If
then there is any encouragement in Christ, and consolation from love, any
sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete; be of
the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Philippians 2. 1-2
When the Apostle Paul talks about Christmas, he talks
about it in terms of “joy.” When Paul
considers the wonder of Christ, the mystery of the Holy Spirit, and the awesome
power of God, he hopes to receive joy. The gift of Christmas, the one the
people of Philippi can deliver, is the gift of joy.
So joy is our Christmas expectation. But joy is such an
elusive gift. It runs away when angry words replace understanding and
compassion when the Christmas tree falls down. Joy escapes out the back door
when sighs and exasperations come before smiles and good cheer. Joy also
doesn’t bother to even come out if the fakeness and absent-minded cheeriness of
the season becomes the only reason to celebrate the birth of Christ. There is
no joy in fakery.
Joy blossoms in the wake of patience. Joy shines bright
under the lights of love and peace. Joy becomes complete when people reach
hand-in-hand across barriers that separate us. Joy rejoices in people for whom
faith, hope, and love are the gifts of Christmas.
Do
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as
better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to
the interests of others. Philippians
2. 3-4
Paul puts an interesting twist on Christmas. He wants us
to regard other people as better than us. Do you see a lot of people doing that
these days? (Do you see ANYONE doing that these days?) Christmas is all about
thinking other people are better than you.
We don’t do that very well. Why not? Why do most people
think they are better than others? What can Christmas teach us about ourselves?
What can we learn from a manger?
Let me put it this way: what did you do to get God to be
born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago? Were you even around? I’m guessing most of us
had little to do with that event. Yet—God gives the baby Jesus to us every day,
every moment of our lives. And we do nothing to make it happen.
The hardest part of Christmas is learning to receive
gifts, not give gifts. Anyone can give a gift…few know how to receive them. To
receive a gift in humility as Paul suggests is the hardest part of being a
human. Everything else is second place. 
Let
the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who—though he was in the form
of God—did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but he
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the
point of death—even death on a cross. Philippians 2. 5-8
I like how Paul understands Christmas from the
perspective of Jesus; as if, Jesus, in the manger looks at his tiny hands and
feet and says “Who saw this one coming?” He “found” himself in human form? Sort
of like I looked in the mirror one day and found I was old. Well, this can’t be
good…
Christmas is all about those unexpected discoveries. And
Jesus, probably no more or less than Mary, Joseph, the angels, the donkey, and
the cattle, got an unexpected discovery as well. He can die. But would he?
For Paul, the great gift of Christmas is not that Jesus is
born, but rather that he accepts his birth and the death that is part and
parcel of such a thing. This Christmas is about accepting the unacceptable,
both for Jesus the Christ, and us the humans. Can we accept that we are
accepted? Can we humans—finding ourselves in human form on a quite regular
basis—accept that? It does mean accepting we will die…and maybe that’s the rub
we have—and as Paul notes, Jesus didn’t. 
Therefore
God also highly exalted him, and gave him the name that is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend 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. Phillipians
2. 9-11
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Here’s what we’ve all been waiting for—Jesus Christ is
Lord! (Wait. What? I wanted a Lexus.) The day has arrived where we celebrate
that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all. Even “under” the earth, wherever that is.
It’s tough to make Jesus part of the season. There’s so
many other things to do. So many people to see. Gifts to share. Eggnog to
drink. Cookies to eat. Maybe we can squeeze Jesus in right before dinner of
Christmas Eve?
Even as a pastor, Jesus can sometimes be pushed aside in
our rush to “get things ready.” (As an aside, my birthday is in Advent, and as
a kid sharing this season with Jesus and Santa Claus led for interesting gifts
from relatives who had forgotten that fact. I once got a razor. I was six.) But
Jesus Christ is Lord whether we remember that or not…talk about a gift!
Therefore,
my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but
much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation in fear and trembling
for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for
his good pleasure. Philippians.
2.12-13
Happy New Year! 
Paul ends his reflection on Christmas with a great new
life resolution—fear and trembling! That is that now that we have been blessed
with the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives we are now set free to live as
people. Real humans (found in human form); filled with hope and joy (make my
joy complete); and trusting in God rather than ourselves (look not to your own
interests).
So what? So God has done this marvelous thing, big deal?
There are no easy answers to how Christ Jesus is Lord of your life. Some of
your choices will be good, some…not so much. Sometimes good things will happen,
sometimes evil will win. Everything is penultimate. (Thank you, Bonhoeffer.)
So as we approach the New Year, it might be well to remember
that our lives are lived in fear and trembling, not because we are afraid, but
because there is nothing else to go on as we live from the freedom of the
cross.
May your tables be full and your conversations be true.
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