Christmas Day, 2003
Hebrews 1:1-14
The Superiority of the Son
At first glance we might be puzzled why the Church assigned a chapter of Hebrews for Christmas Day. Where is the stable in this text? What about Mary and Joseph? Where is the Babe lying in a manger? How about the sheep and shepherds? Granted, direct reference is absent, but we can infer some Christmas themes here. Consider sonship. That is a Christmas motif and Hebrews sings it loud and clear. The writer to the Hebrews states, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." Sonship is central to this passage and central to Christmas. Sonship is part of the annunciation. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and joyfully announces her coming pregnancy: (Luke 1:32, 35) "Do not be afraid Mary, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and He will be called the Son of the Highest of His kingdom there will be no end." According to tradition, the dove of the Holy Spirit descended on Mary at that point and she conceived a son. Nine months later she gave birth to Jesus. So, Jesus is the Son of Mary as well as the Son of God.
Hebrews 1:6 makes another implicit reference to Christmas Day. It says, "But when [God] brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "let all the angels of God worship Him." Angels worship the Lord. Isn't that what happened on Christmas Day? Jesus was born in a manger, and the heavenly hosts sang praises, and sent shepherds to do the same. As the shepherds watched their sheep by night, an angel of the Lord stood before them. This frightened the shepherds. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:8ff.)
Now that we have established the links to Christ's nativity, let's move on to other details in the text. You will notice a lot of attention given to angels in this first chapter of Hebrews. What is that all about? Perhaps it has to do with an exaggerated exaltation of angels. Some Jews in first-century Judea located angels higher than they should have. And Jews who converted to Christianity continued to hold to this erroneous idea. For example, scholars have discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls a legend about the archangel Michael. The Essenes of the desert believed that there would be two messiahs, one a priestly messiah, the other a kingly one, and Michael the Archangel would be over both of them. If believers are still clinging to this concept, then it would be a serious error, and the writer to the Hebrews would feel compelled to refute it. Over and again, he shows that Christ is not only the messiah, He is superior to any angel. The Christmas message tells us that angels worship Jesus for He is God, and Jesus is vastly superior to any and every angel.
Actually, the angels worshipped Christ before His birth in Bethlehem. They had worshiped Him from the day they were created. They worshiped Him as God prior to His incarnation. Now that He is born of Mary they worship Him as the Son of God, in His incarnate character. It is sin to worship anyone but God. So if God Himself says that the angels are to worship the Son, then the Son must be God!
How does this discussion about angels apply to us today? We follow their example. The shepherds did. Luke 2:16 says, "And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger." They ran to worship the Lord. Can you picture those men at a jog carrying their shepherd canes? They were eager to see the Christ. O Lord God, help us to worship You as the shepherds and angels of old!
Hebrews chapter one reminds us about the deity of this Babe who lay in a manger. Most of Christmas revolves around the humanity of Jesus: Mary holding her baby, the straw in the manger, the swaddling clothes, the cattle lowing, the donkey looking on, farm odors; these things highlight Christ in His human nature. Our text from Hebrews rivets our gaze on His full-blown divinity. Let's consider the divine nature of Christ.
Hebrews 1:8 pictures God the Father speaking to God the Son: "But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" This is deity. The writer to the Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, takes hold of Psalm 45:6 and calls Jesus "God." In other words, the author understands the Son to be equal with God. What other evidence is there for this? The Son was involved in creation. "Jesus made the worlds!" according to Hebrews 1:2. If this is so, it means that Jesus existed before heaven and earth ever were created. Christ is hence infinite and eternal. There is more. Hebrews teaches us that Jesus has ascended into Heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and from there He even now upholds the universe. Not only did the universe come into existence through the Son (v.2), but the whole created order is sustained and carried along by His word of power. Only God is capable of creating the universe and at each moment governing every molecule of it. Therefore, Jesus is God in the fullest and most complete way.
In the very next verse, Hebrews 1:9, the writer says to the Son, "God, Your God, has anointed You." This may sound confusing at first. Just when it was becoming evident that Jesus is God Himself, the next verse indicates that Jesus is different from God. God the Father pours the oil of anointing on His Son, consecrating Him as the Prophet, Priest and King over the earth. We see two Persons acting distinctly in this consecration. Add the Holy Spirit, and we get Three Persons. Is the Lord Jesus different from the Heavenly Father? How does the Church avoid polytheism, or the notion of several Gods? The Church avoids Tri-theism by recognizing the unity and plurality of God. Both are true. On the one hand, Jesus is one with God in such an intimate sense that He can be called "very God of very God." Unity characterizes the Three Persons of the Trinity. Yet, on the other hand, God the Son is described as distinct from God the Father. The same can be said about the Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. This is an issue where it is important to steer a middle course and avoid falling into the ditches on either side. One can stress the unity to the point of erasing the trinity, and vice versa. One can focus on the trinity to the negation of the unity. So, on one hand we want to maintain that God is One. No true Christian says that there are three Gods. Yet, the orthodox Christian faith maintains a distinctness among the Three Persons of the Trinity. God is one essence, and at the same time composed of Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Athanasian Creed defines perfectly the unity and plurality of the deity. It says: "For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost." This brings out the different persons of the Trinity. The Trinity is unique to Christianity. The doctrine of the Trinity makes it impossible to claim that the God of Christianity and the God of Judaism or Islam is the same God. Have you ever heard someone try to make the assertion that we all worship the same God? It is a common assumption and it is utterly false. People have forgotten the Creeds. Again the Athanasian: "The Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal" (p. 36-38 BCP.) The apostolic faith has always believed this about God. "We are forbidden by the catholic Faith to say there are three Gods So that in all things, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity."
G.K. Chesterton made a couple good points about the Creeds in his book Orthodoxy. First, he defends the precision of the creedal formulations. A woman once visited St. Luke's and started laughing while reciting the Athanasian Creed. She had never heard it, and the careful wording about the Trinity struck her as comical. Chesterton appreciates the precision. He writes, "if some small mistake were made in doctrine, huge blunders might be made in human happiness A slip in the definitions might stop all the dances; might wither all the Christmas trees or break all the Easter eggs." [P. 100 Orthodoxy.] So let us prize the painstaking accuracy of the Creed. The Church has learned through centuries of hard experience that an error of even one inch can lead to horrible problems down the road.
Second, Chesterton gives a reason why Trinitarianism is better than Unitarianism. Have you ever thought about that? Why is the concept of a Triune God superior? First, the Bible teaches the Trinity with utmost clarity. Chesterton moreover contrasts the Triune God of Christianity to different Unitarianisms, including the unitarian god of Islam. The two produce completely different results: one good, the other bad. His insights are timely. He writes, "The complex God of the Athanasian Creed may be an enigma for the intellect; but He is far less likely to [produce] the mystery and cruelty of a Sultan than the lonely god of Mohammed. The god who is a mere awful unity is not only a king but an Eastern king. The heart of humanity, especially of European humanity, is certainly much more satisfied by the strange hints and symbols that gather round the Trinitarian idea, the image of a council at which mercy pleads as well as justice, the conception of a sort of liberty and variety existing even in the inmost chamber of the world. For Western religion has always felt keenly the idea "it is not well for man to be alone." For to us Trinitarians (if I may say it with reverence) to us God Himself is a society. [The Trinity] is indeed a fathomless mystery of theology Suffice it to say here that this triple enigma is as comforting as wine and open as an English fireside; that this thing that bewilders the intellect utterly quiets the heart: but out of the desert, from the dry places and the dreadful suns, come the cruel children of the lonely God; the real Unitarians who with scimitar in hand have laid waste the world. For it is not well for God to be alone." [Orthodoxy. p. 135.]
There we see at least one harmful result of rejecting the Trinity. Islam is a false religion. The Holy Spirit has led the Church to formulate the two natures of Christ: He is fully human and fully divine. The Holy Spirit has also led the Church to sum up the Bible's teaching on the Triune nature of the Godhead. We ignore these doctrines to our great peril.
On this Christmas Day, the Church calls you to consider the exaltation of Christ. This is what the passage of Hebrews stresses. Jesus was born in Bethlehem for a purpose: in order to redeem mankind. In order to become the Savior of all God's adopted children, He Himself must become man. By hanging on the tree and rising again He took away your sin and started the process of rolling back the curse and redeeming all of creation. Now He is seated in glory. Does He do anything in Heaven? Yes He certainly does. He is constantly sustaining the universe by His dynamic word. As King He rules over history until every enemy has been subdued (1 Cor. 15:25). From Heaven He rains down mercy and grace. In the hour of your deepest need and affliction He gives you help (Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-16; Acts 7:55ff). From Heaven He makes intercession to God the Father. It is to Him and in His name you pray. Finally, He is preparing a place for you in Heaven (John 14:2). That is your home, and that is your hope. Come now to the Holy Communion with joy. Offer the Lord your sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for these many blessings.
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