Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius was born in Spain a few years after the Council of Nicea in 345 AD.  He was a successful lawyer and statesman, but he retired

to live in simplicity so he could devote his time to writing Christian verse.   For over 1700 years his words have echoed the rockbed of our faith as Christians: A Profound hymn of Christmas, of the Nativity:

Of the Father's love begotten,

ere the worlds began to be,

he is Alpha and Omega,

he the source, the ending he,

of the things that are, that have been,

and that future years shall see,

evermore and evermore!

Out of our Creator’s profound love for us, his children, He came to live with us as  Jesús.  He is more than the rest of us who are children of God.  He is uniquely the Son of God, bergotten by the Father’s love, born from His Father’s heart – the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. Forever more.

This is not a kind of imagry that we readily ponder in the Western Church.  Our focus is on the concrete, the material, the cross – what Jesús did, rather than who he was. 

On the other hand, when you enter an Eastern Orthodox church you are enveloped by timeless icons and frescoes of the community of saints: they are meant to be windows into a transcendent world:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made Flesh

Overhead in the dome is an all encompassing icon of the risen Jesús as Pantocrator – who watches over all.  You feel you have stepped out of time.  The Orthodox seek to convey a God who is ineffable: beyond time, beyond words.  The reality is that only way we are capablecan describe God is to use images of what we know, of our material selves:   He is the beginning and the end— is a term expressed in time  or

 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son. . . which is a finite description of an infinite Love.

Our Christian beliefs are so bound up with the interplay of the figurative with the literal         that sometimes it is easy to dismiss the actual as symbolic, or on the other hand. To  treat the metaphorical as literal.  What is substantial?  What is real?  If it is not tangible can it still be thought of as true?

In certain instances the question is easy to unravel. Take for example the collect for today:

  Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,

That your son Jesus Christ, at his coming

May find in us a mansion prepared for himself.

When we hear this collect referring to Jesus as finding within each one of us a mansion prepared for him, we know the it is not a “real” mansion, a literal one. 

We would all agree that the mansion is figurative.

But there may be discussion among us about God’s “daily visitation.”  What kind of appearance are we to expect?  Does daily visitation mean “every day without fail?” Does it mean I am to expect the Lord to visit me each day - and what exactly does “visit” mean?  Nevertheless, however you finally sort out these details,   the meaning of the prayer is quite clear: we are asking God to cleanse our consciences so that we may more purely receive his Spirit.

Historically our Anglican Church has chosen to leave some things ambiguous, in order to be more respectful of the consciences of others.  A perfect example are the words I say when I distribute Holy Communion, which date back to the religious turmoil in the reign of Elizabeth I:

The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee;(Catholic or sacramental)

Preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.

Take and eat this in rememberance (Protestant)

 that Christ died for thee;(Protestant amd Catholic)

and feed on Him(Catholic or sacramental) by faith(Protestant),

 with thanksgiving. (Protestant and Catholic together)

Wars have been fought over whether, in communion, you literally receive the Body of Christ; whether you receive Him spiritually by faith; or whether communion is more of a memorial of Jesus’ Last Supper? Countries have been rent asunder over this issue. 

So, in this case, the ambiguity of these words was deliberate. Originally they were chosen not to avoid conflict, but rather to bring reconciliation,  so that the English nation could kneel at the altar rail as one, while the conscience of each individual was honored.

But one event is not ambiguous for the Christian. It is reported concretely in the Gospel according Matthew. Following  a specific list of Jesus’ lineage, it begins:

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

This is a narrative describing how God was directly intervening into his creation. First God told Mary in the Annunciation, and enlisted her assent. Her reaction was one of trust and obedience: “Be it done according to Thy word”. Next, understanding Joseph’s potential dismay, He told Joseph, whose reaction was also one of trust and obedience. Then He chose to enter our world in the flesh in order to save his children.

Now, I am sure we could get lost in fascinating discussions as to whether Joseph ever “came together” with Mary; whether Joseph and Mary gave Jesus brothers and sisters; whether the virgin birth is an echo from Eastern Mystery religions.

Nevertheless, it was an actual event being described.   “The birth of Jesus took place in this way” is a declarative statement, not a symbolic image.  We are dealing with the cornerstone of our belief as Christians: the Incarnation of God – God made flesh.

Every Sunday we recite together:

We believe in one Lord, Jesús Christ, the only son of God

Eternally begotten of the Father.

God from God, Light from Light

True God from True God

Begotten, not made

One in Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made

Our Eucharistic Prayer D, also drawn from the 4^th C Eastern Church, (the same time as the Creeed and our hymn), beautifully outlines the essentials of our Christian faith:

You formed us in your own image,

giving the whole world into our care,

so that, in obedience to you, our Creator,

we might rule and serve all your creatures.

When our disobedience took us far from you,

you did not abandon us to the power of death.

In your mercy you came to our help,

so that in seeking you we might find you.

Again and again you called us into covenant with you,

and through the prophets you taught us to hope for salvation.

Father, you loved the world so much

that in the fullness of time you sent your only Son to be our Savior. Incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

he lived as one of us, yet without sin.

To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation;

to prisoners, freedom; to the sorrowful, joy.

To fulfill your purpose he gave himself up to death;

and, rising from the grave, destroyed death,

and made the whole

creation new.

And, that we might live no longer for ourselves,

 but for him who died and rose for us,

he sent the Holy Spirit,

his own first gift for those who believe,

to complete his work in the world,

and to bring to fulfillment the sanctification of all.

Our faith tells us that God chose to come into the world and live with us as in human form as Jesus. And that through His actions as Jesus, Emmanuel – God with us – God gave those who believe, the Grace to incarnate Christ, in order that He can continue to live within our world through us who are the temples of His Holy Spirit.

O that birth for ever blessèd,

when the Virgin, full of grace,

by the Holy Ghost conceiving,

bare the Savior of our race;

and the Babe, the world's Redeemer,

first revealed his sacred face,

evermore and evermore!

This faith, which brings us power as believers in Christ  sets us apart from all other people in the world.  Our belief that out of profound love for us God entered the world and lived and died in the person named Jesus, is blasphemy to the observant Jew.  Our reference to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is rejected as polytheism by the devout Muslim. 

We should not shrink from expressing the fullness of our faith.To acknowledge the truth of our clear differences makes honest our relationship to others. You and I do not belong to a “faith group”, we are an integral part of the Body of Christ.  As Paul puts it in the epistle for today ( in the words of the American Bible Society’s Contemporary English Version):

God chose me to be an apostle,

 And he appointed me to preach the good news

 that he promised long ago…

This good news is about his Son, Jesus Christ!...

Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle,

So that people of all nations would obey and have faith.

You are some of those people chosen by Jesus Christ.

During my shipboard life as a Navy chaplain I spent most of my waking hours with young sailors        who were at best unchurched, if not non-believers. I might not talk to another Episcopalian for weeks. What was important for me, was that when they saw the cross on my uniform sleeve, that my life and actions would embody my Christian identity.  As they got to know that I loved them, that I considered them as part of my flock, many discerned that the source of my love was Jesus.

If you try in your own simple way to live what you believe the people around you will sense   that the source of your kindness and caring is Jesus too, It is not as apparent as wearing a gold cross on your uniform sleeve.  They have to see your faith in your words and in your actions You can become a contageopus Christian. 

So I urge you, as you contemplate the beautiful and familiar story of Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child, To go beneath the good feelings the image of the Holy Family engenders, and get in touch with why Christ’s birth is such good news for you and your family.  May your understanding of your faith be refreshed,  Remember the words Paul spoke to you:

Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle,

So that people of all nations would obey and have faith.

You are some of those people chosen by Jesus Christ.