Let Earth Receive Her King

I have tried to avoid writing about Christmas. Perhaps it is my years working retail in the heart of winter that has led me to be an absolute grinch. Seeing all that is wrong with American culture enhanced by permitting it in the name of Christian celebration irks me even more. Greed and consumerism abound. However, the joy of spending time with family and friends will be especially sweet this Christmas. In what has been a tough year for many of us, it seems a more simplistic mindset has come upon those around me and I am thankful for their reminding me of the good of Christmas. A scripture has kept reappearing that is not usually associated with Christmas but I think has a great deal to say to those who love Christ.

Philippians 2:1-11 reads:
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

The first point we see is that continuing from a discussion of the struggle that both Paul and the Philippian church shared, Paul begins to speak of encouragement and unity. The conjunction translated "if" actually assumes the following to be true; a better rendering might be "since". Paul knows that those who have met Christ have been encouraged, have been loved compassionately, and have been united to Him. So Paul encourages the believers to have a like mind: if you have been encouraged, be an encouragement; if loved, be loving; if united, etc. Rather than having hollow opinions of ourselves, we are to think of others and their considerations first. Hollowness and emptiness are a theme that we see unfold in Paul's mind in this chapter. When we think highly of ourselves it is really vain conceit and hollow thinking. We deceive ourselves in pride. Instead of focusing on ourselves we should focus on others; Paul literally says, look to the things of others. Imagine walking down a street where everyone was intently focused on themselves and their own problems and not looking where they were going. This is what happens when we do things out of selfish ambition. In our scenario, people would be bumping into each other, running into buildings or out in front of cars, only compounding their own problems. However, if they are looking after the things of others, they can maneuver safely, and even receive help with their own problems while helping others. Paul gives the antitheses of his wrong motivations: do nothing out of selfish ambition, but rather out of the anti-selfishness, consideration of others. Likewise, do nothing out of vain conceit, but rather out of anti-pride, humility.

You may be asking, what does this have to do with Christmas? I'm glad you asked. You see, Paul knew that humility and consideration are so far removed from our human mentality that we would only truly understand what he meant if we had an example set for us. And boy did we. Paul looked to the One who had a true claim to think highly of Himself and yet decided to act in humility and selflessness. Jesus was in very nature God. The Greek here is transliterated morphe, and it describes essential attributes. If anyone had a right to enjoy the privileges of the throne of God, it was Jesus. He was, and always has been, at His essence, God. However, Christ did not consider this glory something to be taken advantage of. It is interesting to note here the contrast of the first Adam, father of mankind, and the second Adam, firstborn over all creation. In Genesis 3, we see the serpent tell the man and his wife that if they ate of the fruit that they would become like God. Our sinful forefather seized his opportunity to grasp equality with God. And yet, Jesus, our righteousness, deemed it worth sacrificing for our sake. This is anything but selfish ambition.

Instead of taking pride in His divinity and lording it over us, Jesus rather became like us, and not only like us, but even our servant. Worth noting here is that while the Greek schema - describing outward appearance that is subject to change - is used to describe Christ's becoming a man, morphe is used to describe His being a servant (doulos, literally slave, but this might offend our Western European conscience). So while Christ was God who became a man, it was actually essential to Himself to be a servant. In fact, when Paul tells of Christ emptying Himself it brings to mind Isaiah 53:12: "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Christ was obedient. Not only that, but God Himself was obedient to death. And not only death, but the most despicable and gruesome death imagined, especially to the Jewish people (for whom death by hanging was a curse). So this is our Jesus, God become weak and insubstantial flesh, the Creator of speech unable to speak a word and having to learn language. The One who designed the human body learning to control his bowels. The One who imagined circulatory systems bleeding out. That is what humility looks like.

But, of course, the story does not end there. Because Christ humbled Himself and was obedient unto death, the Father exalted Him and it will be the duty and honor of every knee to bow and every tongue proclaim that King Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father (SOLI DEO GLORIA!)! And if we are like Him in life, and like Him in death, then we too will be rewarded - though to a much smaller degree - by God our Father at the resurrection.

So as we celebrate the birth of our King, we would do well to remember His example. As we exchange gifts with those we love, and work with, and tolerate, and got stuck with in secret santa drawings whom we barely know, we should remember Him whose birthday we celebrate. And perhaps we should give Him the gift of honoring His example. What are practical ways that we can be humble servants who consider others? Doubtless we all have our own circumstance and know how we can best serve the poor, needy, hurting, and sick around us. I will leave you with a video by an organization that offers eye-opening truths and some practical suggestions on how we can honor Jesus as we celebrate His birth. Merry Christmas, and Hallelujah!

Song

Today I wrote a song for the first time in a long time. It is based on Philippians 2:6-11.

You are in very nature God
But You decided that was not
Something that You should hold onto
You wanted us to live with You

Hallelujah

So You became a man like me
Served all mankind in humility
Oh, Image of the invisible God
You died hanging on a tree

Hallelujah

Jesus, exalted to the highest place
Your name above all other names

Hallelujah

Every knee will bow
And every tongue proclaim

Jesus is Lord

Hallelujah