Dec. 25, 2001

Yesterday we had a very nice Service. It is very special to celebrate Christmas Eve. I hope you all had a great Christmas Eve at home.

The Christmas Day is main Festival Day. This used to be the most crowded one at Church. This is still the great Festival Day in terms of solemn hymns and the sermon.

Let us stand and sing together our special Festival Hymn 47: "A Savior is born today."

The text for Christmas Day always is the introduction of the Gospel of John and this is a nice, poetic writing. This is the oldest Christmas Hymn. It is a hymn of praise to God by Christ. With the words of the Great Thanksgiving for the Eucharist we can say:

" It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places

offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, through Christ our Lord. In the wonder and mystery of the Word made flesh you have opened the eyes of faith to a new and radiant vision of your glory, that, beholding the God made visible, we may be drawn to love the God whom we cannot see. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn."

The oldest hymn of praise is to the honor of Christ as God’s eternal Word. He is in the unity with the Creator. He is the heavenly Lord and belongs to heaven. He is from eternity. But He also is in the unity with God’s creation. He is in the unity with the earth. He is in the midst of time and of the world. He is a human child and our Lord.

It is provoking for all human sense that God who is Spirit, himself joins the materiel world, the physical being, that He himself comes as a human being. He makes himself in unity with the creation he made by the Word. He makes himself in unity with the beauty of the earth and the disgust of the world.

The Church Father Augustin says in his "Confessions" that he has discovered many similarities between Christianity and the religions, but the one item he has never found, is about God becoming man.

The oldest Christmas Hymn is praising God for his coming to the world of human beings, the God who is searching this earth, the God who does everything to reestablish the broken relations between heaven and earth. He is the God who again will communicate with his creation. He is the God of Incarnation.

The word Incarnation means to take on human flesh.

The Son of God became man.

Who can really understand? This remains to be a miracle, a mystery.

The Apostle Creed says with words of praise: " I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."

The Nicene Creed that we use to day focuses as a fact that Christ is born, not created.

He is " eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true god, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made."

In this we can see the big difference between Jesus Christ and all human beings. We are created and we are born of our mother, but He is born of the Father, conceived by the power of the Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

This does not fit our modern ears when it is said that He is born of his Father. But in Biblical thinking this is not a problem. It is not thought of God as sex, but words and symbols used illustrate God as both mother and father.

Who is Jesus? People asked at that time. He was a mystery. Jesus asked his disciples and Peter declared: You are Messiah, the Son of the living God!

The religious leaders examined Jesus about this and asked him are you Son of God? Jesus confirmed and for this reason he was put to death for blasphemy.

Peter’s declaration about Jesus has been the faith of the Church for 2000 years.

Christ is true God and true man.

This statement of faith is not a result from church history. This is not a kind of agreement from a big church conference carried by a small majority as it has been said. No, this faith was there from the beginning. This is evident all over in the New Testament. Jesus himself was aware of his dignity. "The Father and I are one", he said. (John 10:30)

The conception and birth of Jesus was a miracle.

Therefore Jesus was perfect. He was without sin in thoughts, words and works. He was justice. But he was not saved from human conditions. He knew about being poor and sick, he was homeless and refugee, he was tempted in all but without any fail.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

In all this he was true God and true Man.

Why did God become man?

From the beginning the Church said:" He had to be man for the purpose of suffer and death, but no human being could take away the sin of the world and suffer God’s judge for our disobedience and defeat the devil, therefore he also had to be God."

"For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven."

The oldest Christmas Hymn is praising Christ.

We do not understand the mystery of Christ, but we can adore Him and participate in the hymn of praise. Open up for the faith and joy!

" We see you Lord Jesus as one of the tiny ones on earth.

Your birth is a miracle we never understand.

But in an everlasting choir of praise all voices are united,

We see you child and believe!"

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit who is now and always through all ages and ages.

Amen.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716