The incarnation is “the central miracle asserted by Christians,” according to C. S. Lewis. “They say God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.”[1] One of my favorite reflections on the wonder of the incarnation is an advent sermon by the great church father, Augustine.
Man’s maker was made man,
that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast;
that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey;
that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood;
that Strength might grow weak;
that the Healer might be wounded;
that Life might die.[2]
Christ’s incarnation mingles together majesty and meekness, power and weakness, grace and truth. We confess (though cannot comprehensively comprehend) how the Creator become a creature, how Christ was born to die. Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us,” come to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21–23). The familiar melodies of Christmas carols stir our minds and hearts to celebrate the coming of Christ the Lord:
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King.Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light.Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity.
Indeed, Man’s maker was made man. This Christmas we reflect on history’s central miracle and celebrate that God has come near as our sovereign savior.
Brian Tabb
Interim President and Professor of Biblical Studies
Prayer Requests
- Pray that God would supply the full funding of this year’s Serious Joy Scholarships.
- Pray for perseverance and joy for our students and faculty as they finish the fall semester.
- Pray for Serious Joy: The Bethlehem Conference for Pastors at the end of January.
[1] C. S. Lewis, Miracles, reprint ed. (New York: Touchstone, 1996), 143.
[2] Augustine, Sermon 191, Cited in Jonathan Gibson, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 71.