December 2009
Flying With The Eagle This Christmas
One of my Bibles has a mistake in it - it's a rather prominent mistake, but it's not with the text. It's with the artwork that the publisher inserted, and with a bit of tradition.
Christianity has had a long tradition of connecting the four beasts from the book of Revelation (4:7) with the four Gospel writers. Matthew is traditionally understood as the man, Mark is the lion, Luke is the ox, and John is the eagle. When my home devotional Bible was printed, the symbols pictured for Matthew, Mark, and Luke were mistakenly switched, but John’s symbol is correct. Surprisingly, the book went to print that way.
What strikes me -- especially this particular Christmas -- is that the editors and printer got John correct! I'll probably never know why they mixed up Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but I'm pretty sure that they got John right for two reasons. The eagle is such a distinct symbol, capable of flight, not “land-bound” like the other three. In addition, the Gospel of St. John is so unique – viewing creation and redemption from “on high” -- that it is sometimes called the "Other Gospel." The editors remembered John was the eagle. He just had to be! Consider John’s account of Jesus’ birth.
Typically, the Gospel of John is read less often during a Christmas Eve service than is Matthew or Luke which record the birth of Jesus succinctly as historical narrative. After all, Jesus’ birth is indeed history. Sometimes John's Gospel is read on Christmas Day. Instead of including eye-witness details such as smelly stalls and feeding troughs, John describes the birth of Jesus in this way: "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...." John has the view of an eagle! He writes from a heavenly perspective. He tends to see all of creation and history at one moment, as opposed to looking at one particular point of history, in one particular geographical place. John takes it all in and helps us see the big picture!
I very rarely view any videos online, but I recently googled "bird's eye view, eagle in flight” and discovered that the BBC has some marvelous video taken from the perspective of an eagle which had been outfitted with two tiny cameras on its back. These cameras enable the viewer to see not only the bird's perspective in flight but also if turned slightly, the entire panoramic view front, side, and rear.
I was immediately struck by the effortlessness of the bird's flight. Eagles spend a tremendous amount of time in the air simply gliding on those magnificent big wings.
As I think about the Gospel of John and the eagle symbol, I recall that John was writing at the end of the first century, most likely during a time of persecution and suffering for Christians. Living the Christian faith hardly seemed effortless! But then again, that’s John's point! For us the faith is often a great struggle, and Christmas is about God entering that struggle - John reminds us, though, that the One in the manger is more than just a man.
He, who is able to temper the pain of the moment with the perspective of eternity, is described in John chapter 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." In this particular section, "light shines in the darkness..." is a reference to Christmas and the light of Christ illuminating our world of darkness.
Later John writes of those who open the gift of Christmas in their hearts: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John seems to be writing of our own personal spiritual Christmas - when Christ comes to our hearts and conceives in us a new birth. The Omnipotent God gives us this gift, completely and effortlessly, and even helps us unwrap it through faith…. In other words, even the faith to believe it is part of His gift!!! (Eph. 2:8,9)
This Christmas, the Gospel of John is especially dear to me. After 23 years of a joyful but physically impaired life, our lovely daughter Jennifer was called home by her Heavenly Father. As my friend reminded me, when I held her in my arms as she died, I transferred her to the Almighty arms of God and His resurrection power and restorative touch. For our Creator, Who created the universe out of nothing, through His simple, potent Word, her resurrection was effortless. She was merely ultimately being "born of God!" As each day passes, the acute pain of losing her diminishes just a bit. And what I now appreciate more than ever are the divine aspects of her life. Her life was so blessedly profound. My understanding of God’s eternal orchestration, via the eyes and ears of faith, now enables me to see things from a more heavenly view.
Sometimes the acute pain of the moment eclipses the wondrous providential panorama of God’s plan. Producers of the BBC video of the eagle in flight thoughtfully rotated the cameras 180 degrees to reveal the magnificent landscape falling from view in the wake of the eagle’s flight path. As C.S. Lewis said, “You have never met a mere mortal.” Every life lived has eternal implications. For our family, Jennifer’s life was abundant from a divine point of view, despite her earthly struggles.
At Jesus’ birth, it is unlikely that Mary and Joseph were able to imagine the magnificent life that Jesus would lead, nor could they perceive the approaching penultimate event of His life, his horrific death. Mary, probably still aching from His delivery, may have wondered at her surroundings and the humble nursery for “the Son of the Most High” as she had heard her Son described by the angel 9 months earlier. A few days after the first Christmas, a man holding her Son in his arms would assert that “a sword would pierce” Mary’s soul. When that sword crashed through her heart at the crucifixion, I wonder if she recalled the other words of the angel at the annunciation, namely, that “His kingdom will never end.…” Three days later she would.
This Christmas, if you are resting in peace, or suffering in severe pain, remember the eagle’s view of Christmas, for John reminds us that this new life placed in a manger was filled with eternal life intended for all of us.
Wishing you the Christmas peace of God’s perspective.
Pastor Foote