Which ‘Baby Jesus’ Are You Wanting?

This Rock City Nativity is a scene familiar to most of us around Christmas.

Maybe you’re familiar with the scene in the film, “Talladega Nights,” when lead character Ricky Bobby (portrayed by Will Ferrell) attempts to say the blessing for the Christmas meal, praying to “dear Lord Baby Jesus.”

When Ricky Bobby’s wife points out, “Jesus did grow up, you don’t always have to call Him Baby,” he replies, “I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I’m saying grace…I like the baby version the best!”

He’s not the only one, apparently. Especially this time of the year, with Nativity scenes and Christmas pageants abounding, there’s a fascination with the cute and cuddly Jesus, nestled in a makeshift crib surrounded by Mary and Joseph, shepherds, barnyard animals, wise men and angels. The Christ Child, like most babies, fills us with a sense of, “Awww!”

Maybe, like Ricky Bobby, the reason many people prefer the infant Jesus is that babies aren’t threatening. They just lie there, and so long as they’re fed and changed in timely fashion, they pretty much let us do whatever we want.

Festive lights like these at Rock City help in celebrating
the birth of "the light of the world."

My friend, Len Allen, recently spoke about three versions of the Son of God people choose from as Christmas nears. The first is the “Santa Jesus,” or “the God of tradition.” Perhaps you’ve even seen the painting of Santa Claus kneeling to worship the newborn King. A curious mix of fable with truth, but a lot of us desire a Santa Jesus who will give us everything we want, not to mention the things we need.

The second is the “sweet Jesus,” Len said, representing “the God of emotion.” We get a warm, fuzzy feeling contemplating the idea that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” as we’re told in John 1:14. But we don’t go much beyond that. Because cooing, giggling babies don’t place great demands on us. They provoke some happy sentiment, but that’s all.

Then there’s the third version, the one that typically doesn’t come to mind when we gaze at the manger scene. It’s what Len called “the substitute Jesus, the Savior sibling.” It’s the biblical Jesus, the one that, even in that inconspicuous Bethlehem setting, already was anticipating a life that would culminate on a cross, to become the atoning sacrifice, the only cure for a terminal human disease called sin.

The “problem” with this third version of “Baby Jesus” is that, as Ricky Bobby’s wife noted, Jesus did grow up. He not only performed miracles and lived an exemplary life of love and compassion, but also said provocative things, things like:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11).

These hardly scratch the surface of the teachings of Jesus Christ that have turned the world upside-down and transformed lives for 2,000 years. But it’s clear they weren’t expressed by a baby perceived as an unimposing “Santa Jesus” or “sweet Jesus” that expects nothing of us.

Such words were spoken by the Jesus whose unceremonious birth in Judea that we observe at Christmas became intertwined with the horror of a cross commemorated on Good Friday, and His glorious resurrection that millions celebrate on Easter. So which “baby Jesus” do you prefer?

The Person of Every Year

TIME magazine recently announced its annual “Person of the Year,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The European head of state was selected over seven other final candidates, but for many of us, we’re poised to celebrate the One who could rightly be called “The Person of Every Year.”

We would be hard-pressed to identify anyone that’s ever walked the earth who has had greater impact than Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate each Christmas. For those of us who identify ourselves as followers of Christ, or “Christians,” He is our leader, teacher, example, inspiration, and guide. The Bible describes Jesus as Savior, Lord, the Good Shepherd, the True Vine, the Great Physician, and many other names. Perhaps I’ve left out one of your favorites.

But even for those who don’t profess faith in Christ, even those who vehemently reject Him and His claims to be the Son of God, God incarnate, Jesus’ influence in all of our lives remains unmistakable.

Consider: From time to time the secular media refer to someone who willingly volunteers to help a stranger, even at personal peril, as a “good Samaritan.” In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan to illustrate what He meant when commanding His followers to “love your neighbor as yourself.” That phrase itself has become a virtual cliché, regularly used by people of many faiths – and no faith – to assert our obligation to show compassion, mercy and generosity to those less fortunate than ourselves.

The so-called “Golden Rule,” which admonishes us to “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12), is another of Jesus’ declarations – downright revolutionary for His time. It’s employed with abandon by those who insist on tolerance for all people, except perhaps for those who believe in and follow the One who said it first.

From time to time we’ll hear about a “prodigal son” who returns to a family, a company, even a political party, after a time of “going astray.” Jesus didn’t use the term “prodigal,” but it comes from another of His parables, also referred to as the parable of the lost son or the two sons, found in Luke 15:11-32.

Jesus was unparalleled in His ability to use what writers call “verbal imagery,” communicating a truth through a vivid oral account. A picture on which to hang a principle. Perhaps this is why so many people remember His stories, even if they don’t understand or dismiss His theology.

Sometimes we hear people being described disparagingly as thinking too much of themselves – “she must think she walks on water.” Jesus did this literally, as recounted in Matthew 14:22-33. And more than one business executive has declared, “I sweat blood to get that account,” a phenomenon Jesus experienced the night before His crucifixion: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Of course, Jesus’ uniqueness goes far beyond the words He spoke and His activities on earth. He is the only leader of any religion or belief system reported to have died and then be resurrected. Mohammad, Buddha, Moses, Confucius and others don’t and can’t make that claim.

He boldly declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me” (John 14:6), and also stated, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). As C.S. Lewis stated, making such statements would mean Jesus either was a liar, a lunatic, or who He said He was – God in the flesh.

And to those who would accept His gift of forgiveness for their sins, possible only by His atoning death on the cross, Jesus made this promise: "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).

So as we gather this Christmas with family, friends and loved ones, along with the familiar traditions we have adopted through the years, let’s not stop at reflecting on the pastoral scene of a young mother and father, and a baby in a crude feeding trough – hardly fitting accommodations for the One who would become known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Let’s remember that Jesus Christ truly was – and is – like no other. He’s not the person of the year; for many of us, He’s the person of every year.

Whose Job Is Most Important?

What if someone came to your workplace – or even your home – and asked, “Whose job is the most important here?” How would you answer?

Our typical first response would be whoever ranks the highest in the organization’s pecking order. In a business or non-profit, that’s usually the president, CEO or owner. In a church it most likely would be the senior pastor. In a school it would be the principal. And in a home it could be either the husband or wife – that might depend on which one you asked.

But is this really true? Is the most important person the individual with the uppermost position in the company, or the person who’s paid the most, or the top-producing salesperson? Maybe – and maybe not.

The importance of one's job
depends on what needs to be
done - and when it's needed.

Suppose the guest restroom right off the lobby is dirty and stinky, and representatives for an important client are expected to arrive within the next half hour. How important is the custodian then?

Or consider the scenario when the celebrated, nationally known speaker has just arrived and is scheduled to address an eager audience in 10 minutes. Suddenly the power goes out, the room goes dark, and confusion is about to assume its reign. Whose job is most important now? It would probably be the in-house electrician, or the IT person if the problem happens to be computer-related.

The patient has undergone major surgery and seems to be recovering well. The renowned surgeon has done an amazing job saving the woman’s life. A few hours later, however, she begins experiencing a setback and the surgeon has long since left the hospital. The nurse arrives at the patient’s room, find her in great distress, and immediately springs into action. At that moment, whose job is most important – the surgeon’s or the nurse’s?

We tend to assign importance to those with the most power, prestige, wealth and other status measurements. In reality, however, the most important job belongs to the person that must perform the work urgently required at the moment.

In his heyday, evangelist Billy Graham attracted millions of men, women and children to his crusades, and through those events God changed countless lives. But as gifted as Dr. Graham was, he could never have made the impact that he did were it not for the organizers of the crusades; the people who coordinated arrangements at the various venues; those that got out the publicity, and especially those that invited friends and family members to hear him preach about Jesus. So, whose jobs were more important – Dr. Graham’s or all the other folks?

The apostle Paul might not have been writing about jobs specifically, but he addressed this when he exhorted believers in the church at Philippi, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look out not only for your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

In other words, he could have said, “It’s not all about you,” or “You’re not as important as you might think you are.”

But there’s another side to this matter of important jobs. A bit later in the passage, Paul refers to the One who without question had the most important job, yet performed it with humility and without fanfare: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross:” (Philippians 2:8).

This season, as we ponder the baby Jesus nestled in a manger in a smelly, noisy stable, let’s keep this image in the proper context. Without the cross, there would be no Christmas. No nativity scene. There was a crucially important job to be done – and only one person that could do it. And that’s why He came. While you’re nibbling on Christmas cookies, chew on that for a while.