Christmas is a Coming (Remnants of a trip to Assisi)
I heard it said the other day, “The cross is for the past...the resurrection is for us—not the cross.”
No doubt the voice which spoke meant well, but it didn’t sit so well with me. Having recently returned from places where the saints who’ve gone before us were martyred for their faith, I saw more clearly how “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (Tertul-lian— an early church father).
In order to reap the benefits of those who have gone before us—namely Jesus Christ— then we must look at the whole picture, not just a part of it.
The deep speaks from the ancient of days and it’s really not all that ancient. Deep calls to deep as the saints lived faith. They did so—so we might be encouraged and understand that being invited into the suffering and passion of our Lord is pure gift.
And speaking of gifts, the Christ child was the biggest one ever given. “For unto us—a child is born. Unto us a Son is given” (Is. 9:6). Born in a manger— in Bethlehem (meaning House of Bread) the bread of life invites us into the holiness of living out faithful and faith filled lives.
Misrepresenting the gift means making salvation about us as if the resurrection was for our gain rather than His glory— and although both are in the mix, we sure don’t wanna mix em up.
In order to look towards the resurrection, we must first look to the cross. Without understanding the past, one will not fully understand the present— the gift. The purpose of the past is to root us deeply into His ways and the Gospel of glory is only worth looking at if all glory goes to Him.
Can we look to the resurrection? We sure can—but only by way of the cross and the only way to see the cross is by remembering where it all began. It began in a stable offering stability to the whole wide world— which He created from the beginning.
In a church far away, I entered into the quiet. Before me was a large glass encasement and within it were remnants of Christ’s manger. Nearby in yet another church were the steps Jesus ascended before being condemned to death by Pontius Pilot. They were encased in wood and the pilgrims who traveled to see them could only go up each step on bended knee. Once the ascent began, there was no turning back. One could only cling to the railings which helped pull them forward. Just as His birth pulls us towards the cross, the cross pulls us towards His resurrection.
When we remember the gift, the birth of the Christ child within the manger, we remember the gift of Christ’s suffering on the cross—and only then will we be able to fully understand the gift of the resurrection. Seeing things as He sees them and not how we perceive them to be is also a gift given—the gift of discernment through the gift of faith.
May it always be His ways over our own—and may it always be about Thee. Amen.
