with Rev Dr Chris Walker
Flock of Birds / Incarnation
I enjoy Coldplay’s music. Chris Martin’s voice and the range of the band’s music I find very stimulating and appealing. I do not tire of the sounds and songs they come up with. The last track on their latest album “Ghost Stories” is about a flock of birds. Or is it? If you listen carefully to the words there is a line early in the song that can easily be missed. In that one line there are the words, “I sigh and think of love.” Then it continues to describe the flock of birds. So the song is in fact not really about a flock of birds that fly past but about love. Love that comes and goes, longing for love, wanting to find and go away with love – there are various interpretations that can legitimately be drawn from the song. In that sense it is like good poetry: it evokes thoughts, the imagery lends itself to various interpretations. Unless you notice the one line that explicitly mentions love however, you could easily fail to grasp the depth and cleverness of the song and its imagery. You could think it was only about a flock of birds that flies past and not be led into thinking about love. As we head towards another Christmas the same is surely true. We can so easily get caught up in the busyness of Christmas activities and preparations that we can fail to think of love. The superficial activities can prevent us from thinking more deeply about life, relationships and the meaning of Christmas. This is not to suggest that we should avoid being involved in the various activities. They have their place. They are an opportunity to catch up with people, to enjoy social times, to search for appropriate gifts to buy. Yet Christmas is really about love, the love of God which came to us at the first Christmas and the love God wants us to show each other. This is the season of Advent which leads up to Christmas. It is a season of preparation in which the Church recalls its hope and expectation in the coming of Christ, past, present and future. In preparing for Christmas it is helpful to take some time to reflect on what one Christmas song describes as, “Love came down at Christmas.” God of course loved humanity and all creation prior to the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem some 2014 or so years ago. Nevertheless Christian faith highlights that God does not just love us from afar but came among us in Jesus Christ. The theological doctrine of the Incarnation is a primary one for Christian faith for it says that Jesus was not just another prophet sent by God to lead us to God. In Jesus God went even further and sent his Son. God identified with humanity and creation to the point of becoming one with us in Jesus Christ. In the earthly ministry of Jesus as a result of the surprising things he was doing, his followers were provoked to raise the following kinds of questions, “Who is this? Where did he get his authority? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Some of Jesus’ hearers were very positive about all he was doing and the hopes he aroused. Others were critical as they were unwilling to allow their traditional religious understanding to be challenged. Many were no doubt unclear as to what to think. It took the Church some time to develop its understanding and make formal pronouncements about Incarnation. Yet early on there are clear statements that God was taking action in Jesus in a unique way and identify Jesus with God. Jesus himself raised the question with his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” and then the more direct question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s response was, “You are the Messiah,” or “the Christ,” namely God’s anointed one. Following the resurrection it became clearer to the followers of Jesus that he was indeed God’s chosen one, God’s Son, God identifying in person with humanity. For Jesus not only lived and taught as a prophet, he acted on behalf of God like none before him. God raised him to be the name above all names. So Paul in his letter to the Philippians quotes an early hymn that speaks of Jesus Christ as being with God but emptied himself and became a human, and lived a human life to the point of death – even death on a cross. As a consequence God raised him and exalted him to be Lord of all (Philippians 2:5-11). Paul described himself as an apostle set apart to proclaim the gospel of God, “the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1: 3-4). John speaks of the Word being with God from the beginning. The Spirit of God not only came upon prophets to proclaim God’s Word. God then went even further: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John makes the standard statement that “no one has ever seen God” but goes on to say, “It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (John 1: 18). In Jesus God’s Word fully dwelt, indeed Jesus was the Word become flesh (incarnate) in order to make God, God’s character and purposes, clearly known. Christina Georgina Rossetti was correct in her Christmas song in speaking about Jesus being love incarnate, love divine. As we move towards Christmas may we not get so caught up in the many activities that we fail to think of love, love come down, love incarnate in Jesus Christ. Chris Walker (National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship) chrisw@nat.uca.org.au http://revdrchriswalker.wordpress.com/