Rooftop Revelations: My Walk Across America and Christmas
Pastor and Project HOOD founder Corey Brooks says the greatest gift this Christmas is not presents or programs, but the opportunity to complete his center debt-free – building safety through healing and education, rooted in biblical truth and excellence.
I have long been fascinated by the beautiful, cosmic terms that Paul uses in his letters to describe Jesus’ place in human history.
Take Ephesians 1:9-10 for example:
“And [God] has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to bring together all things in heaven and on earth in Christ.”
This is a powerful image at any time, but at Christmas it takes on a special resonance. The threads of each of these verses, woven together, reveal an intricate tapestry of a God with a plan and purpose for human history.
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People attend the lighting of a Christmas tree in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in the city of Bethlehem. (Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Martin Luther King Jr., echoing abolitionist minister Theodore Parker, often said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We see in this passage that God is not far removed from the affairs of man, but directs the world to his good purpose.
The central point in God’s plan is precisely what we celebrate every Christmas: his entry into the world in human flesh in the person of Jesus.
The incarnation of Christ – which led to his death and resurrection – comes, as Paul puts it, in the fullness of time; it is the culmination of God’s purpose in human history. All creation waited with eager longing for the coming of the Messiah.
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This idea is powerfully expressed in Phillip Brooks’ classic Christmas hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem”:
“O little town of Bethlehem / how still we see you lie! / Above your deep and dreamless sleep / the silent stars pass by / Yet in your dark streets shines / the eternal light / the hopes and fears of all the years / are met in you tonight.”
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Martin Luther King Jr., echoing abolitionist minister Theodore Parker, often said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The greatest human hope – redemption, restoration, eternal life – is fulfilled and validated in the coming of Christ. The greatest human fears – sin, death, separation from God – are met and answered in the coming of Christ.
When God’s people heard the word Christ—Messiah—they expected a conquering king who would deliver them from Roman rule and restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory. These were the fears they expected Jesus to remove.
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Instead, the promised Messiah came as a vulnerable little boy, born in a manger, far from the cultural centers of power and influence. This makes no sense if Jesus was a political savior. But He wasn’t. Rather, He came to destroy the works of the devil, especially the supremacy of death and sin.
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JRR Tolkien, master storyteller that he was, came up with his own word for the moment in a story where all hope is lost – and then suddenly found again; the moment when evil seems to triumph – and then is suddenly vanquished by good. He called moments like this eucatastrophe (‘good turn’) – the opposite of catastrophe.
For Tolkien, this was not just a concept that existed in mythical stories, but one that had played out in an ultimate way in the real world: ‘The birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of human history. …There was never a story told that people would rather find out was true.”
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As lost as we were by the fall of our first parents, our story seemed dark and hopeless – until Christ entered. The coming of Jesus was the turning point of the entire human story. Thus, when the angels announced the birth of the Christ child, they announced it as “good news of great joy for all the people.”
It remains good news for all people today, not only because God has accomplished his purpose in the story of Christ, but because he invites us into that story and in doing so offers us our own greater purpose.
‘Lord of the Rings’ author JRR Tolkien coined the term eucatastrophe (‘good turn’) – the opposite of catastrophe – which applies to the birth of Christ. (Haywood Magee via Getty Images)
Jesus said that the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Christ came to give us the kind of life and purpose we have always longed for: the true purpose and the true life: the life in the world to come.
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This is what we were made for. This is how the world was meant to be. And that is what Jesus came to restore all those years ago and what He will fulfill when He returns. But until then, He has invited us – His people – to join Him and bring the Kingdom to earth here and now.
God created us for a purpose. He has given us work to do as participants in His story. He has prepared good works for us; we have the calling, the opportunity and the privilege to carry them out.
When we love and serve our neighbor, when we work for righteousness, when we choose the right path over the easy path, when we walk with Christ and invite others to walk alongside us, we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.
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The coming of Jesus was the turning point of the entire human story. Thus, when the angels announced the birth of the Christ Child, they announced it as “good news of great joy for all the people.”
We shine the light of Christ, the same light that shone from Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.
This Christmas, as we remember the culmination of God’s purpose in the coming of Christ, we are invited to find our purpose. We are called to take our place in the story as God redeems the world; to find the places where our deep sense of purpose meets the deep need of the world.
I pray that we will pay attention to God’s voice and respond to His call.
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Brooks’ hymn aptly concludes:
“O holy child of Bethlehem / Descend to us, we pray / Cast out our sin and enter / Are born in us today / We hear the Christmas angels / Tell the great glad tidings / O come to us, abide with us / Our Lord Emmanuel!”
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Christmas manger scene with statues of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, sheep and wise men. (iStock)
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