Terminal Gate

Christmas Day. It is finally the day that we celebrate the arrival of God’s savior into the world. All those stories and songs about angels singing and shepherds sharing the news and wise men coming to give gifts—it all comes to its pinnacle moment here on Christmas Day. It is finally here; the day we have been waiting for all through this season of advent. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that the Old Testament prophets were pointing towards. Everything that is revealed about the glory of God in the Old Testament comes landing right here with the glory of Jesus in the New Testament. Listen to the way that the apostle John, in particular, makes the connection between the glory of God from the time of Moses now being revealed in Jesus.

Exodus 40:34–38 NIV

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

John 1:14–18 NIV

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John is telling us in chapter 1 that Jesus is the new tabernacle—the visible expression of God’s glory dwelling among his people

We have been noting all throughout this advent series the many ways in which Jesus takes on the experiences of his people. We have connected stories from the Old Testament to the life of Jesus that we see in the gospels. Today’s connection is a little bit different. This opening chapter in John’s gospel is meant to show us the way Jesus connects to the people of the Old Testament. Yet at the same time, John is showing us something more. John is showing us the way in which the glory of Jesus connects to the glory of God in the Old Testament. In effect, John is telling us here in chapter 1 that Jesus is the new tabernacle—the visible expression of God’s glory dwelling among his people.

most of God’s people back then in Bethlehem completely missed the glory of the Lord at Christmas

Let’s look today at a few ways this glory of God shows up in Jesus. Because even though the gospel writers provide a glimpse of this glory with details like angel choirs and visiting wise men, it seems like the rest of Israel missed it. That’s a striking difference between the glory of the Lord we see in the tabernacle story of Exodus and the glory of the Lord we see in the birth of Jesus. In Exodus 40, when the glory of the Lord shows up at the tabernacle, all the people of Israel are aware of it. Everybody sees it. The glory of the Lord is evident to all. But here in the gospels, except for Mary and Joseph, a few shepherds, and some visiting Magi, who else notices the glory of the Lord? We celebrate Christmas Day as one of the most important days of the year on the Christian calendar. But most of God’s people way back then in Bethlehem completely missed it.

why is it that so many people don’t see the glory of the Lord in Jesus? maybe there is something different about the glory of the Lord in the way it shows up with Jesus

Here is what I wonder about that. If God’s glory was so unmistakably evident at the tabernacle in Exodus 40, why isn’t God’s glory just as unmistakably evident there in Bethlehem on that first Christmas Day? The apostle John gives testimony to it in his gospel; John the Baptist calls it out by preparing the way before Jesus. But why is it that so many people don’t see it? Maybe there is something different about the glory of the Lord in the way it shows up with Jesus.

Can we be honest for a moment about this? Let’s acknowledge that we are not far off from that. Sure, this day and this week might be full of gatherings and celebrations. But soon enough the calendar turns to January and life just goes right back to where it was before. Has anything really changed? Where is the glory of the Lord which is revealed in Jesus? Maybe all those other people living in Bethlehem 2000 years ago are not all that different from where we are today when it comes to seeing the glory of the Lord.

expectation of the arrival of God’s glory did not line up with the way Jesus came into the world on that first Christmas

It is not as though the people of Old Testament Israel were ignorant. They knew the prophesies about God’s promised Messiah. They were expectant people waiting for the glory of the Lord to come. So, it isn’t as though they just weren’t looking for it. Perhaps, then, it might be that they were looking for the wrong thing. Their expectation of the arrival of God’s glory did not line up with the way Jesus came into the world on that first Christmas. They missed the glory of the Lord right there in front of them because they were looking for the wrong thing.

maybe part of the reason why Christmas seems to fade away so quickly is because we just might be looking for the glory of the Lord in some of the wrong places

And maybe there is a piece of that misplaced expectation which fits us today as well. Maybe part of the reason why Christmas seems to fade away so quickly is because we just might be looking for the glory of the Lord in some of the wrong places too. Maybe our expectations for what the glory of the Lord looks like misses the mark in some of the same ways it did for those people 2000 years ago. I suppose there is a reason why scripture records for us the nature of Christ’s birth and draws attention to the way in which so many people never even noticed. It is there in the Bible as a way of speaking into our world today as well.

terminal gate

Let’s consider for a few moments today, then, the way in which the glory of the Lord shows up on Christmas. All throughout this advent series I have been using airplane travel as a metaphor for us to visualize some of the themes of advent waiting. Today let’s think about arriving at the terminal gate. Christmas Day is here; the plane has landed; we have reached our destination. Maybe you are familiar with the terminal gate routine. Once the plane is on the ground, you can go ahead and take your mobile phone out of airplane mode. Once the plane rolls up to the gate you can unbuckle your seatbelt. The jetway ramp has to be moved over and lined up with the airplane door. But then, here is what happens. The moment the plane comes to a complete stop, doesn’t it seem like most of the people in the plane stand up even though they cannot get off just yet? Here we are parked at the gate, the door is open, I stand up and I grab my carry on bag from the overhead compartment…and then I just stand there in the aisle of the plane. Maybe it can take about five minutes before I can actually start moving out of the plane, but it sort of feels like five hours that I just stand there waiting to get off the plane at the terminal gate. Me standing up in the back of the plane does not make it go any faster; I might as well stay sitting. Am I expecting something different to happen? Sometimes we do things that do not line up with what is really happening.

we glamorize and cover over the completely underwhelming mundane experience of that first Christmas — it is an ordinary baby

So, what really is happening when Jesus arrives at Christmas? What does this event which signals the glory of the Lord actually look like? Could it be that our expectations do not actually line up with what really happens when Jesus is born? It is worth taking a moment and considering this before we let this day and this week slip by, and before we know it, it is January and life just goes back to what it was before. We glamorize the Christmas story in order to highlight it for a few weeks; and I wonder if—in the process—we cover over the completely underwhelming mundane experience of that first Christmas. Maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on those first century Israelites living in Bethlehem. There really is not much here that expresses the glory of the Lord.

how can an ordinary helpless baby be the new tabernacle of God’s presence among his people?

It’s a baby. Even less than that, it’s a baby in a barn in a feed trough—a baby from an unplanned pregnancy—a baby in an underwhelming, mundane, ordinary family. Babies are helpless; they cannot take care of themselves. Babies cannot do anything for anyone else; everything has to be done for them. How is it that this can be the glory of the Lord? How can this be the new tabernacle of God’s presence among his people? In the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord forced the mighty nation of Egypt and the ruling Pharaoh to their knees when the Israelites were rescued from slavery. The glory of the Lord thundered and shook Mount Sinai. The glory of the Lord toppled the walls of Jericho and drove out the vast armies of the Midianites. That’s what the glory of the Lord has done in the past. How, then, can this baby now be the new tabernacle? How can this completely helpless little thing be the glory of the Lord? What is God doing here? What is God up to?

Rev 11

Let me fast-forward a moment to another scene in which we see the glory of the Lord. In the book of Revelation there are seven angels who each sounds a blast from a trumpet. In Revelation 11 the seventh angel blows on the trumpet and shout of worship takes place. Here is what they say.

Revelation 11:15 NIV

15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord.”

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord.” It’s my favorite line from the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel’s Messiah oratorio. It’s a line that helps point out for us some of the reason why the glory of the Lord got missed, and continues to get missed. You see, I think what Old Testament Israel was looking for and what so many of us are still looking for is for the kingdom of our Lord to become the kingdom of the world. We are looking for the glory of the Lord to be the other way around from what is expressed in Revelation 11. We are looking for something like that old tabernacle in which everything about God’s heavenly glory comes smashing down on top our world. But the voices of worship in Revelation 11 say it the other way. It is not that the kingdom of our Lord which becomes the kingdom of the world; it is the kingdom of the world which becomes the kingdom of our Lord.

in the Old Testament there was a difference between the sacred and the ordinary

Here is why that difference is important. In those Old Testament days there was a difference between the sacred and the ordinary. God’s glory was unmistakably seen in the sacred places. The tabernacle was a sacred place; everyone could see God’s glory there. Mount Sinai was a sacred place; everyone could see God’s glory there. But also, the people could not go there. The people were not allowed to go up Mount Sinai—only Moses could go. God’s glory was in the sacred place, the people had to stay apart in the ordinary space below. The people were not allowed into the inner rooms of the tabernacle—only the high priest could go there. God’s glory was in that sacred place, the people had to stay apart in the ordinary space outside the tabernacle.

with the birth of a baby in a barn in Bethlehem, the ordinary has now become sacred — the mundane has now become glorious

when Christmas Day is over and you go back to your ordinary everyday routine, the glory of the Lord is there

But with the birth of a baby in a barn in Bethlehem, the ordinary has now become sacred; the mundane has now become glorious. The glory of the Lord is no longer reserved for enormous angel choirs. The glory of the Lord is no longer separated apart from the people. The glory of the Lord is no longer witnessed from a distance. The glory of the Lord has now become a helpless and humbled baby. The glory of the Lord has now taken residence in our ordinary everyday world of living ordinary everyday lives. When this Christmas Day is over and you go back to your ordinary everyday routine (whatever that looks like), the glory of the Lord is there. When you wake up in the morning and get out of bed, the glory of the Lord is there. When you find your days floating along through ordinary routines of work or school or family care or appointments, the glory of the Lord is there. When the day is over and you go to bed at night, the glory of the Lord is there. When you feel all alone or stuck or helpless, the glory of the Lord is there. This is the wonder of Christmas; in an ordinary stable in Bethlehem, the light of the world was born; and in that moment, the kingdom of this ordinary world has now become the kingdom of our Lord. The glory of the Lord is here.