Perhaps you’d recognize this story. There was a man who lived in a relatively small town. This man wasn’t all that prestigious. He didn’t have a lot of money, not even a college education, perhaps not even a lot of recognition, minus the building and loan institution that bore his last name. Things were going okay for the longest time until an audit showed that there was a large amount of cash missing- eight thousand dollars to be exact. This money was misplaced, and due to this mistake things looked bleak. Further, everything in this man’s life all of a sudden started to seem bleak. A breaking down house, a loud home, and even a fight at a local bar cause this man to come to a sudden breaking point- he wishes he had never been born.
If this sounds at all familiar to you, it very likely should. The man’s name was George Bailey, and he lived in the town of Bedford Falls, and it’s all a part of the story contained in the popular classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The plot of the movie is all about showing George Bailey, through the angel Clarence, that life is indeed worth it- and it is truly a wonderful life after all!
Yet, today, we don’t just celebrate the life of a fictional character. We don’t celebrate a random classic film. We don’t even celebrate just the sentiment encapsulated in the entire movie and the warm feelings that it evokes in our hearts. No, today we celebrate the one life that makes every life much more worth it- one particular birth and life that has changed all of ours- the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. This profound moment is one that we are all familiar with at least in name. It happens every year, and we get together, we have a good meal, we open presents, and we perhaps do a mix of those things, or perhaps one or two. Yet, when it comes down to it, and we consider this beautiful mystery, how does it invite us to change our own lives and our own hearts? How did that movie invite George Bailey to change his?
To set the stage for the coming of Christ, and this important and powerful moment, we have to understand why exactly Jesus came- and why He touched this earth in this moment we call the Incarnation. So long ago, at the beginning of our human race, we came into a rather large problem- the occasion of the Fall. It was the first moment that in all of God’s creation there was the issue of Original Sin. Adam and Eve in their very first moments of walking this earth made a choice- and a choice that cost them dearly. In the moment they chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil- they disobeyed God, and created a division. This division was massive- and the chasm impassible. What’s worse- that chasm threw them into a life of chaos and confusion. Suddenly they found themselves cast out into exile, out of the Garden of Eden, and out of paradise. They were in a place of darkness.
Yet, that place of darkness didn’t just exist for them. Because of the nature of sin, this darkness carried for generations and generations. It carried through Noah, through Abraham, through Moses, and through so many other figures. The problem never faded away, though it might have seemed that it was put into the background. Then, other problems began to arise. Generation after generation of Israelites came, rose up, followed the Lord in some cases, and fell away in others. This constant struggle was very real- and yet, there was something that underlies all of the moments that they felt God was there, and that God wasn’t there- hope.
Hope was something the prophets continually spoke of, especially in Isaiah. We are reminded of how the people in exile will be brought back into communion with God. They will no longer be left in lonely exile, they will not feel forsaken by their God, they will no longer feel as if there is nothing good on this earth, at least in time. Yet, when is that moment that the hope comes to fruition?
It isn’t in moments that were expected. It was in a small way. A baby in fact. Born to simple people. In a stable. In the town of Bethlehem. Around two thousand years ago. This moment was a powerful one, and we read the scriptures and we understand just the magnitude of that moment as it happened two thousand years ago. We hear about the star and how it rose and stayed over the spot where Jesus was. We hear about the shepherds that proclaim the good news to them, and how they make haste to find this child. We hear about Mary and Joseph, and how they are filled with wonder and awe. And even in the grand scale- Magi are even searching diligently for this child born on the cold, chilly night.
This is a scene that we are all used to- and we can likely picture it so much because we have seen it painted and carved. We have sung stories, we have watched plays and movies. And we know at least in a fundamental way why Christ is born- that He is here to offer us hope. He is here to take away sin. He is here to bridge that massive chasm established by that first sin of Adam and Eve, and He wants to reestablish that relationship close relationship that we are supposed to have with God. This truly is a moment like no other! Yet, as we come to it, we should be asking ourselves- what changes? You see, right now, we are aware of this story. The Incarnation has once again reached our consciousness, and we are likely filled with that nostalgia and sentiment that has filled us with the memories of Christmases past, and fills us with joy as the prospects of this current Christmas and what it is offering to us right here and right now. Yet, I want to ask a simple question here: has the Incarnation changed your life? Have you experienced the joy of what this moment brings to you? Do you live your life better because of what Jesus Christ has done for you?
Brothers and sisters, this isn’t just a moment that we celebrate for merely sentimental reasons. We don’t celebrate it year in and year out because we just have to have something to do in December. Rather, what we are invited into is a consideration- Jesus Christ is seeking not just some people so long ago, but He is seeking out you and He is also seeking out me. He, when He touches earth, is searching for each of us by name, individually. He wants to bring us into that relationship with Him- and wants to be so close to us He even takes on our own nature!
Yet, does that actually change your life? Often, when we think about this moment of the Incarnation, it only seems synonymous with the times when life is going well. When we feel that our God is on our side. The points where we think that God is there beyond a shadow of a doubt. Or perhaps we feel like we’ve got everything together. Yet, we know life is not always that way. Things break. We get hurt. We struggle. Sometimes life can seem very bleak. Perhaps we feel that we are in our own exile. Maybe we even spiritually feel tepid or at least as if our sins are weighing us down and holding us back. Yet, Jesus still comes into our midst?
My brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is not unaware of your own circumstances and your own challenges. He is not unaware of the moments that cause you pain or cause you difficulty. He is not unaware of the moments where you feel alone or feel as if God is not on your side. Yet, that is the moment that the Incarnation is for. It reminds us that our God is with us in the good moments. Perhaps the moments when we feel that He is truly there or we are experiencing a lot of joy. He is not just there on the days that the sun seems to shine. He is especially here in the bad moments. The dark nights. In the cold. When we feel we have nowhere else left to turn. When we feel weak, alone, afraid, or we just don’t have the answers. Jesus Christ isn’t just entering into time so long ago, but He enters into our very humanity to this day, and to continue to change us in every time and place.
That is perhaps why the story of George Bailey in that classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life” is so powerful. It isn’t just about what George Bailey is doing Himself. Left to his own devices, I think we all would have seen a much darker movie. Rather, through the Incarnation, and how God comes to us to be with us and break the bonds of sin and death, there is a sure and certain hope. This hope fills the world, but it should fill each and every one of us in every moment, and in the moments we especially need a reminder of Christ’s presence in each of us.
My brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is born. He has come into our nature and taken up our very flesh. May we who have come to receive this great news be filled with hope- not just in the good moments, but in the moments when we need to hear that good news, and to be reminded of the value and the worth that Jesus Christ gives to each of us this Christmas.
Jesus Christ is born. May we truly see the value of life by the gift that He is to each of us- and in the ways that we need His presence the most in this time. We have to choose to live with Jesus, but it is a choice now given us by this profound moment- so that we can escape all of the trials and the sorrows of this life!
May we, by Jesus Christ, discover, like George Bailey, that He has truly given us a gift- and it is truly a Wonderful Life.
