Advent
Continuing to
ponder Hebrews Chapter Two:
Consider that in
the Incarnation Jesus Christ became as we are, yet without sin:
“But we do see
Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely,
Jesus…Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself
likewise also partook of the same…Therefore, He had to be made like His
brethren in all things.” (Hebrews 2:9, 14, 17).
An element of
the Incarnation is that the Son of God identified Himself with mankind, with
the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and specifically with “His brethren”
(2:17), that is those of 2:11, those who are called by the Father and from the
Father (John 17:6,9, 20 – 21).
Since we are
sent by Jesus Christ as the Father sent Jesus Christ (John 17:18; 20:21), an
element of our own incarnational calling is to identify with mankind,
with the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and specifically with our brethren
in Christ.
There is a holy
tension here in that the Church is not the world and the world is not the
Church; we are to be distinctly holy as our Father is holy. The Holy City has
walls, but it also has gates – and we need to understand them both.
Consider Paul in
Athens, “…for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets
have said, ‘For we are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not
to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image
formed by the art and thought of man.” (Actos 17:28 – 29).
Can we see the
“we” of this passage? Paul is identifying himself with his audience, a broad
audience, an audience that is not predisposed to believe him, an audience that
may very well be hostile to him; but he is saying “we.”
When I hear
sermons in which the preacher is constantly saying “you” to his congregation I
cringe. There may be times when we need to say “you,” but they should not be
the rule. And for sure, if I must say “you,” I had better first establish a
“we.” I must identify with the audience.
Then we have 1
Corinthians 9:19 – 23, in which we read, “For though I am free from all men, I
have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more…I have become all
things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for
the sake of the Gospel…”
We need to
remember that man looks on the outward appearance, but that God looks on the
heart, even Samuel the prophet had to be reminded of this. The way folks look
can trip us up, I know it can trip me up, what about you?
Here again, in 1
Corinthians 9:19 – 23, we see Paul identifying with his broad audience, with
all of humanity – the great “we.”
But, as I said
above, there is a holy tension, for then we have passages such as Colossians
1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my
share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking
in Christ’s afflictions.”
And then 2
Timothy 2:10, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who
are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus
and with it eternal glory.”
So on the one
hand we incarnationally identify with all people, “for God so loved the world,”
and on the other hand we specifically identify with the sons and daughters of
the Living God, “I will declare Your name to my brethren.” This is, indeed, a
holy tension – we may not fully understand this, but we are called to participate
in it.
This is a dimension
of what the continuing Incarnation should look like in us, in you and in me and
in our congregations. We can see our dual commitment to the peoples of the
world and to the Church in Galatians 6:10:
“So then, while
we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who
are of the household of faith.”
In Advent Jesus
Christ identifies with both humanity in general and particularly with His
brothers and sisters in His Father. Does His continuing Advent look like this
in our lives? In the lives of our congregations?
In Christ, are
we living for others?
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