313. Theologians Who Love Christmas

What do Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and R.C. Sproul have in common? Today on our journey back through the archives, Dr. Stephen Nichols explains the love for Christmas that these gifted theologians shared.

Hi, I’m Steve Nichols and thanks for joining me for another episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. In a few days we will be celebrating Christmas, and so we reached back into our archives and found this episode on Christmas. I hope you enjoy it as you celebrate Christmas with your friends and family. Thanks so much for listening to _5 Minutes in Church History. _

Well, happy December 26th to you, the day after Christmas, as we have this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. On this episode, I thought I would share with you three theologians who love Christmas.

The first one we come across is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He loved Christmas, gave many Christmas sermons. One of them he gave actually was on Mary and the Advent, and here's what he says, “‘Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed,’ sings Mary joyfully. What does it mean to call her blessed, Mary, this lowly maidservant? It can only mean that we worship, in amazement, the miracle that has been performed in her. That we see in her how God regards and raises up the lowly. To call Mary blessed does not mean to build altars to her, but rather it means to worship with her the God who regards and chooses the lowly, who has done great things for me, as Mary says. And remember, it was Mary who said, ‘holy is His name.’” Bonhoeffer concludes, “To call Mary blessed means to know with her that God's mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.”

In that same sermon, Bonhoeffer goes on to ask a question. “What story is being enacted when God comes into the world in a lowly manger?” Another way to put it is, “What's really happening here, at Christmas?” Well, Bonhoeffer says this, “Here's what's happening. The judgment and redemption of the world, that is what is happening here. For it is the Christ child in the manger himself who will bring that judgment and redemption.” And that's why Bonhoeffer loved Christmas, because it's the story of redemption.

Well, another theologian who loved Christmas is our founder here at Ligonier, and we do miss him, is R.C. Sproul. He loved Christmas! And at one time he wrote this, “What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, as important as that is. But what's so significant about the birth of that particular baby is that in this birth, we have the incarnation of God himself.” Dr. Sproul goes on to say that, “An incarnation means a coming in the flesh. We know this from the Prologue of John.” And Dr. Sproul goes on to quote the Prologue, and he reminds us that at the end of that Prologue, John says this. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” R.C. continues now, “In this enfleshment, if you will, of Christ appearing on the planet, it's not that God suddenly changes through a metamorphosis into a man so that divine nature sort of passes out of existence or comes into a new form of fleshiness. No! But the eternal, second person of the Trinity takes upon Himself a human nature and joins His divine nature to that human nature for the purpose of redemption.” Ultimately, R.C. loved Christmas because Christmas is the incarnation, Christ, the God-man, coming into this world for the purpose of redemption.

Well, another theologian or pastor who loved Christmas was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. And here is one of the many things that he had to say about Christmas. He says, "We have nearly arrived at the great merry-making season of the year. On Christmas Day, we shall find all the world, and all England, enjoying themselves with all the good cheer which they can afford. Servants of God, you who have the largest share in the person of Him who was born at Bethlehem, I invite you to the best of all Christmas fare. To nobler food than makes the table groan, bread from Heaven, food for your spirit. Behold how rich and how abundant are the provisions of God, which God has made for the high festival which he would have his servants keep, not now and then, but all the days of their lives."

So we love Christmas because this is the gift of Christ to us and the gift of our redemption. And we celebrate it on Christmas Day and we celebrate it the day after, and we celebrate it all the days of our lives. I’m Steve Nichols, thanks for listening to _5 Minutes in Church History. _