The Reverend Harold A. Linn, Pastor

Christmas Celebrates What IS and What CAN Be

By Dr. Richard Bucher

Whenever we dwell on what is not, but what should be, our spirits sink. By this I mean all the accomplishments and achievements that we were certain would have come by now, but have not. Where are all the successes and promotions, victories and tangible signs of growth, that were supposed to be?

Whenever we dwell on what is not but used to be, our souls weep. By this I mean every loss, the loss of youth and energy, family or friends, fellow Christians, life and love, dreams. We grieve the loss of these things that once were but now are gone.

Whenever we dwell on what we cannot do, our impotence, our hearts shrink and fail. By this I mean our inability to create and build, our inability to bring about meaningful change. Our years of effort appear to us a play book on mediocrity. Our goals were once higher than bare survival.

As a result of these dwellings, have we not become an empty and vision-less people? Have we not become a defeated people, a people turned inward, and a people mesmerized and paralyzed by what canNOT be? Have we not become the "what is not" people?

This is darkness, a darkness that suffocates, a heavy darkness that pins us to the ground, a darkness that sucks the light of life from our souls. This is darkness that saddens, sours, and sickens our spirit. It is a darkness that shows in our eyes.

What then is the solution to this? A determined optimism? A greater love of and belief in me? Some choose this road. Others choose to tread the "any day now" path, and wait daily for some magic person or event that will change everything.

The real solution is Christmas. In the midst of this swirling darkness of "what is not and can not be" Christmas is a celebration of what IS and what CAN be.

Into an seemingly unchangeable world, into a history of human loss, disappointment, and inability stepped the Son of God. Into a dark and dying world, the light of the God-man Jesus Christ shone. He entered into and shone upon a creation stamped by what is not but used to be. This creation had been holy, righteous, and good, but was now sinful, wayward, and evil.

The whole point of the incarnation and birth of Jesus, the whole point of Mary's baby in the manger, is that "what is not" has become "what is" and "what cannot be" has become "what can be."

On the eve of the first Christmas the "what is not" list was long. There was no peace between God and man, no lasting hope, no divine forgiveness, no eternal life, no enduring light, no Messiah or Savior. And for those with insight into the gravity of the human situation and the depth of their fall, the situation appeared impossible to change. Disappointments were many, shattered dreams legion.

But with the birth of this Child, nothing is the same, or can be, ever again. With His birth, along with His saving life and death for us, Jesus Christ turns the "what is not" into "what is." Hostility is turned into peace, hopelessness into hope, darkness into light, condemnation into salvation, not forgiven into forgiven, death into life, divine anger into divine love. What is predictably old, becomes unpredictably new. What is "impossibly not" becomes "what is."

Jesus' birth did this because He is Peace (Micah 5:5), He is Life (John 1:4; 14:6), He is the Word that brings something out of nothing (Genesis 1:3; John 1:1-4,14), He is Savior (Luke 2:11). In short, He is Christ, the Lord, the Mighty God (Luke 2:11; Isaiah 9:6).

Even the manner of Jesus' birth highlights this turning of the "what is not" into the "what is" and "what can be." Virgins do not conceive and give birth. Mary did. Babies are not born without human fathers. Jesus was. The finite is not capable of the infinite. But in Jesus, it was. As Gabriel says to Mary, "for with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

Christmas is a celebration that "the Word became flesh and dwelled among us," (John 1:14) which is fitting because everything depends on where we dwell. If we dwell on what is not but should be, our spirit will sink, for our focus should not be there. If we dwell on what is not but used to be, our souls will weep, for our focus should not be there. If we dwell on what cannot be, our hearts will shrink and fail, for our focus should not be there.

Instead we should dwell on the miracle of Him who dwells among us, Jesus Christ. For through His birth, life, death, and resurrection, all that is not and can not, now is and can be. We are forgiven, spotless, holy, and pure in God's sight. We are loved, cherished, accepted, and the apple of God's eye. We have security, for He controls our lives for good. We have purpose, for we are still here to further His kingdom and do His will. We have a future for heaven has been reserved in our name. Ours will be a happy ending that has no ending. With Christ there are no can nots but only can be's. Every trouble can be overcome and every problem solved. What refuses to change, can change, what refuses to move, can move, what refuses to become possible, can be possible.

The birth of Jesus has done it.

On this we should dwell and focus daily, no hourly. If we did this what joy and boldness would be ours. How our spirits would soar, our souls rejoice, our hearts enlarge. What changes we would see. Yet this is not easy. For many voices, especially around Christmas time, it seems, remind us of what is not, of what we don't have, of what cannot be done. Others may have but not us. Others may be able to but not us. It is easy to give ear to these voices and to dwell on what is not and what cannot be. It is precisely at such a time, when we are confronted with these voices of what is not, that we must stop up our ears and instead listen to the voice of the Gospel of Jesus and dwell on it. Then we will be the "what is" "what can be" people. Herein lies the way to Christmas joy.