Christmas is the reversal of Genesis 3. While humanity
in Genesis 3 sought power by wanting to be god (4-6). Christmas is about God letting go of that power
and becoming human to show us that the solution to the human problem lies in
letting go and letting God. Philippians
2:5-11, an ancient Christian hymn recorded by Apostle
Paul describes well this Christmas
theme of Jesus as God letting go. What this hymn is saying, first of all, is that before Jesus became this earthly man he was in the form of
God (6). In essence what
this hymn is saying is that Jesus was
God before he became man. Next the hymn says that even though Jesus was God He did not regard His equality with God
or being God as something to be exploited or taken advantage of (6). We live in a
world where many CEOs and executives of big companies and banks exploit or take
advantage of their positions by giving themselves big raises and bonuses while
the workers on their factory floors are struggling or losing their jobs. But,
this hymn says that Jesus did not
regard his being God, the CEO of the universe as something to be exploited or
taken advantage of by staying in the heavenly mansion and by not caring about
the people on the factory floor of this earth. He did not regard His position
as God to mean getting as much as He could for Himself but as giving everything
He had. He did not regard His position as God to mean a way to avoid suffering
but to embrace suffering for His people. Therefore He did something quite
unimaginable. He as God came down. The hymn says that He emptied himself (7),
meaning He poured Himself out for the service of his people by taking on the
form of a slave. That is He became a person without advantages, rights and
privileges. Slaves did not have rights and privileges in that society. That is
what Jesus became when he gave up His
rights and privileges as God and became a man. He became a slave. As the second
person of the trinity he became a slave of God, the Father. As a result he served
God all through out His life. And he became a slave of humanity because it was
his God, the Father’s will that he die for the sins of the world. For that
reason Jesus could say to His disciples
in Matt.20:28, “The Son of Man did
not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” And
that is also what the verse 8 of
this hymn refers to. That He became obedient to the point of death, even death
on the cross. It is ironic that crucifixion
as the most extreme state sponsored punishment was reserved for people such
as the slaves. Jesus who took on the
form of a slave also died a slave’s death on the cross. Even though Jesus as God did not
have to die, his obedience to God, the Father knew know limit. He was obedient
to the point of death, even death on the cross for the sins of the world.
In the garden
of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Father
not my will, but your will be done.” What He was saying, that if it is your
will that I die may your will be done. While in the Garden of Eden humanity
wanted to be like God, replace God as a moral authority and decide what is best
for themselves, in the Garden
of Gethsemane God
That is the
essence of Christmas. While humanity in their attempt to be like God messed
things up, on Christmas day God became man to fix things up by teaching the
world the value of letting go and letting God. You see while Adam
as the representative of humanity in his attempt to be like God ended up dying and
ushering in a culture of sin, death and destruction into this world (Romans 5:12-21), Jesus
Christ by letting go and letting God even though he died was resurrected back
to life ushering in a culture of new life, eternal life and restoration for all who trust in him.
Therefore while war, tragedy and destruction remind us of the futility of
humanity trying to be God, the angel voice that still echoes “Peace on earth
and goodwill to men” reminds us of the value of letting go and letting
God.
