The Glory of the Incarnation

Sermon Summary

The profound truth of Christmas, the incarnation of the Word, revolutionized the comprehension of both Jews and Greeks. It revealed a knowable God to the Jews and challenged the Greeks’ philosophical approach to grasping the cosmos. This transformative truth has three practical implications that can significantly impact our lives.

1. Comfort in the face of suffering

The reality of Christmas provides us with profound solace in the midst of suffering, as it demonstrates that God himself has experienced pain and thus deeply fathoms our struggles. While the reason for suffering may remain a mystery, the knowledge that God sympathizes with our pain offers us strength and comfort in our darkest hours. Furthermore, the incarnation of God during Christmas punctuates the significance of service and compassion towards others.

2. Incentive to serve

The essence of the message is the call to emulate Jesus’ selflessness, as demonstrated in the Christmas narrative, by serving others even to the point of personal vulnerability. It uses the Kitty Genovese incident to underscore the human tendency towards self-preservation and fear of involvement. Yet, it encourages a life of sacrificial giving, active church participation, and empathetic engagement with others’ hopes, fears, and struggles, as epitomized by B.B. Warfield’s definition of self-sacrifice.

3. Realistic and infallible hope

Christmas embodies an unshakeable hope, symbolizing the divine intervention where the ideal, Jesus Christ, entered our real world, bearing our sins and bridging the divide between us and God. This divine act allows believers to harbor both realism and idealism, empowered by the Holy Spirit to effect change and anticipate a future where all is made right. Thus, Christmas is more than a festive holiday; it’s a profound message of hope and transformation, affirming that through Christ, we can transcend our past and become akin to royalty.