David Bahn – Reflections

When Virginia, a beloved member of St. John, passed away recently, I was asked to do the funeral. I was honored to be asked, and made certain that Seth, the Lead Minister at St. John was agreeable to my participation – which he was. When I learned that her confirmation verse was this passage from Titus, I knew I would use it for her funeral message: The Grace of God Has Appeared. God’s grace appeared to Virginia. His grace appeared through her to us. God’s grace has appeared to all people in the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem.

God’s grace has appeared to bring salvation to all people. What a gift! What a blessing! And what implications there are to this salvation.

I regularly make the point that our good deeds, our resisting temptation, our faith, and our love for God does not cause God to save us. God’s salvation, his saving grace inspires our good deeds, resisting temptation, our faith and our love for God and for one another.

Because we have been saved, we know the foolishness of Satan’s temptations. Because we have been saved, we are moved to do good deeds. Because we have been saved, we love God and our neighbor. And as surely as night follows day, these things follow those who have been saved.

We may never do it all perfectly. But we must try our best to do what we can. We may never do it with the purest motives, but we must do it nevertheless.

The grace of God is not just a concept. God’s grace is a reality that has been revealed in the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. He has redeemed us.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:1, 14

This passage is the clearest reference to the birth of Jesus outside of the accounts in Matthew and Luke. In the fullness of time. When the time was just right. When the Roman roads allowed safe travel. When the world was at peace (Pax Romana). When there was one language which allowed the Gospel to be communicated more universally.

Beyond that: when it was planned from eternity, and put into motion before the world began. When it became clear that the Law could not save. The people were yearning for a Messiah. The promises and prophecies were pointing to this time, place, and birth.

So the time has come to recall the story:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. – Luke 2:1-20

“Behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all the people, for unto you is born…a Savior who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). This Good News of Jesus shapes the whole of the New Testament. Paul leads with this in his magnum opus, the letter to the Romans. This letter contains theological insights and implications of the incarnation, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.

In these opening verses of Romans Paul speaks of Jesus as both man and God. Jesus’ earthly life was in every way a testimony of his human nature. He never sinned, but he did sleep, weep, eat, teach, suffer and die. That is the stuff of human existence. It seems to me that we can easily swing from an over-emphasis on Jesus’ humanity to an over-emphasis of Jesus’ divinity. Truth is we need both.

The Bible is clear about this: We do not have a high priest who cannot empathise with our weaknesses, but one who was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). God knows our frame. He knows that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). Jesus tasted the fullness of the human condition. And while he was without sin in his nature, he constantly rubbed up against sin in the people around him. Whether by the disbelief and mockery of his enemies, or the weight of human brokenness in people’s illnesses, or the failures even of his closest companions: Jesus knew the realities of sin.

But thousands of good men and women have come and gone who have lived exemplary lives, and made incredible sacrifices. Think Mother Teresa. Martin Luther. Paul himself. But none had power over death. None could raise the dead. None came back to life on the third day. None sit at the right hand of God. The best people who ever live have great limitations to their ability to help us in our hour of greatest need. But Jesus is God and has all power to help us in our greatest need.

Jesus is God. He lives to comfort, heal, bless, and save. He does that because he loves us. He is the Good News of God.

This week, I will look at five passages in the New Testament outside of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth, which refer to Jesus’ birth. As it happens, I have been looking at Galatians over the past few weeks, and Galatians 4 was in the plan for this week. Galatians 4:4 is one of the most clear references outside of the Gospels of the birth of the Savior. That passage will be our focus on Christmas Day.

Today’s passage is a reference to the Messiah as David’s Son. Throughout the Old Testament promise after promise detail the plan of God to save his people. That which was planned from the foundation of the world and humanly-speaking reached its climax in the reign of David. He was the king – following Saul – who inspired God’s people. He was at the acme of Israel’s kingdom. Everyone looked for a return to the glory days of David’s kingdom.

When the angel Gabriel announced Jesus’ coming birth to Mary, he said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33).

When Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus, they went “to Bethlehem the town of David, because [Joseph] belonged to the house and line of David” (Luke 2:4-7).

Jesus is also David’s Lord, as Jesus – later in his ministry – proved: “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied. He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord”? For he says, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?’ No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:41-46).

David was a man after God’s heart. But great as he was, David had great failures. It would be his progeny, Jesus of Nazareth, who would fulfill all that God promised, and all that David should have been.

Today we recognize Jesus not only as David’s Son, but also as his Lord. He is our Lord, too, the very Son of God. In fact if Jesus isn’t God he should be dismissed out of hand. But he is God in the flesh – a mystery of profound grace and truth. We worship the man Jesus who is God. We worship the Son of God, Jesus who took on human flesh for us. He is both David’s Son and David’s Lord, and our Savior from sin, death, and hell.

I have never been much of a clothes horse. I’m not a dapper dresser. My friend Paul, on the other hand, is always dresses to the nines. Impeccable suit and tie, crisply ironed shirt. None of it K-Mart specials for him. Then there’s Tim and Doug, two other dapper dressers. The coolest shirts ever. Collars and cuffs lined with contrasting materials.

In my defense I can point to Lyle Schaller. When I first met this dean of American Christian church growth and leadership he was dressed in a one piece overall. And not the kind of chic overall I just saw reviewed in the New York Times recently: they’re taking the world by storm, or something like that. Well, Lyle, was about as understated in his dress as he was insightful and inspiring in his 50+ books and leadership training. He didn’t depend on his togs to impress. He brought the goods – his unimpressive couture notwithstanding.

There is a far better suit of clothing than custom tailored suits, or designer shirts of which Paul speaks here. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” he says. We have assumed a new identity when we are baptized. God puts his name on us. We belong to him. But what’s more, we are new people. We have a new identity.

To some extent this is a call to live into our new identity as sons and daughters of God. This is a two-edged sword. It is a call to a different way of life – one of godliness, and faithfulness. It is also a reminder of our true identity, and by that a call to remember how God thinks of us. We are his children. To make matters more clear Paul also says that our identity in Christ supersedes race, ethnicity, social standing, and even sex.

When I was baptized I wore a white robe which I thought was just a matter of wearing something rather than my clothes – or even a swim suit. But the symbolism there is worth noting. Through baptism our sins are washed away. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God calls us his own.

I may not be a clothes horse. But O, my Lord, [Jesus has] dressed me. And I am a wonder dressed in his robes of righteousness! (cf. Walter Wangerin, The Ragman)

He just walked in the door – casually, as if this was the most normal day ever. It was a normal day. A school day. But it was nowhere near time for school to be out.

“Are you OK?”

“What? Huh? Yeah I’m fine.”

“Why are you home from school?”

“I just thought it was time to come home.”

She took our third child back to his second grade classroom. There was actually a bit of concern on her part. Why had he been able to just walk home? Why had the teacher not missed him? In these days of school shootings and heightened security concerns it’s hard to imagine how that had happened. But it did. And we told him he must never do that again.

I see them almost every morning. Parents walking their children to school. Some of the children’s backpacks are bigger than the child! But there they go, safely escorted to school. When the school day is over parents will return to the school and bring their children home with them – unless they are older and able to make their own way to and from school.

In Paul’s day special duty slaves called child conductors were assigned to young boys. These trustworthy slaves were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them before arriving at the age of manhood. The boys probably didn’t like that much, and may have tried to find ways of getting around these super-strict child-conductors.

I wonder whether we do the same thing. Trying to find loopholes in God’s laws. Seeking end-runs around God’s limits. Searching for how far we can go before we’re called on the carpet. But just as boys grow up to learn self-discipline we must grow up to find grace a much better relationship than trying to see how far we may wander before we get into trouble.

At times, we may need to be re-directed by a word from God’s law. But this is not a word of condemnation; it is a call to return to grace and faith. Life under God’s grace is far better than living in fear of the law’s demands. When our faith is rooted in God’s promises in Jesus, we find peace, hope, and life in His grace. That certainly doesn’t mean we wander away or abandon God’s ways. But it does mean that when we do wander we remember that God’s love and grace in Jesus is ready to receive us back into a life of grace and faith.

Dr. Dale Meyer pulled a trick on us at a Lutheran church convention. He asked, “How many of you are lifelong Lutherans?” At least 50% of the people there raised their hands. “No you’re not,” he said. “We’re all converts.” A communal ugh arose from the crowd. We were all so busted – although I wasn’t, for I did not grow up attending a Lutheran church. I just didn’t take the bait.

I cannot remember a time when I did not believe in Jesus. My earliest memories are of standing on my parents’ bed singing Jesus Loves Me as we got ready to go to church and Sunday school. So I cannot really speak of life before faith. I realize there was a time when I did not believe in Jesus. For no one is born a believer. We are all converts.

So the idea that we were once captive under the law is difficult for us to believe – especially for those who were raised in a Christian home. Yet it is more true than we might imagine. And that’s part of the reason we are unaware of it. Time in erodes awareness of, the saying goes. So as believers who have been delivered from the tyranny and captivity of the law we can easily become unaware of how captive we are to it.

If we ever worry about our reputation, posture ourselves to be seen in the best light, or make excuses for bad decisions or behavior we are showing just how captive we are to the law. If we believe we need to prove that a request of another is justified or that our prayers are reasonable we give the lie to the claim that we are free.

What if we could simply ask God for anything and leave that request at the foot of the cross for him to do as he sees fit with it? What if we could apologize to our friend or family and make no excuse but ask for forgiveness? What if we could be certain of God’s love pure and without strings attached? What if we never had to make an excuse for a failure but could simply ask for forgiveness? We can do that because we are no longer under law, we are under grace. That is a freedom we must never take for granted nor abuse.

“You will need to display solicitous fortitude in your ministry here.” Those were the words to me of my sister’s father-in-law when I began my new ministry in Arkansas. The church there had been troubled over the past years by a string of poor behavior by their various pastors. He had served as the vacancy pastor prior to my arrival, and offered me a thumbnail sketch of the congregation’s troubles. He had discovered how important it was to be both gracious and strong in his leadership.

I had a hard time learning that lesson. I suppose it was a matter of wanting to be liked by everyone; to be seen as a really good pastor, and not disappointing people. Those drivers are dangerous guardrails for serving effectively as a pastor. Over time, I did manage to learn a bit more about that as time went on. But more than once I got hooked.

I recall listening to my seminary classmate and then seminary professor deal with some challenging questions when he presented at a pastors conference. He was solicitous – almost to a fault. Almost to a fault. He was patient and firm and dealt with a young pastor’s persistent challenges clearly and patiently. I was, frankly, amazed. I thought the young guy should have been told to sit down and be quiet!

Paul will get wound around the stem as he deals with the Judaizers. But here he patiently lays out the reasoning for his insistence that the Law has no place in gaining salvation before God – except to the extent that Christ fulfilled the Law in our behalf by his life, death, and resurrection. He wants the Galatians to embrace their true identity as sons of God through faith in Christ.

He does this in a very gracious yet firm manner: a solicitous fortitude. I’m reminded of Edwin Friedmann’s mantra. Friedmann was the father of systems theory in dealing both with family relationships as well as congregational behavior. His book, Failure of Nerve, Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, is extremely insightful. I love to quote what I gained from the book: define yourself and stay connected.

I think that’s the same thing as solicitous fortitude (in reverse order). I greatly appreciate Paul’s example here. He is firm in his conviction and patient in his teaching. That’s a powerful combination. Perhaps that is why this letter is so powerful and popular. There is much to learn, believe, and assimilate here. Most of all it has to do with our place in the kingdom of God, by grace through faith. It is also about not being swayed by pious sounding ideas that call into question our place in the heart of God. That place has been secured by Jesus, who is the perfect combination and balance of solicitous fortitude.