Pointing Us to the Incarnation

This Sunday we will gather for the first Sunday of Christmastide. The lectionary will focus our attention on the incarnation, the truth that Christmas announces each year. We need the reminder because, as we all know, it’s easy to get distracted this time of year. The parties, the decorations, the presents: Sensory overload can numb us to the occasion for the festivities.

Of course, the accoutrements themselves are not the problem. To the contrary, if seen in the right light, the pomp of Christmas serves as a joyous pointer to the birth of Christ. The problem isn’t with the pointers but with us. I love C. S. Lewis’s illustration:

“You will have noticed that most dogs cannot understand pointing. You point to a bit of food on the floor; the dog, instead of looking at the floor, sniffs at your finger. A finger is a finger to him, and that is all. His world is all fact and no meaning.”

How often we can be like Lewis’s dog at Christmas—marveling at the new TV, savoring the homemade eggnog, and yet failing to revel in the present behind the presents: the incarnation of the Son of God.

This Sunday, a deacon will read the appointed Gospel lesson from the center of the sanctuary. It’s a tactile reminder of exactly what we’re celebrating at Christmas. Jesus announced the good news of the Kingdom not from a distance but on the ground, in flesh, among his people.

Not counting equality with God a thing to be grasped, Jesus stepped down from his rightful throne in heaven. He came among us, eating with tax collectors and sinners. He came not to be served but to serve—Jesus, the true deacon.

This Sunday we will hear the voice of Christ announce good news. Christ’s voice pierces through the cacophony of holiday activity. His words reshape and reorient the festivities, giving new definition and meaning to our mirth.