Mark spoke tonight at the carol service about the reason God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Reading from Matt 1:18-2:8 and Luke 2:8-15, he talked about how the birth of Jesus was announced to both shepherds (working-class, ordinary Joes) and wise men (rich men – judging from their gifts – who were obviously intellectual and academic). God chose different ways to speak (using hosts of angels to announce the good news to the shepherds and a star which guided the magi to their goal), but took the initiative in wanting all people to know that He was ‘Immanuel – God with us.’
In the ‘Star Wars’ series of films, one of the most iconic moments comes when Darth Vader reveals himself as the father of Luke Skywalker in a famous scene where he says ‘I am your father.’ Some people practised saying those words in the style of Darth Vader:
In essence, ‘I am your father’ was the message Jesus came to bring to all people: He came to show us not only that God was His father, but that He longs to be ours too. Jesus lived as a normal man, empowered and inspired by God, showing us that we can become part of God’s family (see John 1:12). God wanted to restore that family relationship with us, and Christmas, so often proclaimed to be a time ‘for the family’, was the means by which He chose to come to earth so that we could have the opportunity to know Him personally. Jesus grew to become a man who demonstrated His family likeness with God and who died to bridge the chasm between us and God caused by sin. Now we can be part of God’s family, knowing God as our father.