Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/420759
December 6 John 1:18 & John 13:23 The Heart of Christmas Howard Baker, ThM Assistant Professor of Christian Formation T he Christmas story, the Incarnation, is the story of Jesus emerging from the heart of God to demonstrate to a hungry humanity that the essence of God is sacrificial love. Out of that love, Jesus' mission and human body were born. His intimacy and oneness with the Father extended to His earthly life, where He said that He could "do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing" (John 5:19) and that He only spoke "these things as the Father instructed Me" (John 8:28). Jesus' communion with the Father impelled His mission to the world. Jesus invited His first disciples to share in that same love and personal communication with the Father—and us along with them. At the Last Supper (John 13:23), one of Christ's followers took special advantage of this invitation by "reclining" on the heart of Jesus. is disciple experienced the love of God in Christ so profoundly that he was called, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." is disciple did not respond to the overwhelming love of Jesus placidly, but with action. He was the only disciple at the foot of the cross (John 19:26), the first disciple at the empty tomb (John 20:2), and the disciple who recognized the risen Jesus (John 21:7). Jesus' love transforms us from the inside out and energizes us to align with what God is doing in the world. We would expect nothing less from "the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God" (Rich Mullins, "e Love of God"). One of my heart's greatest joys is for my grandkids to crawl into my lap, lean their heads on my chest, and just be with me. Alas, the restless nature of two, five, and seven- year-olds does not allow for that very often. However, one day my granddaughter Lucy—a very active explorer—said to me, "Papa, today I am going to let you cuddle with me." at was a good day! Maybe the best gift we could give this Christmas would be to say to our Papa, our Abba, our Lord, "I want to lean on your heart. I want to be your beloved. I want to be with you." Miraculously, that would also be the best gift we could ever receive. 1