Most of us focus on the baby Jesus at Christmas -- cute, cuddley, and antiseptic. There's nothing shocking about babies, though. That's why I think we're most comfortable with Jesus at Christmas.
I, on the other hand, am shocked at Christmas. Every Christmas.
Why? Because of who this Baby Jesus is and what he means for our world.
The biblical Pharisees -- for all they misunderstand about Jesus -- have the right response. They're shocked by him.
When the Pharisees see Jesus eating with sinners, they're sure the sinners will defile Jesus. Because, as we all know, the pollutant -- the tax collectors and sinners -- defiles Jesus, the pure. The negative dominates over the positive. The pollutant is the stronger force. Thus it never occurs to the Pharisees, because it is psychologically counter-intuitive, that Jesus' presence might sanctify or purify those sinners he is eating with. Because pollution doesn't work that way.
The real shock of Christmas is that God stoops to our dirty level and pulls us out of the muck and mire. This Baby is strong in his very weakness. The scandal of Christmas isn't just a baby. The scandal of Christmas is that this particular baby is God with us.
The scandal of Christmas is Immanuel.
This is the scandal of Christmas. That God descended into the piss, shit and darkness of your life. And the piss, shit and darkness did not overcome it.
And that's genuinely a scandal.
Think about it. It's why the Pharisees were so infuriated. Think what this means.
God in Jesus goes into the darkest, most disgusting, most defiling corners of our lives. That alone is shocking to believe.
God in Jesus is stronger than all the defiling disgust the world can throw at him. That's so shocking it's hard to believe.
God had a body. That is about as transgressive as you can get. So transgressive that many Christians, now and throughout history, have passionately resisted and banished the thought. It's the same impulse that will cause many to denounce me and what I'm writing.
But let's be honest: Christmas is so hard to believe that even Christians aren't comfortable with what I'm saying. So we clean the claim up a bit. This baby, we sing -- "no crying he makes"?!? A newborn? You're kidding, right? He cried. He soiled his diaper. He was difficult to get to sleep.
But God in Jesus came into the world. And none of the world's darkness can now overcome God's Light.
God became flesh. God dwelt among us. And still does. Even in the darkness. Especially in the darkness.
When we miss the shock of Christmas, we get everything else wrong. Christmas shocks, and help us see things in a new way. Starting with the simple fact that God and the world aren't separated by a giant called sin. God is in the world. And none of the world's nastiness can change that. In fact, by his presence here, the world is being lifted out of darkness and into light.
Immanuel. That's a one-word summary of the Christian Gospel.
This time of year, lots of us start thinking about resolutions. About getting our lives in shape. But don't overlook the real darkness in our lives. Darkness that we seldom speak about.
The meaning of the Incarnation is that God has descended into the piss and shit of your lives. And that God is stronger than that darkness.
Do you believe this? Because I know it is so very, very hard to believe.
You want to believe that your foulness, all the shit in your life, is the strongest thing there is. The greatest and final truth about your life.
It's so hard to believe what I'm telling you because it feels like blasphemy.
But it's not. It's not blasphemy. As shocking as it is.
It is the story of the Incarnation. It is the Word becoming flesh. It is the story of God's love for you.
It is the story of Christmas.