Embracing the Dual Nature of Christ: Relatable and Divine

"Jesus was fully divine, all knowing, all present, all powerful. And yet the Bible makes it clear he was also all human. He was born as a man and became like a servant. He got colds and grew weary on long walks, suffered from headaches and backaches. And every other kind of ache. He likely had calluses on his hands and bunions on his toes. He snored and sneezed." [00:01:31] (31 seconds)


"We would rather keep the humanity out of the incarnation, to picture him as a mighty miracle worker rather than one who has been tempted in every way just as we are. There's something about keeping Jesus divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable. But let's remember that the people who saw him first saw him as a person." [00:02:19] (30 seconds)


"For the only thing worse to Joseph than a venture into the unknown was the thought of denying his master. So, resolute, he had reached up and started to climb the tree. With tight lips and a determined glint in his eye, he had placed one hand in front of the other until now he was fully out on the limb with only his faith in God as a safety net." [00:05:47] (28 seconds)


"Gabriel was never one to question, but this time he had to wonder. God will become a baby? Gabriel had seen babies before. He had been platoon leader on the bull rush operation. He remembered what little Moses looked like. It was okay for humans to be babies, but God? After all, the heavens themselves could not contain him." [00:07:29] (29 seconds)


"Babies had to be carried and fed, bounced and bathed. To imagine some mother burping God on her shoulder, well, that was beyond what even an angel could imagine. And what of this name? Jesus? It was so common. Even Gabriel had more punch to it. But call the baby eminence or majesty or heaven sent. Anything but Jesus." [00:08:17] (35 seconds)


"The hometown of God would be a single camo map dot on the edge of boredom. A sleepy village with more peasantry than pizzazz, a place of which people could only say, does anything good come out of there? And what about this Mary? Certainly, she at least must be a special girl, a diamond in the rough." [00:09:00] (28 seconds)


"God goes to those who have time to hear him and on this night he went to simple shepherds. Majesty in the midst of mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. God came near. Were it not for those shepherds, there would have been no reception. And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts." [00:12:42] (25 seconds)


"The wise men travel a great distance to see Jesus, but Herod refuses to leave his own city. The wise men present treasures to honor the child. Herod issues an edict to kill him. Then, just as the same shaft of sunlight in a barn can cause birds to sing and rats to scurry, the same message stirs the worship of the wise men and activates the ire of the king." [00:14:35] (25 seconds)


"Why did God decide to be born in such a humble setting? Why did the king of kings choose to grow up in such an ordinary place and be such an ordinary person? According to the historian Origen, his body was small and ill -shapen and ignoble. If he had the appearance of people typical of his day, he likely had olive skin, a broad peasant's face, short curly hair, a prominent nose, and stood around five feet tall, hardly worthy of a GQ cover." [00:16:32] (37 seconds)


"We have a high priest who is able to understand, and since he understands, we find mercy and grace when we need it. When we fall, we are not forgotten. When we stumble, we are not abandoned. Our God gets us. Are your looks run -of -the -mill and your ways simple? So were Jesus's. Do you struggle financially? Jesus knows how you feel." [00:17:34] (26 seconds)