Christmas joys come in many forms and shapes—through songs and gift-giving, through good food and wonderful fellowship. Sometimes joys come to us in unusual packages. One of the greatest joys we can know as Christians is that God is with us. Emmanuel is the name of our Lord. When I think about God being with us I think about how accessible he is. God made himself accessible to us by coming in the form of a baby.
I would like to invite you to look at your hands. How big were your hands when you were born? Those little tiny fingers and those little tiny palms were remarkable symbols of joy for those around you. Jesus came to this earth in the same way of you and me—we were born. God funneled himself into a tiny skin-wrapped gift of joy for us. He had tiny fingers that grew into strong carpenter’s hands.
His experiences were like ours which made him accessible. He walked, talked, got embarrassed, hit his fingers with a hammer, lost loved ones... in so many ways he made himself part of this world. His hands became rough with work, were clasped in prayer and were often raised in thanksgiving our Heavenly Father.
During his time on earth Jesus brushed shoulders with people who had access to him in many respects. There was not one person who would find the King of the Universe unavailable. Think with me about these people. First there was his mother Mary, a simple virgin girl with an honest heart toward God. Her hands held the infant Jesus close. Then there was his earthly father who was obedient, trustworthy and loyal—teaching Jesus to use his hands for the necessary work of carpentry. As you read through the Gospels you find Jesus encountering people of all stations in life: the sick, the young, the old, the powerful, the mighty, the rebellious, the hungry—all of them had constant access to him and they could be close enough to him to touch his hands. Then there were the shepherds, people often overlooked, hard-working, blue-collar folk who used their hands to raise sheep.
Let’s Read Luke 2:4-20
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Each Christmas I am drawn to this particular passage. I imagine the shepherds out in the fields, their hands rough from work in the open elements—sheering sheep, rescuing lambs, fending off predators. I can see them ducking into the humble stable and quietly kneeling next to the child in the hay. One shepherd may have moved in close to touch the tender new skin of the Child’s face and found the Infant fingers curled lightly around his rough and worn. The accessible God had come for them—his tiny, tiny hands reaching out for all of humanity.
I want you to look at your hands again. His hands, so much like ours, had one distinctive difference. They were completely innocent hands. They were the hands that took the nails of crucifixion for your sins and mine; hands that became cold and lifeless in the grave. And then his hands became powerful and mighty again coursing with resurrection power and taking up the keys of death and hell.
Because of the hands of Jesus Christ our wonderful Savior, he is available still to you today. He came to us and understands all our strife and sorrows and what it is like to be human. As a direct consequence of his Incarnation he is still accessible in your pain for sustenance, in your sorrow for comfort, in your weariness for strength.
And greater still is the reality and hope that we get to meet him again one day and feel his true and eternal embrace. Oh, that we would rejoice with great joy over this reality!
When we look at our hands unwrapping gifts or fixing the Christmas meal remember that Jesus is accessible to you and to the whole world. He is Emmanuel, God with us, the truest Christmas joy.
Copyright M.R.HYDE 2010
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