Author: Nate Korpi

To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?…
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
Isaiah 40:18, 21–23

In a way that is beyond understanding, God does something that goes against all ideas of justice and religious thinking: He declares Himself guilty before the world to take away the world’s guilt. God takes the humbling path of reconciliation, setting the world free. He chooses to take responsibility for our guilt and bears the punishment and suffering that our guilt caused.

God takes the place of godlessness; love takes the place of hate; the Holy One takes the place of the sinner. Now, there is no godlessness, no hate, and no sin that God has not taken upon Himself, suffered for, and made right. There is now no reality or part of the world that is not reconciled with God and at peace. This is what God has done through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ecce homo—“Behold the man”—look at God in human form. This is the incredible mystery of God’s love for the world. God loves people—not perfect people but real people as they are. God loves the world—not a perfect world but the real, broken world.

We prepare to witness a mystery. More to the point, we prepare to witness the Mystery, the God made flesh. While it is good that we seek to know the Holy One, it is probably not so good to presume that we ever complete the task, to suppose that we ever know anything about him except what he has made known to us. The prophet Isaiah helps us to remember our limitations when he writes, “To whom then will you compare me …? says the Holy One.…” Think of it like this: he cannot be exhausted by our ideas about him, but he is everywhere suggested. He cannot be comprehended, but he can be touched. His coming in the flesh—this Mystery we prepare to glimpse again—confirms that he is to be touched.

Scott Cairns, in God with Us

^{Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. God Is in the Manger : Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2012.}

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:5–8

We are silent in the early hours of each day because God should have the first word. We are silent before going to sleep because God should also have the last word. We are silent not to disrespect the word but to honor it and receive it in the right way. Silence means waiting for God’s word and being blessed by it.

This silence before God’s word affects our whole day. When we learn to be silent before the word, we also learn to use silence and speech wisely during the day. There is a kind of silence that comes from pride or self-satisfaction, and that is not good. True Christian silence is about listening. It is a humble silence that can be broken whenever it is necessary. This silence is connected to the word of God.

Being quiet has a special power: it helps us think clearly, clean our thoughts, and focus on what really matters. This is true in everyday life. But silence before God’s word helps us hear correctly and speak the right words at the right time. Many unnecessary things will be left unsaid.

Today is Remembrance Sunday. Will you have a memorial service for B. Riemer? It would be nice, but difficult. Then comes Advent, with all its happy memories for us. It was you who really opened up to me the world of music-making that we have carried on during the weeks of Advent. Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent: one waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other—things that are really of no consequence—the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.
Letter from Bonhoeffer at Tegel prison to

Letter from Bonhoeffer at Tegel prison to
Eberhard Bethge, November 21, 1943

^{Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. God Is in the Manger : Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2012.}

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6–7

In the middle of the people’s deepest guilt and suffering, a voice speaks. It is soft and mysterious but full of the certainty of salvation through the birth of a divine child (Isaiah 9:6–7). This prophecy was given 700 years before it was fulfilled, yet the prophet spoke as though he already saw it happen. He described the moment of salvation as if he stood in front of the manger, worshiping Jesus. “For a child has been born for us.”

What will happen in the future is already real and certain in God’s eyes. This salvation is not only for people in the future but also for the prophet, his generation, and all generations to come. “For a child has been born for us.” No human could say this on their own. We do not even know what will happen next year, so how can we understand someone speaking about events centuries ahead? Times then were just as uncertain as they are today.

Only God’s Spirit, who knows the beginning and end of the world, can show a chosen person the secrets of the future. This person must share the message to strengthen believers and warn unbelievers. This voice from long ago becomes part of the shepherds’ night worship (Luke 2:15–20) and the joyful celebration of all Christians: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.”

A shaking of heads, perhaps even an evil laugh, must go through our old, smart, experienced, self-assured world, when it hears the call of salvation of believing Christians: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You 

^{Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. God Is in the Manger : Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2012.}

When early Christians spoke about the return of the Lord Jesus, they often thought of it as a great day of judgment. Even though this idea might not seem connected to the joy of Christmas, it comes from the early church and must be taken seriously. The coming of God is not just good news; at first, it is frightening for anyone with a conscience. Only when we feel this fear can we truly understand God’s amazing grace. God comes into a world filled with evil and death. He judges the evil within us and around us. In doing this, He loves us, cleanses us, makes us holy, and brings us His grace and love. He makes us happy, in the pure way that children can be happy.

We have become so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Coming of Jesus in Our Midst”

In that region, there were shepherds living in the fields, watching over their flock at night. Then an angel of the Lord appeared before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; I bring you good news of great joy for all people: today, in the city of David, a Savior is born, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly, a large number of angels appeared, praising God and saying…

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Luke 2:8–14

^{Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. God Is in the Manger : Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2012.}

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
Luke 6:20–26

Not everyone can wait. People who are full, satisfied, or lack respect cannot wait. Only those who feel restless inside and those who look up with respect to the greatest things in life can truly wait.

This is why Advent can only be celebrated by people whose hearts are unsettled, who know they are poor and incomplete, and who feel a hint of the greatness that is coming. They wait with humble hearts, bowing quietly, until the Holy One—God himself—comes to us as a child in the manger.

God is coming. The Lord Jesus is coming. Christmas is coming. Rejoice, O Christians!

I think we’re going to have an exceptionally good Christmas. The very fact that every outward circumstance precludes our making provision for it will show whether we can be content with what is truly essential. I used to be very fond of thinking up and buying presents, but now that we have nothing to give, the gift God gave us in the birth of Christ will seem all the more glorious; the emptier our hands, the better we understand what Luther meant by his dying words: “We’re beggars; it’s true.” The poorer our quarters, the more clearly we perceive that our hearts should be Christ’s home on earth.

Letter to fiancée Maria von Wedemeyer,
December 1, 1943

^{Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. God Is in the Manger : Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2012.}