Shazam!--For unto you a Child is born.

I recently saw twice "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" put on by Birmingham Park Players--a community acting group.  It produced many laughs, but also a renewed appreciation for the wonder of the Christ's advent.  It involved the transformation of the typical church Christmas play from a "ho hum" matter into one with real Gospel significance.  The Heardman kids--"the worst kids in town"--bullied their way into the chief acting parts--Mary, Joseph, the wise men, and the Angel--only to become overwhelmed by the Christmas story.  Their awe over "baby Jesus" was best expressed by the Angel speaking to the shepherds:  "Shazam--for unto you a Child is born."

Jesus' advent was a "shazam" moment in time.  I have written before about the continuity of man's understanding of God from the Old Testament to the New Testament with God being:  a)gracious to sinners,  b)in control, and c)working through the weakness of men.  But there is also a huge discontinuity between the OT and the NT--How do you square the God who sent the Jews into the Promised Land to take it by force with the God who:  a)said "turn the other cheek;"  b)said: "whosoever calls another man a fool has committed murder;"  and c)submitted to death on the Cross.  As Paul Zahl has said:  "You may can find the ethic of a first-strike war in the OT, but certainly not in the NT."  So, why this discontinuity?

The Bible represents the divinely inspired efforts of man to understand the relationship between himself and the Creator of the universe, which necessarily involves efforts to understand God's character.  The significant discontinuity in the theme of violence results from man's further understanding of God's character which was manifested in Christ.  Christ's advent was momentous in more ways than one, but certainly this new understanding of the ethic of non-violence illustrates a real shift in man's understanding of God's character and man's nature.  If one is to respond with non-violence, it means several things:  1)human life is so very precious to God;  2)we all are sinners--rarely does one of us actually have the "moral high ground;"  and  3)violence towards another doesn't change that other person's heart.  It is man's heart which God is after.

The discontinuity of Christ also applies to our daily relations with others, not just with the question of war.  In the OT, violence and control were used to achieve "God's plan."  One was able to actualize one's desires or needs by exerting control over others--at least this is one way to read parts of the OT.  Christ's life makes it clear that we are not to use violence, or any other means, to subjugate other's to our will--whether we think it is God's will or not.  As a spouse and parent, it is not okay for me to force, bend, or cajole my wife or children to my will, regardless of whether I think it is God's will.  Once I realized this, it transformed my marriage and family.  In the OT, the exercise of control by the patriarch rarely worked out.  Indeed, the OT is a study of the harsh results of man's exercise of his will.  So, actually the OT is a confirmation that Christ's laying down of control is the only way to life.

So, thank you God for further revealing yourself in your Son that we might better understand Your character, our nature, and thereby be able to relate to one another in a way that brings life to
relationships, not death.