This Little Babe

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

This little babe so few days old,
is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise

the gates of hell he will surprise.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The very Word of God, the Light of the World, the Creator of the Universe, on this day, has become flesh and took up residence among us men. The God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, took on human flesh and blood and was born a baby in a stable in Bethlehem.

Think of a newborn baby. So soft, so warm, so innocent, so vulnerable. So cute and huggable and nice. A newborn baby is worlds away from what God should be, according to the minds of this world. What god would appear as a baby, so easily hurt, so easily killed? What god would expose himself to that sort of weakness and vulnerability?

If this baby is the “Messiah”, then it would seem that hope is lost. Who knows what the ancient prophets expected, but it probably was not this. Who would expect that the King of Heaven would come to earth as the weakest of all mankind? The gates of hell would seem well-blocked and the salvation of mankind doomed to become a fiction. After all, one so small and weak should be easily defeated by the ghastly forces of darkness.

But, nevertheless, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

And indeed the eternal Word of God, the Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, was born the son of a young virgin named Mary in a small town called Bethlehem in Ephrathah. The Son of God came into the world of man and became a man, that He might save us from our sins. And the powers of hell quake.

For the very birth of this baby is a full frontal assault upon the gates of hell. The devil would have liked to see this birth never happen. This babe, so few days old, is come not just to rifle Satan's fold, but to destroy it. All hell quakes in the presence of this one so weak and mild.

The birth of this baby boy will lead to the life of this man, the sinless Son of God, the Savior of the nations. The birth of this baby boy will lead to the preaching of this man, the One come to heal the sick, raise the dead, bind up the brokenhearted, and comfort the mourning. The birth of this baby boy will lead to the death of this man, the spotless Lamb of God who will hang upon the accursed tree and bear the sins of the world. The birth of this baby boy will lead to the rising of this man, the Son of Man raised to display the glory of God and the triumph over sin, death, and the devil.

For this reason, the forces of hell quake at the presence of this weak and mild baby boy. For this reason, the angel choirs break forth in the night. For this reason, the praises of our Lord ring forth from day into day, from darkness into glorious and indefatigable light. For “The Light was the life of men, the light no darkness could overcome... [and] the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.”

And so we cast our lot in with this poor and weak baby boy, lying in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem on that winter's night. For that baby boy, though weak and lowly, is indeed the Savior of the nations come. This baby boy is the Messiah, the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Though in this way He appears too weak to terrify anyone, but he makes the minions of hell quake in their boots. This son of Mary will be the triumphant Captain who will harrow the gates of hell and rout the forces of darkness. He will defeat the prince of darkness and take from him the ability to accuse us. He will lead the captives out of darkness into His marvelous light.

My soul with Christ
join thou in fight;
stick to the tents
that he hath pight.
Within his crib
is surest ward;
this little Babe
will by thy guard.

If thou wilt foil thy
foes with joy, then
flit not from this
heavenly boy!

Merry Christmas.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.