Christmas Musing #22 Name Recognition

 ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. John 1:10 English Standard Version

               Occasionally I hear these words while out and about in Lubbock, “Hey Mr. Robinson.” I know that when I turn around, I’m about to see a former student. While I always remember the face, the name is another story. I always desperately cudgel my brain, hoping the proper name will surface. Sadly, the name frequently proves elusive, slippery like some sort of newt or salamander. These are always sensitive moments. It’s embarrassing for me and disappointing for the student. I miss the Army and nametags. The nametag got me out of many desperate social situations. We crave recognition, the reassurance that we are known and loved, important to someone that we matter. Imagine the bemusement of Jesus.

               Here was the creator of the universe, the maker of the world, the one who crafted night and day unrecognized and hidden. In scripture, any time someone meets God, or even an angel, they fall on their face or swoon. God is so holy and so powerful that even Moses, who talked with God on a regular basis, could not look on His face and live. The King James Version renders the close of the intriguing cleft of the rock passage like this, “²³ And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:23 King James Version. All Moses could safely see was “my back parts.” Many Sundays we blithely sing about see God in all His glory, as if that were a casual encounter. But when Jesus came to earth, things changed.

               Despite the fact that all His core attributes remained, when Jesus set aside His glory, we missed Him. I’m not enough of a trained theologian to fully explain the incarnation; but, it amazes me that Jesus would take such a step. We do not fully comprehend who or what God is. Many stories of kings going incognito show up in literature. Clothing themselves in common garb, they move among their subjects unknown and learn much about their realm. Through the incarnation, Jesus robes Himself in flesh, laying aside all those things that stand between Him and His people. Now we see Him face to face, as if we were casual friends, and oddly, often we do not recognize Him.

               Of course, no one expected that the creator would show up as a squirming infant. I knew a Lieutenant Colonel who, right before he took command of a battalion, dressed casually and went to the barracks area one weekend, passing himself off as an NCO from neighboring organization in order to hear what soldiers thought of the unit. He craved an unvarnished view of his new command. What he learned that day shaped his actions over the next few weeks and months. In a like manner, Jesus wanted to know what life was like in our shoes. He walked the proverbial mile in order to show His love and to know His children intimately. In Advent, God comes to us in a form we can comprehend, a form we can see without danger. That’s how much God loves us. He yearns to show us His face. He grew weary of only letting us see His “back parts.” In Advent, He invites us to draw close, look inside the manger, see His face, and rejoice in Emanuel.