A Truly Human Jesus

“Who is this God in the Manger?” The week before last we affirmed that the One in the manger really is God of the Universe. In the words of the Nicene Creed, the One in the manger is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.” This past weekend we affirmed that the One in the manger is also fully human.

There’s a dangerous belief among some Christians that the One in the manger something other than truly human. The belief is dangerous because a God incarnate who is not really human is a God I can discount as irrelevant and distant. But a God who plunged into the thick of human existence; a God who really knows what it is to be human; a God who became my kind of flesh; this God I have to take seriously. This God I can trust.

In the wake of Friday’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary it matters that the One in the manger is truly human. It matters for the families of the victims. It matters as we take a hard look at the kind of culture we have become. Because the One in the manger is truly human we can trust that Jesus not only has real comfort in our sadness, but real guidance for our politics and public policies about gun violence, mental illness, and child safety.

The text for this coming weekend is Luke 2:1-7. The title of the message is “A New Kind of Rule.” The One born in the manger really is God and really is Human. The One born in the manger also really is King! I look forward to worshipping with you again this weekend.