A Child is Born

December 19, 2010

Background Scripture: Isaiah 9:1 – 7; 11:1 – 9; Matthew 1:18 – 25
Lesson Passage: Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1 – 8; Matthew 1:21 – 23

There are few moments during our adult life that will ever match the excitement and overflowing joy of becoming a parent. We notify all of our friends and family as well as complete strangers we may happen to bump into of the great news concerning this birth. We truly celebrate the child’s arrival and we want the whole world to know about it if we could find a way to inform them—thank God for Twitter and Facebook. When a child is born, their birth changes the whole complexion of life for the parent. We realize that our priorities are no longer our priorities. We must realign our priorities in support of this child. Our daily—and indeed hourly—schedule will be dictated by this child for now. When we sleep and when we awake is no longer decisions that we have the luxury of making for ourselves. Our immediate outlook for the future is overshadowed by the growing needs of this child. We understand that how we go about shaping the character and life of this child will have serious repercussions for this child from now on. We must teach them to be kind, respectful, gracious, and productive members of society. Their future depends heavily on how we direct and provide for them.

In today’s lesson, we look at a birth announcement that was sent out about seven hundred years before the actual birth occurred. It has been about two thousand years since the birth and we are still sending forth the announcement to those who have not heard about it. It is the greatest birth in the world. God sent his own son to be born in human flesh. The birth announcement made by the prophet Isaiah announced the birth, the mission, and the destination of this child. He will be born, he will lead, and he will be King forever. To those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, this announcement is good news but to those who walk in darkness, a great light will shine forth that will reveal their deeds that have been hidden by the darkness. To his earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, this birth will not be about them shaping the child’s character but about allowing him to shape theirs. The child indeed submitted himself to them as a child that they might submit themselves to him after he grew up. This child’s future will not be dependent upon how his earthly parents directed and provided for him. Their future will depend on this child leading and providing for them. He would teach all who come to him to be kind, respectful, gracious, and productive members of a different society. He invites us to be citizens in the kingdom of God. He summons all who are weary and heavy laden to cast their burdens on him and enter into his rest. As much as we celebrate his birth this time of the year, his greatest triumph came through his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection on the third day. Today, we celebrate the most wonderful birth the world has ever known and we would not have known it had it not been for his death, burial, and resurrection to make our understanding complete. So today he still lives because he was born to be King forever.

Robert C. Hudson
December 8, 2010