Creator, how you come so close to us humans!
Series: Abentüür Gebät | Bible text: Luke 1:26–28; Matthew 1:18–25
Without a personal encounter with God, Christmas remains only a fairy tale and personal faith bland and unattractive. To change this, God became human in the person of Jesus and made himself touchable, visible, audible and tangible. Through an encounter with God, Advent becomes Adventure!
If you extend the word Advent with the three letters u‑r-e, it means adventure. Our theme for the year is «Abentüür Gebät». Prayer becomes an adventure when it comes to an encounter with God, which is the deepest meaning of prayer. Without a personal encounter with God, Christmas remains only a fairy tale.
Christmas awakens a longing for peace in many people. To finally be able to meet God without the stress of everyday life. But you know what? God wants to meet you in the stress of everyday life. Even the original Christmas had little of «golden boy in curly hair», it was absolute stress: census, migration to the place of birth – and then killing of all children under two years of age. One thing is certain: The «Holy Couple» were not at all relaxed, just as other parents are not before the birth of their first child.
Until the original Christmas, God was the distant one, the untouchable, the holy one for his people. That now changes completely. In Jesus Christ, God comes close to us and offers much contact space. At Christmas, God makes himself visible, smellable, touchable and audible. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, an invitation to encounter. An encounter with him makes Advent an adventure!
Christmas is not about escaping the hustle and bustle to get some peace and quiet. It’s about finding peace in the midst of the hustle and bustle and encountering God.
Maria
One would think that Mary and Joseph would have won the jackpot of all time to be the parents of the Messiah. But at that time, a premarital pregnancy meant enormous disgrace, ostracism and, in the worst case, no livelihood for the woman. A great uncertainty, moreover, was Joseph. How will he react to this bad news? Things will be tight for him too. If he says he is the father, he is lying. If he denies his paternity, Mary must be stoned to death according to Jewish law (Deut. 22:21). The fact of a sudden pregnancy was life-threatening in her Jewish environment. So Mary was in for a hard time and much suffering. Therefore the angel calls to her «Fear not» and lets them name the child Jesus. The Hebrew word Yeshua means «God saves«and that was exactly the message she desperately needed in this situation. Christmas means that God saves you!
After this encounter with God, Mary is ready to face the challenge. «Mary answered: «I am the servant of the Lord and I bow to His will. May all that you have said come true and be done to me».»(Luke 1:38).
Maybe there is something in your life that wants to take away your hope of a good future. Maybe it is a life-changing crisis. It may be due to a divorce, the loss of a job, the death of a close friend or family member, a cancer diagnosis, a disappointing church experience, a broken dream, a dryness or declining enthusiasm in your relationship with God. In such bottlenecks we need an encounter with Yeshua who saves and says: «Fear not!»
Josef
The following joke might be a little illustrative of Joseph’s state of mind: Joseph and Mary are looking for an inn. Slightly annoyed, Joseph knocks on the twelfth door. The innkeeper opens and Joseph asks: «Do you have accommodation for my wife and me?» Host: «No, all booked up.» Joseph: «But look, my wife is heavily pregnant!» Host: «I can’t help that…» Joseph is outraged: «Neither do I!»
Joseph is challenged tremendously. At first, the story of the angel’s visit must have seemed like a fairy tale to him. For the people around him, too, there were only two possibilities: Either Mary was lying or both were lying. Since he did not want to shame his fiancée, he planned to leave her secretly (Matthew 1:19). Joseph needed his own encounter with God, and he got it. In Matthew 1:20–23, the angel explains to him that Jesus would be the fulfilment of the ancient prophecy of Immanuel, which means «God with us». After this message, Joseph was ready to take his pregnant wife to himself with all his heart. Only after both parents in person God’s assurance, the miracle of Christmas could continue.
Maybe you are in an unmanageable situation or a dead end at the moment. «God with us» will also navigate you safely and reliably through such times. Through the encounter with Jesus Christ, he becomes Immanuel to «God in you». We need this to master our lives with a clear head and courageous steps.
Shepherds
The shepherds» fields near Bethlehem still play a central role in Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land. Countless tourists have visited these fields between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The church historian Eusebius sees a connection between them and a unique biblical site called the Migdal EderGerman «Herdenturm. This area on the outskirts of Bethlehem is also found in the writings of the Talmud. There it says that all livestock in the vicinity of Jerusalem «as far as Migdal Eder» was considered sacred and consecrated and could only be used for sacrifice in the temple, especially for the peace offerings and Passover sacrifices.
This means that the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem were not ordinary shepherds, but served the sacrificial system of the temple. These men served in the context of the Mosaic Covenant, a foreshadow of the New Covenant. These very men were now confronted with the reality of the eternal light to whose coming their ministry had pointed for centuries. It was indeed the proclamation of a new era of salvation!
A few centuries earlier, the prophet Micah already referred to the Migdal Eder related: «And you, tower of the flock, you stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you will come and return the former dominion, the kingship of the daughter of Jerusalem.» (Micah 4:8; Lut). Based on this prophecy, well-known Jewish scholars concluded in the Midrash that among all the places in Israel there were Migdal Eder would be from which the coming of the Messiah would first be proclaimed.
Therefore, it was not just a proclamation of good news to simple shepherds when the angels appeared in the shepherds» fields near Bethlehem. It was a powerful prophetic sign for all Israel. The news of that night must have spread like wildfire in the surrounding villages.
It was the first proclamation of the euangelion, the good news of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. It is noteworthy that this first proclamation to Israelites outside Jesus» family was not addressed to the religious or political leaders of Israel, but to the shepherds tending their flocks.
For the shepherds, Jesus, whose death will replace the sacrificial system of the temple, posed a great economic challenge. Many jobs were at stake and called the shepherds» union into action. In order to be able to classify and put away their fears for the future, they needed a personal encounter with God. And such an encounter was given to them: «Fear not! Behold, I proclaim unto you great joy, which shall be to all people: for unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And have this as a sign: You will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.» (Luke 2:10–12; Lut).
Magician
The magicians came from a caste of priests and wise men among the Medes, Persians and Babylonians whose teachings were mainly astronomy, astrology and sorcery. On the basis of a constellation alone, they and their court took a journey of over 1100 km to meet the new king. There was certainly a lot of uncertainty among these scholars. First, they promptly arrived at the wrong king, Herod. He – although frightened – was able to help them decisively in their search. Finally, they encountered an infant in a house (Matthew 2:11 – no longer at the manger) instead of a royal child with a court.
And then it says: «When it was time to leave again, however, they went back to their homeland by a different route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod»(Matthew 2:12).
The encounter with Jesus changed the magi so that they subsequently went a different way. I am convinced that this has not only a geographical meaning, but also an inner one. Encounters with God let us go new ways. And what we can also learn from the magicians is that the path to an encounter with God can sometimes be long and arduous. Let’s take all the evidence we can find and look for this king! Even if it takes a long time, let’s not give up. By no means let us be satisfied with knowing God only by hearsay. We cannot recognise God from the «glass house». That is why Jesus says: «Whoever wants to do the will of God will recognise whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak out of myself»(John 7:17).
Herod was one who knew about the newborn king only by hearsay. During his questioning of the magicians, Herod had been given the exact time when the star appeared (Matthew 2:7). Thus he knew the age of Jesus. If Jesus was born exactly when the star appeared in the east, Jesus could be no more than two years old. Therefore, fearing new competition, he issued the order for genocide. All boys up to two years old had to be killed. «Herod was furious when he learned that the astrologers had betrayed him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys aged two and under in Bethlehem and the whole surrounding area. For the wise men had told him that they had seen the star for the first time about two years ago»(Matthew 2:16).
The magi and Herod made their decisions based on the same circumstantial evidence. Knowing Jesus only by hearsay can sometimes take on bizarre features and even lead to fanaticism. Not infrequently, people who come from a church context but have remained without a personal encounter with God become sarcastic scoffers. That, by the way, was also the difference between Job and his friends. It is impressive that Job addresses his God personally 58 times in the depth of his suffering. That is the key in dark times. Job’s friends merely talk «about» God.
Herod acted out of fear of competition and thus no longer being able to decide for himself. Our incredible urge for self-determination is a great obstacle to an encounter with God. In a parable, the people sent a delegation to tell the king (Jesus): «We do not want this one to rule over us!»(Luke 19:14; Lut). This attitude can prevent an encounter with God and have fatal consequences.
Without a personal encounter with God, Christmas remains only a fairy tale and personal faith bland and not attractive at all. So that this need not be so, Jesus became man.
Jesus has come, reason for eternal joy;
Today, as in the beginning, he stands there with grace.
Deity and humanity both unite;
Creator, how you come so close to us humans!
Heaven and earth, tell all the people:
Jesus has come, reason for eternal joys!
