Born of the Virgin Mary

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. — Isaiah 7:10-14

The most naturally unbelievable miracle in my opinion, second only to the Resurrection, is the Virgin Birth. These two events go right to the core of God-with-us. They establish his identity. The denial of either of these ideas is irreconcilable with being called a Christian.

The Incarnation is the isolated point in time where God the Son becomes God and man. This is how God solves our problem, correctly diagnosed. The Incarnation is unnecessary if our problem is simply that we don’t pray enough, claim his favor, deny our creeds, or join “self-feeding” bible-reading communities.

We give our gifts on or about Christmas, but God gives us his gift of faith in the incarnation, the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He gives us the gift of the Word which, unlike Christmas dinner, one really can’t get too much of. He gives us his sacraments, where through His promises He again is God-with-us.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy gift-receiving.