Coming without power

John 3:16-17-  "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

John 3:16 may be among the most well known texts in all of scripture.  For years, you couldn’t watch a football game without seeing a sign referencing it.  Though it is a much beloved passage, it might seem odd to highlight it in the midst of Advent.  You might rightfully ask yourself, did I forget Christmas was coming?

Truthfully, before today I have never considered how it might relate to the coming of Jesus.  I have associated the text mostly with the need to believe something specific about God.  However, I’m afraid I might have missed the point.  The verse isn’t so much about us as it is about revealing the character of God.  

When God felt that humanity had drifted from its intended purpose, the Creator did not wipe us out in a flood.  The Almighty did not send an army of angels to bring us in line.  The All Wise One did not even compel us to follow the Divine will.  No, when the gap between God and humanity became frightenly wide, God did not exercise power but choose to become powerless.  Jesus came as a baby, someone entirely dependent on his parents.  He became subject to fear, pain, grief, and all of the more difficult aspects of human life.  Jesus indeed came to set the world right again, but he did so by demonstrating that we are to live as people who enter into loving relationships with God and our neighbors by giving up our power and privilege.

In this Christmas season, may we follow Christ’s example.  May we seek to reconcile with those family members who may have become distant.  May we reach out to our neighbors, even those who get on our nerves, and be the love and peace of Christ for them.  May we seek to shape our lives so that with ever fiber of our being, our love will help us to set our the entire world right again.

Merry Christmas!