incarnation

,

Fully Divine: Peace Through Christ

,

Fully Divine: Peace Through Christ

Christmas Letters: Part 4
December 21, 2025

Colossians 1:15-20, Psalm 96

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the one who is first over all creation, because all things were created by him: both in the heavens and on the earth, the things that are visible and the things that are invisible…

… He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the one who is firstborn from among the dead so that he might occupy the first place in everything.

~ Colossians 1:15-16a, 18

_______________

 Excerpts adapted from The Christmas Letters, by Magrey R. DeVega.

 

Throughout the Old Testament, God was revealed to the Israelites in visible ways.  God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve.  God spoke to Moses through a burning bush and led the people of Israel through the wilderness in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.  But in this hymn, Paul takes God’s self-revelation to a whole new level.  Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  Everything we need to know about God can be seen most directly in this singular human life. 

The letters we have looked at this Advent were written before the gospel accounts, and Mark, the earliest gospel, does not include a nativity story.  When the author of Matthew adapts his own telling, and later the writers of Luke and John, they connect Jesus’ birth to the signs of divinity recognized by the ancient world.  Whereas the mother of Alexander the Great was presumably impregnated by Zeus, so Mary conceived by Divine action alone.  Just as a bright star shown to mark the birth of Augustus Caesar, we get a star and a shy full of shining angels at Jesus’ birth.  And everyone who encounters the Christ child is transformed by his presence, from hopelessness into hope, from fear into courage, and from darkness into light. 

The Christmas story is not just about the physical birth of a baby in Bethlehem.  It is about the first over all creation entering into creation to establish God’s reign over every other ruler on earth.  No matter what changes and challenges came their way, this Christmas message assures them of God’s faithfulness. 

How is this message transforming you?

,

Fully Human: Joy in Humility

,

Fully Human: Joy in Humility

Christmas Letters: Part 3
December 14, 2025

Phillipians 2:1-11

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.  When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

~Philippians 2:6-8

_______________

Excerpts adapted from The Christmas Letters, by Magrey R. DeVega.

 

In a world that defines greatness as a steady climb upward, with more power, fame, and possessions, this early hymn of the church declares the opposite.  Christ’s greatness is shown through servanthood and humility, the qualities our culture tells us are signs of weakness. 

The God of all creation chose to take on human flesh, to breathe the same air and walk the same ground as us.  If Jesus reveals the very nature of God, the incarnation tells us that God is inherently self-giving.  He existed from the very beginning.  He emptied himself.  He humbled himself.  Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him the name above all names. 

But Paul does not sing this hymn simply as a description of God’s self-giving love.  He introduces is it by saying that we should have the same love that is in Christ.  Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves.  Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.  Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:4-5).

Paul does not specify any specific issues that may have divided the church at Philippi, like he does in other letters, but he does plead with them to be united by the love of Christ no matter their differences.  For Paul, his joy is made complete when a diversity of people come together with common love and common purpose, rather than letting any other filter tear them apart. 

How might you cultivate a spirit of humility, curiosity, and empathy, especially toward those who are the most difficult to love?

,

Love Incarnate: The Word of Life Revealed

,

Love Incarnate: The Word of Life Revealed

Christmas Letters: Part 2
December 7, 2025

1 John 1:3-4

We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen, and our hands handled, about the word of life.  The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

~ 1 John 1:1-2

_______________

Excerpts adapted from The Christmas Letters, by Magrey R. DeVega.

 

Like the gospel of John, 1 John begins not with the birth of Jesus, but with the birth of all creation.  Genesis, John, and 1 John open with parallel structures that move us toward the revelation of God to humanity. 

  1. In the beginning (Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, 1 John 1:1)

  2. God is Light (Genesis 1:3-5, John 1:3b-4, 1 John 1:5b, 7)

  3.  God Reigns (Genesis 1:9-11, John 1:5, 10-13, 1 John 2:1-2)

  4.  God Enters the Human Story (Genesis 1:26-27, John 1:14, 1 John 5:6-8) 

In these echoes, the New Testament writer is declaring that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the light, that Jesus overcomes the darkness of sin, and that Jesus lives and dwells among us.  Bottom line: God loves you.

But 1 John takes the incarnation a step further, calling us to be conduits of God’s love with one another.  The incarnation that we anticipate at Advent is not just in the arrival of Jesus in our lives.  It is in the expectation that we will take the presence of Jesus and become agents of love and healing in our relationships with one another. 

John announces these things so that we might have fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son, so that our joy may be complete (1 John 1:3-4).

 

How does Genesis 1 deepen your own appreciation of the incarnation? 

In what ways are you experiencing a darkness that can be overcome by the light of Christ?

,

Christmas at Paul's

,

Christmas at Paul’s

December 29, 2024
Philippians 2:1-11, Galatians 2:20

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Though he was in the form of God,
      he did not consider being equal with God some
      thing to exploit.
But he emptied himself
      by taking the form of a slave
      and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
      he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the   
      point of death, even death on a cross.

 

Philippians 2:5-8

_______________

Christmas Day is over and for many, the decorations have already been put away.  We’ve enjoyed four Christmas feasts at the home’s of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John and now it’s time for everyone to go home. 

I find it strange how much effort goes into Christmas preparation and how quickly we seem to want to move on without taking time to enjoy it.  When a new baby is born, we don’t ooh and ahh over it for a day or two and then leave it behind at the hospital.  We take the child home and our lives are never the same.

So how about just one more stop on our Christmas tour, at Paul’s house.  “Paul?” you might ask.  What does he have to do with Christmas.  He didn’t even encounter Jesus until after the resurrection.  Paul missed didn’t just miss the birthday party, he missed Jesus’ whole life. 

Perhaps, and yet, Paul writes one of the earliest hymns of the church in Philippians 2 that may be one of the most important Christmas songs in history.  Christ was in the form of God and yet did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.  He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For someone who didn’t even bring a gift to the baby shower, Paul seems to have a pretty solid grasp of exactly what God is up to in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Paul understands that Christmas isn’t really about the details of Jesus’ birth at all.  It’s about incarnation.  It’s about God becoming flesh to dwell among us.  No, more than that… it’s about God humbling Godself even to the point of death.  It’s about a God who doesn’t just become one of us and hide away in a royal palace, but who actually suffers with us and identifies with the grief, the pain and the agony of being human. 

Bringing a baby home changes things.  It is usually joyful in many ways, but it is also hard.  There is pain not only in childbirth, but in raising a child, in watching the child struggle and hurt throughout their own lives, in letting the child go, and in learning to walk alongside him or her in a new way as adults. 

Paul says that the attitude of humility in Christ should be our attitude.  In essence, he’s telling us that we can’t just show up for the party and leave the baby laying in the manger while we go back to our ordinary lives.  The incarnation of Jesus changes us.  Through Jesus, God shows us exactly what humanity is supposed to look like, how we are supposed to live, to serve, and to love one another as Christ loved us. 

Paul’s house may not be decorated like the others, but for Paul, Christmas never ends.  The baby doesn’t stay in the manger, and he doesn’t stay a baby.  Jesus makes his home among us.  Jesus grows with us and in us. 

And so we must grow too. 

As Christ becomes like us, so we must become like him. 

Listen to full sermon here

,

Christmas at John's

,

Christmas at John’s

December 22, 2024
John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word
    and the Word was with God
    and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
    and without the Word
    nothing came into being.
What came into being
    through the Word was life,
    and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light…

 John 1:1-5

_______________

Of the four gospel writers, John appears to be the poet and artist of the group.  Christmas at his house is no doubt filled with the most creative décor and an elaborate feast.  Technically, like Mark, John doesn’t tell the story of Jesus’ birth at all.  Unlike Mark, however, the beginning of the good news for John is not in Jesus’ active ministry, or in his birth like Luke, or even in his ancestral line like Matthew.  No, the beginning of the good news for John is the beginning of all creation.

The Word was with God and the Word was God and everything that came into being came through the Word… and now John tells us that this very word through which all things were made, has put on flesh and dwells among us. 

In 2010, I tried to wrap my head around what this cosmic truth must have felt like for Mary, and what it means for us as we gaze at the baby in the manger.  Below is the first verse and chorus of the song that came to me:

Here I am, face to face with a faceless God
Gazing deep into the eyes of the all-seeing one

 How can i hold you when I'm wrapped in your arms?
How can i feed the bread of life?
How can this baby have known me in the womb?
How can the angel's words be true?

All of my life, I've tried so hard to believe
In a God so high above, I wondered could you hear me
But now you're here, wrapped in my flesh and bone
And I'm still tryin' O Lord, so hard to believe

For John, it’s not enough that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah or even the Savior of the World.  Jesus is the fullness of the Word that spoke light into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.  Jesus embodies the Word of Life that spoke all of creation into existence.   John takes seriously the words of the Psalmist who writes, “The heavens declare the majesty of God and the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands” (Psalm 19:1). 

Poetry and art exist to express something deeper than what ordinary words can say.  It is the language of the soul.  John portrays Jesus as the language of God’s heart and soul.  The words of the prophets and the angels were not enough for the people to stay in love with God.  Now it’s time for God to speak directly.  But God doesn’t speak in the language of laws or declarations or doctrinal standards. 

No, God speaks the language of love wrapped in flesh… the pinnacle of God’s creation, humanity itself, now showing us what God’s love really means… a love beyond words, a love beyond actions, a love that gives God’s whole self fully for the sake of the world.


 Listen to full sermon here 

,

Too Close

,
Too Close

"God and Jesus," we often say, as if they are separate. And often the Holy Spirit barely gets honorable mention.

Yet we worship GOD the Father, GOD the Son, and GOD the Holy Spirit... God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.

Even with our theological framework of this great mystery, that God himself came to earth and put on flesh to dwell among us and show us how to live, we still tend to distance the human Christ from the Almighty Heavenly Being whom we call God.

God often feels so distant, so Holy, so other, so incomprehensible, and sometimes even unapproachable. We talk as if God's got bigger problems to deal with than our petty concerns, but often this is only an excuse to cover up the pain we feel from the prayers we think God didn't answer. After all, why should we expect the Creator of the Universe to be concerned about our jobs, our health, even our insignificant lives or the lives of our loved ones. Everybody struggles. Everybody dies. Why should God care?

Babies, on the other hand, are close. We wrap them in our arms. We care for them. We hold them close and take joy in their smiles, their bright innocent eyes, their laughter, their warmth. We feel responsible to protect them in their vulnerable state. We don't look away for a second. We keep them under constant supervision for years to make sure no harm comes to them. Babies are nothing like God.

And yet we are to believe that God became a baby? That an all powerful God made himself so weak and vulnerable?…

,

Keepers of the Spring

,
Keepers of the Spring

…The late Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the United States Senate, often told the story of the “Keeper of the Spring,” about a man who lived in the forest above a quaint Austrian village in the Alps.

The old gentle man had been hired many years earlier by a young town council to clear away the debris from the pools of water that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town. With faithful, silent regularity he patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt from the fresh flow of water. By and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque.

Years passed. One evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary figure being paid the obscure keeper of the spring. Said the keeper of the purse, "Who is the old man? Why do we keep him on year after year? For all we know he is doing us no good. He isn't necessary any longer!" By a unanimous vote, they dispensed with the old man's services.

For several weeks nothing changed. By early autumn the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of water. One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A couple days later the water was much darker. Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks and a foul odor was detected. The millwheels moved slower, some finally ground to a halt. Swans left as did the tourists. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Embarrassed, the council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they hired back the old keeper of the spring . . . and within a few weeks, the river began to clear up.

This story paints a beautiful picture of the church’s role as keepers of the spring of living water. Sadly, the church tends to act more as a gatekeeper restricting access to those who we deem worthy of a drink. It is as if we feel the need to ration a limited water supply for the sake of our own survival, not recognizing the abundance available to us and to the world in God’s eternal spring. Like the exiles in Jeremiah’s day, we in the church today have “forsaken [God], the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for [ourselves], cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” As it has throughout history, the life-giving water Christ offers will spring forth in the deserts beyond our walls, and even the deserts within our walls…

Just a Small Thing

Just a Small Thing

Late one evening the week after Christmas in 2010, I was sitting with my guitar in the dark sanctuary of Springfield United Methodist Church (Springfield, KY) as the soft glow of street-lights reflected through the beautiful stained glass windows.

I was thinking about the amazing Christmas Eve Candlelight Service we had there only a few nights before, and the church-wide Christmas party afterward at one of the member’s homes. It was such a small gathering, though not too small given the size of the congregation, but to this day it was one of the most special Christmas Eve nights I can remember.

Sometimes… maybe most of the time… it’s the small things that mean the most. That’s what this week’s song is all about…

So Hard to Believe

So Hard to Believe

Advent and Christmas can serve as a type of “thin place” in our church calendar. It is a season when the veil between heaven and earth seems more thin than usual. It may be a place where the holy and the ordinary meet.

That’s what this week’s song is about as we move into the Advent season. May the weeks ahead be filled with “thin places” where you encounter the miracle of God with us in beautiful and amazing ways.

Subscribe to receive regular sermon reflections & blog updates from Craig

* indicates required