Typically when a husband and wife have a baby they have the privilege to choose a name for their child. In the case of the naming of Mary’s baby things went a little different than usual. As far as I am aware this is the only known case in history where the baby… actually named himself.
What a glorious faith we have that mocks the fruitless foe that can do nothing to hurt God’s children; the more we are assailed the more we are blessed who trust in God if only we become like these innocent babes.
This is the irony of it. The immaterial God who cannot be seen has made himself known by becoming a man. In olden times he manifest himself in fire, smoke, or a burning bush, He hid in the rock and behind a thick curtain. But now he comes and is, Jesus of Nazareth, Mary’s boy. And yet- while He makes himself so very accessible and vulnerable he becomes more hidden. His manifestation in the flesh becomes a cloak. He takes form and in so doing becomes to many imperceptible.
“For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy almighty word leapt down from heaven from Thy royal Throne, as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction.”
There is only one power and force in this world which can keep me from being close to Jesus and that is me. And I know what I must do. I must stop looking for someone to blame. I must stop looking to temporal things to make me happy, I must repent.
We are still in Babylon preparing to enter the eternal city. The sooner we embrace this reality the sooner we can find Christ in the midst, the sooner we can experience the comfort of the comforter.
Maranatha! is the bold cry of the Christian who is ready and desirous of the coming of the Lord. Why bold? Because he knows full well that that coming means judgment, but his conscience is clean, he is ready and anxious for the judgment because for those who love God the judgments means eternal joy, final deliverance, absolute perfection. The early Christians did not utter Maranatha with a tepid whimper but with great earnest pleading: Come Lord! The more confident we can say Maranatha the more ready we are for Christmas and the Holy Babe.
The Penitential fasting season of Advent (not as severe as Lent) uses the theme of the second coming and calls for repentance to prepare the soil of our hearts to fully embrace the seed of Christmas joy. We cannot fully embrace the holy babe if we do not adequately fear the judgment.
The forgiveness of God is not simply a general attitude of mercy toward us. It is our very real and actual redemption. Can we say God forgives all, yet not all are saved or is it more accurate to say, God has an attitude of mercy and forgiveness towards all but not all are forgiven and redeemed. Our parable helps us to understand why not all are forgiven their debt.
Both the Centurion and the Nobleman had faith in Jesus. The difference is the centurions faith was perfect and mature and relied solely on the Word of Jesus, the nobleman’s faith was imperfect and weak and required a sign. When Jesus rebukes the nobleman’s faith and refuses to come he is disciplining the nobleman and doing what is needed to perfect his faith.