Subversive Christmas- 2nd Post
As I mentioned in my last post, I will be posting an article that I had put in my church's newsletter last year around this time. It has spurred my thinking in regards to the subversive nature of Christmas. All too often we see Christmas in sentimental terms and it truly looses power when it is only seen as a cute story, a tradition, or anything other than what it is...a radical life-altering, kingdom of God moment where God broke into the world in the strangest of ways...through the birth of a baby.....
So here is the article (with thanks to Steve Chalke's book "The Lost Message of Jesus"
As we look towards celebrating Christmas later this month, I am reminded of a book that I read a year or two ago that had a chapter about Christmas. The book is entitled “The Lost Message of Jesus” by Steve Chalke and in a chapter entitled “The Promised Prince of Peace” he covers the importance of the Christmas Story. I want to take this space to share with you just how revolutionary the story of the birth of Jesus by including a section from the book.
“The sleeping baby has become the symbol of the status quo- a safe, sanitized, twenty-first century savior. But it is time to take a closer look at the stories of Jesus’ birth, reading them with Israel’s history wrapped around the newborn baby rather than with our sugar-coated sentimentality. Only then will we truly understand that the Christmas story is a radical message that sets the scene for all that is to come from the most challenging and controversial figure of all human history.”
“As we see in the opening chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus birth took place in the shadow of two great powers: King Herod (Matthew 2:1) and Emperor Augustus (Luke 2:1). But in pointing this out, Matthew and Luke have a greater purpose than simply informing us about geography and chronology. Rather they are setting the scene- sketching the political landscape and the social pecking order of the first-century Palestine, the backdrop against which the events of Jesus birth would take on huge significance.”
Chalke continues, “In such a highly charge atmosphere, it is understandable why wise men who traveled thousands of miles and were guided by an astrological portent in order to visit and worship the child who was called “the new born king” was a hugely provocative event. So Herod, concerned with his own position as ruler of Israel demanded to know, “Where will the Messiah be born?” He knew that if this baby was the true king of Israel, his days were numbered. There was no room for two royal houses in Israel. Herod, for one, would do all he could to resist the charms of this particular baby.”
“The Gospel writers, however, are determined that their readers understand the significance of Jesus’ birth on a larger scale- it struck right at the heart of the mighty Roman Empire. Any power of Herod the Great paled before the might of Caesar Augustus (from which Herod derived his power in the first place). He had single-handedly turned what had become a rocky republic into the greatest and most famous empire of them all. As the establisher and sole leader of the Roman Empire (27BC-AD 14) he developed what the termed his “gospel” for the people, the good news according to Caesar: “Divine Augustus Caesar, son of god, imperator of land and sea, the benefactor and saviour of the whole world, has brought you peace.” Anyone else laying claim to this role would have been treated as a pretender to the throne and permanently silenced.
“Therefore, it is a statement of political dynamite when the God of Israel sends his messenger Gabriel to announce the true saviour of the world and the bringer of real peace, the shalom of God, is now present on earth and that this is genuine good news for all the people. Both Matthew and Luke are making it abundantly clear that the birth of Jesus is a paradigm-shifting event. The gauntlet has been thrown down. From that moment, there was a new kid in town, a new contender vying for the title, Saviour of the World!”
May this Christmas be a time of following our paradigm-shifting, upside down kingdom, radical loving God who came to earth in the most obscure way, a baby born to poor parents in a manager.
Hope this opens our eyes to see Christmas a little different this year.
So here is the article (with thanks to Steve Chalke's book "The Lost Message of Jesus"
As we look towards celebrating Christmas later this month, I am reminded of a book that I read a year or two ago that had a chapter about Christmas. The book is entitled “The Lost Message of Jesus” by Steve Chalke and in a chapter entitled “The Promised Prince of Peace” he covers the importance of the Christmas Story. I want to take this space to share with you just how revolutionary the story of the birth of Jesus by including a section from the book.
“The sleeping baby has become the symbol of the status quo- a safe, sanitized, twenty-first century savior. But it is time to take a closer look at the stories of Jesus’ birth, reading them with Israel’s history wrapped around the newborn baby rather than with our sugar-coated sentimentality. Only then will we truly understand that the Christmas story is a radical message that sets the scene for all that is to come from the most challenging and controversial figure of all human history.”
“As we see in the opening chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus birth took place in the shadow of two great powers: King Herod (Matthew 2:1) and Emperor Augustus (Luke 2:1). But in pointing this out, Matthew and Luke have a greater purpose than simply informing us about geography and chronology. Rather they are setting the scene- sketching the political landscape and the social pecking order of the first-century Palestine, the backdrop against which the events of Jesus birth would take on huge significance.”
Chalke continues, “In such a highly charge atmosphere, it is understandable why wise men who traveled thousands of miles and were guided by an astrological portent in order to visit and worship the child who was called “the new born king” was a hugely provocative event. So Herod, concerned with his own position as ruler of Israel demanded to know, “Where will the Messiah be born?” He knew that if this baby was the true king of Israel, his days were numbered. There was no room for two royal houses in Israel. Herod, for one, would do all he could to resist the charms of this particular baby.”
“The Gospel writers, however, are determined that their readers understand the significance of Jesus’ birth on a larger scale- it struck right at the heart of the mighty Roman Empire. Any power of Herod the Great paled before the might of Caesar Augustus (from which Herod derived his power in the first place). He had single-handedly turned what had become a rocky republic into the greatest and most famous empire of them all. As the establisher and sole leader of the Roman Empire (27BC-AD 14) he developed what the termed his “gospel” for the people, the good news according to Caesar: “Divine Augustus Caesar, son of god, imperator of land and sea, the benefactor and saviour of the whole world, has brought you peace.” Anyone else laying claim to this role would have been treated as a pretender to the throne and permanently silenced.
“Therefore, it is a statement of political dynamite when the God of Israel sends his messenger Gabriel to announce the true saviour of the world and the bringer of real peace, the shalom of God, is now present on earth and that this is genuine good news for all the people. Both Matthew and Luke are making it abundantly clear that the birth of Jesus is a paradigm-shifting event. The gauntlet has been thrown down. From that moment, there was a new kid in town, a new contender vying for the title, Saviour of the World!”
May this Christmas be a time of following our paradigm-shifting, upside down kingdom, radical loving God who came to earth in the most obscure way, a baby born to poor parents in a manager.
Hope this opens our eyes to see Christmas a little different this year.
posted by Ryan at 1:09 PM
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