Watching your children learn is one of the great joys of parenthood.  I love watching my kids learn about gravity, that mysterious force that causes all of their toys to descend to the ground.  You can see the delight on Shirley’s face as she experiments dropping toys waist high, then shoulder high, then (my favorite) high over her head. All my children have shared this delight.  However, my children have also learned that experimenting with gravity can cause great sadness because when objects descend, they often break.  This past week, Gunder was experimenting with the descent of his fire truck down the steps.  I was told his fire truck spun and twisted in the air like a ballerina, but when his fire truck finally hit the floor, it broke and the remains were put on a perpetual timeout.  Thus, at the Kemp house, our young scientists have determined after much experimentation that when objects descend they break.  In a way, their observations are theological for just as their toys descend only to be broken, so Jesus Christ descended from heaven to earth to be broken in order that the tyranny of sin and the dictatorship of death might be eternally shattered.  As we prepare to approach the Advent season, when we prepare for Jesus’ second descent from heaven as Lord and judge by remembering his first descent as a baby, it would be meet and right for us to consider three questions.  First, why did Jesus have to descend from heaven?  Second, how did Jesus’ descent break the shackles of sin and death?  Third, what does Jesus descent mean for us now? 

          Why did Jesus descend from heaven?  Our answer to this question begins in the first few chapters of Genesis.  When the Triune God created the universe, He created humanity, and only humanity, in His own image.  Humanity had an intimate relationship of trust and love with God, but humanity severed this relationship by rebelling and seeking to set himself up as the Lord and Absolute ruler of creation.  When humanity rebelled, they willfully choose to live apart from God’s presence and grace and this separation has resulted in the descent of all creation into the depths of pain, toil, and futility. For our separation from God to be overcome, something needed to be done, something needed to happen so that we might, once again, ascend into the presence of God the Father.  God the Father, Son and Spirit had a plan to fix our dire situation, God the Son would descend into the chaos of creation by taking upon himself flesh and bones and then live and die on behalf of mankind.  This plan was not a plan B, it was not a plan hastily implemented with no deliberation; it was their eternal plan.  Through the unity of Jesus’ divinity and humanity, he broke the shackles of sin and death.  Why did Jesus descend from heaven? He descended in order that he might become a man and, thus, part of creation so that he could shatter sin and death and restore our (and all creations) relationship with God the Father. 

          This brings us to our second question, “How did Jesus’ descent into the chaos of creation, break the shackles of sin and death?”  This has one of the preeminent questions dominating Church theology and the answer has more nooks, crannies and layers then any Christmas Fruit Cake. I would like to mention one answer, an answer given by St. Paul in our Epistle lesson from Romans 5:[1] For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.  In order for the relationship between God the Father and humanity to be restored (and we must always remember this relationship was severed by man), in order for us to ascend into the presence of God the Father, we needed first to have our sin atoned for because our sin keeps us from God’s presence and second to be clothed in righteousness the only garments fit to wear in the presence of a Holy God.  There is no way we can atone our own sins, our sins are not like bathroom mold that can be disinfected with bleach.  Nor can we live a completely perfect, righteous and faithful live for as Isaiah said our deeds are like filthy rags and as the Psalmist said there is no one righteousness, not even one. However, in Genesis 3:15, God promised Eve that one of her descendents would defeat Satan and shatter sin and death, so it was necessary that a man break the shackles of sin and death restoring humanities relationship with God.  We now have a little theological dilemma.  On the one hand, humanity cannot atone for their sins or make themselves righteous and these are prerequisites for a reunion between God and humanity. On the other hand, a man had to act to restore this relationship between God and humanity.  Our dilemma to knit together in the womb of Mary, when God the Son took upon human flesh becoming a man.  Jesus Christ, very God of very God and very man of very man, lived an obedient and faithful and righteous life and he lived his life on our behalf.  Thus, what Adam failed to do, what Moses failed to do, what David failed to do, what I have failed to do and what you have failed to do, Jesus Christ did and he succeeded on our behalf so that through his obedience, as St. Paul said, the many will be made righteous.  So how did Christ’s descent break the shackles of sin and death?  Jesus Christ succeed where everyone else failed, he lived obediently, faithfully, and righteously and through his death and resurrection sin and death were shattered and as a result of his victory he has promised to forgive all those who repent and to cloth all those who put their trust in him with his perfect righteousness.    

          We have now descended to our third and final question, “What does Jesus’ descent mean for us today?”    As a result of Jesus’ descent into the chaos of creation, the relationship between God the Father and humanity has been restored and through Jesus Christ we can ascend into the presence of God the Father.  Maximus the Confessor, an early church father, aptly put it when he said, “The Logos [descended] out of love for us. Let us not keep him down permanently but let us [ascend] with him to the Father. … For without the Logos it is impossible to approach the Father of the Logos.”[2]  The descent of Jesus Christ means that we can now ascend through him into the heavenly throne room to be near the presence of God.  To assure us of our Godward ascent, Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion, when in some divinely mysterious, unexplainable way; the presence of Jesus Christ descends upon the bread and wine only to ascend back into the heavenly throne room where we may feast upon his presence of grace.  Therefore, let us ascend to this table, this board of God, and feast upon the grace of Jesus Christ that atones for our sins, let us feast upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ that clothes us in garments fit to wear in the presence of God, finally let us ascend through the heavenly in Jesus Christ so that we may worship the truth, goodness and beauty of God the Father. 

 
[1] The NIV reads, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the figt of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. … But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”