Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

The Christmas Journey

December 2007

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27

Luke’s account of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is centered in key places. The story of Jesus’ birth begins in the Temple and, in Luke’s version, it ends in the Temple.  Within this beginning and ending in the Temple the narrative takes us to a home in Nazareth, another home in “a Judean town in the hill country,” a cramped home in Bethlehem, and a field outside of Bethlehem.  In the opening scene in the Temple we meet Zechariah, a priest who was “righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).  Yet when Zechariah hears the Word of the Lord from an angel telling him that his prayers have been answered he doesn’t believe (Luke 1:20).  Fear had overwhelmed him (Luke 1:12).  In the closing scene of the story we meet the prophet Anna, also in the Temple.  She does believe and she tells the story of the Christ child to all who had been ‘looking for the redemption of Israel’ (Luke 2:38).

In Luke the Christmas story is about people on a journey, a journey from fear to faith.  It is a journey from the Law to the Gospel.  It is the journey from Zechariah to Anna, both “of great age.”  There are no villains or enemies in Luke’s account, only pilgrims at different stages of the journey.  All of us are somewhere between Zechariah and Anna.  We may struggle with faith.  We may face overwhelming fears.  We may feel there is no place for us in the empire of this world.  We may be genuinely frightened of an encounter with the living God (and his messengers).  While we never encounter enemies specifically in Luke’s Christmas story we nevertheless are warned of a sword that can pierce our very soul.

Luke’s great Christmas narrative is not only about Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph and the Christ child, the shepherds and Simeon and Anna.  It is also about us.  We are described here.  We may identify with a different character this year than last year or next year.  Yet we are all part of the journey from unbelief to faith.  The temple doesn’t change but we do.

December has two celebrations. They are ultimately so different that they are opposed to each other. The ancient world celebrated the natural light of the world, the sun, on what was then the shortest day of the year, December 25.  Christians celebrate the eternal light of Jesus Christ. That light has come not only into the world but into our hearts.

Wherever you are in your pilgrimage, whether you are disbelieving Zechariah or believing Anna, or somewhere in between, join with us as we journey through Luke’s Christmas story.