Title : Christ: a baby

It was something that Martin Luther said, which got me thinking about this, several years ago. When speaking about that God came into the world as a real human being, Luther said something like, "Who is afraid of a baby?"

I will come back to that. That will be the fun, Christmassy part of the sermon, where we explore what an amazing thing it was for God to arrive in human flesh, and to be a precious newborn babe. The first part of the sermon will discuss the importance of our grasping and trusting that, yessiree, that was, in fact, God in that manger.

For us, who grew up in the Christian faith—understanding the true meaning of Christmas—it is easy to take for granted the miracle which is Christmas—the eternal God, who knows no boundaries, is now a mortal man, who is contained in the skin of a person.

But, there are a lot of people who don’t easily grasp it, or accept it, at all—and many of them call themselves Christians. Mary was a virgin? The Holy Spirit came over her so that she was with child? The child she conceived was God’s child?

You can read book upon book—written by Christian theologians, for Tiny Tim’s sake!—in which authors reason away what took place in the little town of Bethlehem. There are those who deny that Mary was a virgin. Why? Because, virgins don’t get pregnant. There are those who say that Joseph, or some other, unknown, man had to have been the father—that the virgin birth was concocted, either to cover their sin or make this Jesus look like He was special. There are those who ignore the issue of Jesus’ birth and say that Jesus was not God until He reached the age of thirty, left home, and was baptized by John, and God declared Jesus to be His beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed Him in the form of a dove.

Is it vital that Jesus was conceived of a virgin? Is it vital that you believe that Jesus was conceived of a virgin? Is it vital that He was true God, while being true man, from the moment of His conception? The answers are yes, yes, and a great big yes.

The problem with all of the proposals about Jesus, which don’t match up with what the Bible says is, well, exactly that the Bible says that Jesus was conceived of a virgin, and Mary was carrying God in her womb, from the moment of conception. When it comes to newfangled and daring ideas to thrust upon the Word of God, the problem with you Lutherans is that you continue to insist on sticking with what the Word of God says. Good for you. Keep doing that. You’ll never go wrong.

That’s one elf struck out, let’s see if the next elf can fare any better. Let’s say that Jesus was actually the son of Joseph, or some unknown man. What would be the problem with this? If Jesus had a human father, then Jesus would have two human parents. And, as I always say when teaching the kids: one sinful father, plus one sinful mother, equals one sinful child.

Another elf has struck out. Indeed, march to the plate as many elves as you want, and they all will strike out. That’s why elves don’t mess with the Bible, but stick with making toys. That’s why you don’t mess with the Bible, but stick to it for your dear lives.

So, this child, who grew in the womb of Mary, after the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, really was God—God the Son, the second person of the Trinity—and, as was proven obvious by the umbilical cord which Joseph cut, He also really was a human being.

No, not simply a human being. God was a baby.

You know, when God made Adam, He didn’t make Adam a baby. Adam was created a fully grown, mature man. Adam was not left to have to grow up, to have to depend upon the goodness of others. Adam had a full start, from the beginning.

When God took on human flesh, He chose not to. Could He have come into the world a fully grown, mature man, and simply shown up in Israel, a stranger from nowhere? I suppose He could have; I don’t know why not. Well, maybe not. Hold that thought.

He chose not to do it that way. He chose to start life the same way that you started life. God took no head start, no easy way out, no short-cut to winning your salvation. Someone said that God could only save that which He became. Thus, God has to become a human being, the exact same way that you are a human being, in order to save you. And, so, He did. And, so, He didn’t simply show up, a stranger from nowhere.

Here is how I have come to love Christmas. Christmas teaches me about God’s nature. I love learning about God’s nature, because, when I learn about His nature, I learn that He loves me, and loves to forgive me, and have mercy upon me, and nurture and help me.

Here’s an example. When Adam and Eve sinned, what did God do? If it were my kids, I would have hollered at them, maybe spanked them, and grounded them. But, what did God do? When Adam and Eve hid, He went in search of them. Where they tried to clothe themselves by sewing together fig leaves, God sacrificed animals to make them proper clothes. And, when He spoke to them, He didn’t holler. Indeed, when He spoke to them, He promised them a Savior—and He even said that the Savior would be the offspring of Eve. And, now that Savior-offspring of Eve would come into the world just as Eve’s own children would come into the world, as helpless babies.

That God became man, just as every human starts off as a baby, teaches you about His nature. God was willing to begin life just as you began life. God was willing to spend nine months in the womb, just as you did. God was willing to be subject to the nursing of His mother, having His diaper changed, learning to walk and talk, and to be obedient to His parents, just as you did all of these things.

That God became man, just as every human starts off as a baby, teaches you about His nature. And, now, we get back to Martin Luther’s truly profound insight about the Christ-child: who is afraid of a baby?

This baby is no a caesar, no tyrant, no despot. He’s not a king, the way that men play king. He’s not a tax-collector. He’s not a lawmaker. He’s not out for your vote.

He’s a baby. He is humble. He is submissive. His mother will have total control over Him, for the first few years of His life. And, when He is big enough to talk back to her, to run away from her, to dominate her, He will remain her child. Humble. Submissive.

Who is afraid of a baby? In the infant Jesus, God is saying, "I’ve come to rescue you. Be not afraid. I can’t hurt you as a baby. And, when I grow up, I won’t hurt you either. But, I will let you hurt me."