to God then Adam who had “never fallen;” where 1,500,000 (many believers) soldiers, civilians, women and children died of starvation and bombardment.

The truth is, as I see it, through the incarnation God showed courage in moving into humanity (Christmas story), but 2,000 years later not much has changed, humanity is no closer to God now as compared to Adam in Eden. I’d trade places with Adam any day.

MMStevenson - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 18:19

Donna, thank you for a lovely Christmas meditation. My children are grown now, too, but I remember so well when they were little; I often thought of how it must have been for Mary and for the infant and child Jesus. I am so thankful that God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to find and save us, to be "Emmanuel, God with us".

However, I must agree with David about Ellen White's statement, “In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.” (DA) God, in His wonderful, unspeakable love, suffered and died for us. Our sin hurt us and killed us; He, too, was hurt by our sin, and had to die to rescue us. Surely it would have been better for all of creation if Adam and Eve had not sinned. Even people who become reconciled to one another may bear in their bodies and minds the hurt inflicted by the other, even though forgiven. How much better if there had never been need for forgiveness and reconciliation!

Tom Zwemer - Sat, 12/24/2011 - 21:41

Graeme

The incarnation was to restore man to his original state prior to the “fall”. However, instead of Adam as the federal man, Jesus, the Christ, assumed that role. There is absolutely nothing in the Christ Event—The Everlasting Covenant—or in all of Scripture to even suggest that the incarnation was designed to create a way for man to become divine: to rise to the order of the Godhead. This is taking the concept of the moral influence theory and intrinsic perfection to its ego centric conclusion.

Certainly the incarnation was to rescue us from eternal damnation and grant us life and that more abundantly. The beauty of the kenosis of Christ is a divine model for service, not for obtaining divinity.

Recall it was the first temptation, “Eat this Fruit and ye shall become as Gods.” To become sons and daughters of God does in no sense mean or even suggest that we share in the prerogatives
of divinity. How much more simple if that really were the case that for the second person of the Godhead to empty Himself and assume our flesh and die our death.
Tom Z

Graeme Sharrock - Sun, 12/25/2011 - 08:36

Hi Tom

"The incarnation was to restore man to his original state prior to the “fall”... however, doesn't the NT tell us that salvation is more than a process of restoration to Edenic perfection? "Federalism" provides an analogy for restoration, but misses other aspects, the "much more" that Paul often speaks of. This was spelt out by Irenaeus and others so long ago. He neatly balanced the ideas of "recapitulation" and "divinization" I am referring to here.

Key for me is knowing that the unity of God and Man is not somehow achieved by man "rising" but by God "descending". On that, I think we are agreed. I thought that was the meaning of Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Graeme

Tom Zwemer - Sun, 12/25/2011 - 09:22

Hi Graeme

My definition of divinity includes: Worthy of worship. I note in the final chapters of Revelation that John was interrupted in his attempt to worship his angel guide.

As Mark Twain commented: "God made man a little lower than the angels and a little higher than the French."

I am well pleased that God intended man to be of such intellect as to be a good conversational mate.

Grahm Maxwell and I had that kind of relationship--of course i did most of the listening.

Happy Holidays to you---I've had two calls today already that two of our guests have the flue.

We plan a Christmas repass that could be recorded for the Board of Trustees at LSU.

Tom Z

Don Tucie - Tue, 12/27/2011 - 12:56

“In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen.”
Donna, I just cannot envision this concept. It sounds wonderful but in actuality fallen humans are many times over worse than the un-fallen.

David, I couldn't agree with you more. I have long found that claim that the sin experience has brought humanity closer to God trite and preposterous. Sure, our redemption should fill us with eternal gratitude. But extolling that experience as giving us an advantage over those who remained the way their creator intended them is tantamount to being thankful for sin .

Don Tucie
The voice of one crying

Donna Haerich - Wed, 12/28/2011 - 06:30

The paragraph in DA from which I quote, uses this statement in the context of Christ retaining his human nature throughout eternity. That God became "creature" and retains creature form and appearance is the link. The fact is that a "Creator God" can take the worse impossible mess and make something good from it - ie fallen humanity becomes glorified in the son.

Tuning - Thu, 12/29/2011 - 23:09

Donna, I always appreciate your comments, but this meditation is one of your best yet. My dear mother sang that very same song to me when I was a child... "I think when I read that sweet story of old, when Jesus was here among men, how He took the sweet children as lambs to His fold; I should like to have been with Him then."
My mother would be 103 now had she lived. I don't picture you as being of her generation. But that precious hymn has stood the test of time, and still means the world to many of us.
About 20 years ago, my husband and I traveled to Florida on vacation. We attended the Forest Lake Church and were pointed in the direction of the Sabbath school class which you were teaching. I only regret that (since we were tardy) we didn't join it that day, because I have only a mental picture of you which has never been truly "fleshed out." You are truly a minister, in so many respects.
Thank you again.