"Out of the mouth of babes and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes." (Psalm 8: 2)
In the windows of homes sparkling with seasonal lights we occasionally see the words, "Christ is the reason for the season."
This essential reminder is far too scarce, unfortunately. But one appreciates those householders' willingness to make a statement.
The first Christmas made a statement. God personally arrived on earth as a babe and infant to assert the monumental truths of Psalm 8. The Child of Christmas was born with unlimited authority to proclaim the Kingdom of God. His purposes included proclamation of God's unavoidable majesty and authority, and reclamation of people as God-honoring beings and workers fit to exercise subordinate authority in God's Kingdom.
"What is man that you are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8: 4). Imprisoned by the Nazis who eventually killed him, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was delighted by a verse in a 17th-century hymn by Paul Gerhardt. It captured for him the vast authority of the infant Christ Child, a majestic figure bringing really new beginnings. That helped Bonhoeffer stay close to Christ during a very hard time. It reminded him that Christ brings everything again as God originally intended it to be, undamaged by sin. God wants us to tap into that great renewal in Christ for daily empowerment in faith and work.
The following is an attempt to translate the verse that delighted Bonhoeffer into language that emphasizes the main point. May you too find riches in it.
Now, he lies in his manger,
Speaking with infant lips,
Calling to all, to you and me,
"Whatever troubles you, whatever you lack -
Release it, dear brother:
In your Creator's fullness, I bring everything new again."
