Dear one,
“What Child is this?” is the opening line to a carol perhaps very familiar to you; a line we regularly hear and sometimes sing at this season. No doubt for reasons nostalgic, I delight in this simple question, but also because the carol appropriately answers: this Child is King, to whom we are to bring laud and honor—and so He is.
Nonetheless, however delightful, this question has been niggling at the back of my mind: What child, if indeed any child, are we celebrating? But if we are celebrating the child born in Bethlehem, do we acknowledge that He became other than a babe? Or, in accord with another delightful Christmas carol, does He remain forever “Infant holy/ Infant lowly”?
Most likely these questions reflect the labyrinth of my own heart and mind, and a longing for something more. It’s not that I do not experience great wonder in the presence of newborn babes, or receive great delight from infants, toddlers, and children; rather, it’s that this Child and His birth are other than the celebration of life or its potential. No, this birth, Jesus’ birth, conveys a message of promise and hope upon a trajectory other than what we perceive as normative.
Perhaps this other trajectory is captured by the wizened Simeon, who, upon taking the eight-day-old Babe into his arms, surely astounded Joseph and Mary as he blessed Him and them:
“This child lies for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword [Mary] will pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:29-30, 34-35).
Conceivably, while in his arms, Simeon beheld life and potential—this Child was certainly that, but this Child would be one who would become the basis of division and exposé: because of Him, some would rise and others would fall; because of Him, the thoughts and schemes of many would be manifest; and throughout, He would be opposed. Moreover, His mother would experience pain, because of Him. This is what Simeon saw in “this Child,” and his words have rung true throughout the centuries.
The Child Simeon beheld was a real Child, who came because of the dire realities of our world: the rising and falling, the opposition and pain, and the unveiling of the human heart and mind. What Child is this—if not the Child we need?
In awe of this Child,
Stan
Ps. My 2020 plans: Uganda in January; Romania in May; and Uganda in July.