Missio Dei, is a Christmas theme. ‘Mission of God’ has a variegated pedigree, as a theological and conceptual apparatus. People like John Flett, more recently, have published on this locus; in Flett’s case in his book Witness of God (which I haven’t read yet). Some want to reduce its modern emphasis to Barth’s theology, but as I understand Flett’s thesis, we are better off by uncoupling this concept from Barth, and instead allow it to be a concept that we bring into critical discussion with Barth’s theology, and its trinitarian character as a whole. But beyond the more technical intricacies of this concept, I simply wanted to lift it up as a pregnant Christmas concept.

The naked picture this locus evokes in my mind’s eye is of God’s election to not be God without us, thus with us (and Immanuel) in Christ. The Incarnation is all about God’s Grace, and free choice to elevate us to where He has always already been as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christmas is about God enfleshing Himself, entering the squalid state fallen humanity inhabits; and by His inhabitation in our status as broken creatures, He recreates a new humanity just at the point that he assumes our humanity. This is something people in the church need to be more cognizant of; there needs to be a greater recognition of the fact that Easter and Christmas, Atonement and Incarnation are of a piece. Atonement starts, as TF Torrance and Barth emphasize (along with Athanasius et al), just at the point that the eternal Son becomes human; becomes Jesus. The cross represents a climax of what began in the manger, but without the manger, and the flesh that God put on therein, the cross, of course!, has no meaning.

The Missio Dei, is about God’s apocalyptic life; His life for us in the baby face of Jesus. It is through His invasion of our alien humanity that Christmas comes to have contextual meaning; where we can genuinely amen that little anecdote of: Jesus is the Reason for the Season. Christmas has to do with God’s Trinitarian life just as this Life has chosen in its plenitude to make His procession in origin of relation as Father, Son, and Spirit, the ground of His mission to be for us and not against us. Christmas time is a ‘theology proper’ holiday; one that is decisively about worship of the living God who always has been in resplendent aseity and inner-joy.