Thought for the Week

21^st December 2025

I hadn’t heard how the asthma puffer came about until a podcast (ABC’s ‘No one saw it coming’) on my travels this week. People have been seeking cures for asthma – or at least a treatment to relieve an attack – and in 1955 an American teenage girl at breakfast asked her scientist father, ‘Why can’t you put my asthma medication into an aerosol can like you do hairspray?’. That’s not a bad idea! And so was born the asthma puffer! I found that fascinating. And then the random neurons kicked it!

At Christmas, Christians proclaim and celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation – how the infinite God ‘fitted’ into the person Jesus from conception – in such a way that there were not ‘bits’ of God left over and in a way that does not destroy the mystery of the Trinity. I said this was a mystery. Paul reminded the Christians at Colossae who seemed to have been influenced or attacked in order to believe that the flesh was rubbish and the spirit was what was important that when it comes to Jesus the ‘fullness of God was pleased to dwell [in him]’ (Colossians 1:19) and ‘in [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily’ (Colossians 2:9). 

This mystery continues when Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread and wine and declared them to be his body and blood, then his words declare the reality we receive. Hence Lutherans believe and receive him – this Jesus who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary, who lived, suffered, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, then buried, and on the third day rose and ascended to heaven – yes, this Jesus is now coming to us in our time and place.

Theologically human beings, by nature, want our words to be what defines and controls and enables life to happen – especially in our life – but that produces a world of competing words – competing gods – all tyrannical – wanting everyone to orbit us and see reality as we do. The mystery is that the only real God with all his power and glory didn’t create a universe and a planet and people to serve him but rather so that they could exist and live with him and enjoy his blessings. Why would we wreck and ruin how to live well with God? Yes, the mystery continues.

For you and me however, we are born into our time and place with whatever problems and horrors and evils are present at the time – we sigh and say the world is what it is – some live long, some die quick, there is much suffering, living is capricious – more the roll of the dice – and we contribute to its fear and misery in our way – whether we’re trying to make the world better or not. And our nature blames the true God for our own mess! That’s the real perversity of sin! 

So to reach us, this holy God comes in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) to make people new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) while keeping me George and you you. Each of us is precious to God and he still wants us to live with him and enjoy his blessings. The Holy Spirit is given in Baptism and received when we ask (Luke 11:13) and at times such as Confirmation. And so we have a type of inhaler helping us breathe with God as we live our life and we need breath to listen to and to speak with God and with those around us while our eyes are fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1,2). 

This is the best way to live in this world but when the shepherds saw the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger … and no one saw it coming! 😉 Well, God did! J It was his plan because you are so precious to him.

GS