So Why all the Fuss about Christmas?

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld the glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. – John 1:14

And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?”
And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” – Luke 1:34-35

As we approach the advent season, we look to the birth narrative of the Lord Jesus Christ. While we should never forget his redemptive work on the cross, we should take time to understand the significance of the life of God who chose to make his dwelling amongst us. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, indeed.
In the Old Testament, we read about the Israelites carefully preparing the Tabernacle as they moved from place to place. The Tabernacle, a series of special tents, housed the dwelling place of the Lord God Almighty. The Tabernacle was a reminder of God’s presence or dwelling amongst his chosen people. Old Testament prophesy tells us in Isaiah 7:14b, “Behold, a young women shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew explains in his first chapter the meaning of ‘Emmanuel’ as God with us.
God with us… In the beginning, God had created humanity and was with us. We separated ourselves from him through our choice to sin (to separate). God re-enters our humanity in the Tabernacle and again through the humanity of an infant child. So, what is all the fuss about the Christmas Story? Jesus was born to die, right? So what?
Jesus was sent from the Father into humanity, not a hedgehog or even an angelic host. Jesus was born fully human. He grew in the womb of a young girl named Mary. He felt the shock of the cold night air and warmth of swaddling clothes the night of his birth. Jesus had to learn to feed himself, walk, read and work in his earthly father’s workshop. Jesus knows what it means to be human. Jesus had his own human will, a will to do what he wished as a human. Yet, he chose to submit his human will to the divine will of his Heavenly Father. You see, Jesus desired to know everything there is to know about our human existence and to live and dwell amongst us. He shared in our joys and sorrows, our physical pains and our emotions. He chose humanity to be honored with his whole creation.
We worship Jesus because of his Divine Right as God but we celebrate Christmas to acknowledge the humanity of Jesus. Yes, Jesus came to die for our salvation but Jesus came to live. He lived as Son of Man so that we could have the perfect mediator between humanity and God. For in Jesus, we have the perfect union of two natures in the One named Jesus. Jesus was fully divine. Jesus was fully human. Jesus was and is, for all time, One and the same. As his humanness receives our imperfect prayers, desires and needs, Jesus’ divinity perfects our prayers, desires and needs before the Heavenly Father. His duel nature provides the perfect mediation on our behalf.
So as we celebrate this advent, I encourage you to celebrate the life of Christ Jesus and his desire to dwell amongst you. I pray that you have made careful preparations for the Tabernacle within you, so Jesus may come to dwell and truly live within you.

*Note: This was an assignment for Basic Christian Doctrine. I was very pleased with it and wished to share it with you.