The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote a parable about a king, who was very wealthy and powerful. He was so wealthy and influential that other kings came from all around to kneel before him. Everything he saw was his and there was nothing he could not have. That is, until one day, this king sees a peasant woman working just outside of the castle. He is struck by her beauty and grace. He begins to make up excuses to watch her. The more he watches, the more in love he becomes. He decides that he must have this woman as his wife, so he chooses the best course of action, which is to send for her, have her brought to the palace, and profess his love for her. But, as he looks around his home, he realizes that if he does this, she will have no choice but to agree to be his wife. The wealth and grandeur of his home would overcome his will. He didn’t need subjects, he wanted a wife who would love him. So, he decides to go to her. As the royal processional approached her home, people came out and kneeled to him, including his love. In that moment, he realizes that she would have no choice but to be his wife if he suddenly got out of the carriage and professed his love. He would rob her of her freedom and gain another servant. Frustrated, the king spent days agonizing over his dilemma, before finally renouncing his throne. On his way to the home of his love, the king traded his clothes with those of a beggar. He wanted her to love him, the way to accomplish this was to step away from all the power and become an ordinary man. Kierkegaard’s parable is about Jesus. God loves mankind. He wants mankind to love him in return. He accomplished this by coming to our world as an ordinary man. He stepped away from the heavens, puts aside his power and grandeur, and was born in a stable. He grows up a carpenter and then preaches for 3 years, homeless and wandering. Isaiah describes Jesus well when he talks about how God’s Savior would have no power or prestige to attract us. He wouldn’t be handsome or rich. Instead, he would show up humble and lowly. This is the reason we celebrate Christmas. God so loves the world that he sent his son, not as a dictator or in power to subjugate men, but rather as one of us. This way we can choose to love him or reject him. Sadly, this is also the reason that it is so easy to forget him in the midst of the colored lights, tinsel, and traditions of the Christmas season. We do so much to celebrate his birthday that we can easily forget that it is, in fact, HIS birthday. Christmas is the beginning of the greatest love story ever told. It’s easy to forget Jesus in this season, but it’s ironic when we do, because it is the season that God demonstrates that he can’t and won’t forget us.
