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Advent and Christmas: The Incarnation

The season of Advent calls Christians into a time of preparation, reflection, and anticipation as we await the celebration of Christ's birth. This sacred period, much like Lent prepares us for Easter, invites us into deeper repentance and contemplation of God's magnificent plan of salvation through the incarnation.

The Promise Focus of Advent

Advent begins with a profound contrast in faith responses. In Luke 1, we encounter two miraculous pregnancies that reveal different approaches to receiving God's promises.

When the angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah that Elizabeth would bear John the Baptist, Zechariah responded with doubt: "How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years" (Luke 1:18). His unbelief resulted in divine reproof - he was struck mute until the prophecy's fulfillment (Facing Problems: "Promise Focus", 3:43).

Mary's response stands in beautiful contrast. When told she would conceive as a virgin, she asked not from unbelief but from wonder: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). The absence of angelic reproof reveals this was "the wonderment of Faith" - Mary saying "I don't know how this is going to work out, but I trust" (Facing Problems: "Promise Focus", 11:42).

Faith Born of Promise

God consistently lifts our eyes from problems to promises. When we face challenges, we're tempted to respond like Moses ("Who am I?"), Thomas ("Unless I see..."), or Sarah (laughing at God's promise). But Mary demonstrates faith born of promise (Facing Problems: "Promise Focus", 15:50).

The angel's response to Mary reveals how God addresses our wonderment: through the power of the Holy Spirit and the assurance that "nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Mary's reply embodies perfect surrender: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

The Incarnation: God in the Flesh

The child Mary would bear represents the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises. Jesus would be "great" with unqualified, intrinsic greatness, "the son of the most high" who shares the very essence and nature of God (Facing Problems: "Promise Focus", 6:31). This is the incarnation of the second member of the Trinity - God in the flesh.

The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as "the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (Hebrews 1:3). Through the incarnation, the eternal Son took on human nature to accomplish our salvation on the cross, bearing "all of our sin...including the sin of not putting our gratefulness on display" (Give Thanks: "On Display", 14:19).

Mary's Magnificat: Words That Soar

Mary's response to Elizabeth's blessing culminates in the Magnificat - soaring words of praise that echo throughout Scripture and history (Words "Natural Words", 1:28). Her song begins with personal testimony: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47).

Significantly, Mary calls God "my Savior," revealing that she was a sinner who needed salvation just like us - "an ordinary person just like us" (Words "Natural Words", 4:36). Her selection wasn't based on personal merit but on God's sovereign grace.

Borrowed Words from Hannah

Mary's song remarkably parallels Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2. Both women celebrate God's pattern of exalting the humble and bringing down the proud. When we compare their words, we discover that Mary "sounds a lot like Hannah" (Words "Natural Words", 11:13).

This reveals an important truth: Mary's soaring words were actually "borrowed words" (Words "Natural Words", 16:27). As Jesus taught, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). Mary's heart was so filled with Scripture that when the moment came for praise, biblical words naturally flowed from her lips.

The Magnificat celebrates God's pattern of exalting the humble and bringing down the proud, filling the hungry while sending the rich away empty (Luke 1:51-53). These words connect Mary's experience to the broader narrative of God's faithfulness - "This is the Fulfillment of Genesis the 12th chapter...the land Offspring and blessing that God said would occur" (Words "Natural Words", 6:57).

The Peace of Christmas

The Christmas narrative proclaims a deeper peace than temporary relief from troubles. When the angels announced Christ's birth to the shepherds - those "on the lowest rung of the social strata of the day" (Peace, 3:18) - they proclaimed: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors" (Luke 2:14).

This peace differs from the "Pax Romana" of Jesus' day, which was peace born out of bloodshed and oppression. The Romans would "create desolation and they call it peace" (Peace, 7:32). The peace Christ brings addresses the root problem that separates us from God and one another: sin.

Peace Through the Cross

Jesus himself said he didn't come to bring peace but division (Luke 12:51), because sin creates disagreement about his identity. The angels proclaimed "peace on earth" at his birth, yet 33 years later as he approached the cross, the crowds proclaimed "peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (Peace, 16:52).

Scripture connects the birth cloths with the burial cloths, "holding together the birth and the death and the resurrection of Christ" (Peace, 18:05). At the cross, Christ "bore all of our sin...he paid the debt we could never ever pay" (Peace, 20:26), making peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20).

This is "a deeper peace than when a newborn finally falls asleep" or "when the conflict ceases and the arms are laid down" - it is "peace between God and humankind...peace is that reconciliation of that relationship" that "extends for all of eternity" (Peace, 22:03).

The Blessing of God's Favor

The Christmas story also reveals the nature of divine blessing. When Mary visited Elizabeth, the unborn John the Baptist "leaped" in the womb in "a spirit faith-born leap" upon hearing Mary's greeting (Blessings, 5:37). Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared Mary "blessed among women."

The word "blessed" means to "receive the power and the grace of God the touch of God upon you" (Blessings, 3:24). This blessing also means "to be set apart" as "a vehicle whereby God blesses others" (Blessings, 3:47).

Thanksgiving on Display

The Christmas narrative also teaches us about gratitude. In the account of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19), we see a striking contrast: all ten were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. The difference wasn't in their gratitude - all were surely grateful for their healing - but rather that "the one put his thanksgiving on display" (Give Thanks: "On Display", 12:59).

This story challenges us during the Christmas season. While we thank God for His common grace - "rain and supply" - we chiefly thank Him for His saving grace shown in sending His Son to the cross (Give Thanks: "On Display", 13:49). The incarnation we celebrate at Christmas leads directly to the cross where our salvation was accomplished.

Living the Advent Season

As we journey through Advent, we're called to embody Mary's faith - looking not to problems but to God's promises. When challenges arise, we remember God's assurances:

  • "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8)
  • "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23)
  • "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1)

May our hearts be filled with Scripture so that, like Mary, when moments for praise arise, biblical words naturally flow from our lips. In our lifetime of "86.3 million words," may they be "borrowed words" from God's holy Word (Words "Natural Words", 16:17).

The incarnation reminds us that nothing - absolutely nothing - "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). In Christ, we have the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that through his offspring, all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

As we light our Advent candles and prepare our hearts for Christmas, may we follow Mary's example of faith, putting our thanksgiving on display, and celebrating the magnificent truth that God Himself has come to dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ.