I love the smell of my old baseball glove. Every once in a while when I’m looking through boxes of old and cherished things, I’ll find it and put it on. I close my eyes, bring it to my face and somehow the old leather just takes me back. Equal parts dirt, oil, victories and defeats, practices and close games are all forever somehow locked inside my old mitt. Yeah, a couple days away from Christmas, and I’m thinking about baseball. For good reason, I think.

Ever notice that the big league managers wear the same uniform as the players? There's not another sport like it. Ever see a pro football coach with a helmet on? Nope. Or a basketball coach on the sidelines in a tank top and shorts? Not a chance. Baseball is the only sport where its managers blend in with the team.

I think Jesus could relate, because He chose to relate. Rather than standout among us, He blended in with us. Though He created the universe, His appearance was universal. He became our up-close-and-personal Savior. Call it divine irony, but in order to reach us, He let us touch Him.

That’s important this week. As planes land, cars pull up and curtains are pulled back, it’s critical for us to consider two themes of Christmas:

Jesus was human.
Jesus is divine.

ALL MAN. ALL GOD.
Although He was God, and perfect, and timeless, He lived among us. He wore the uniform. He got dirty. After putting the stars in place, He carved wood. After creating the sky and mountains and hummingbird’s wings and trees, he swept sawdust from the floor and took out the garbage. Although He was living water, He knew what it was like to be thirsty. Although He formed food and fed thousands, He knew what it was like to be hungry.

He was all man. He was all God. In order to reach us, He let us touch Him.

“For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.” (Heb. 4:15-16 NCV)

The Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way, but while He never fell, He suffered the penalty of every sin ever committed. Innocent, He felt the penalty of sin and the guilt that we feel when we commit it. He didn’t do it, but felt the shame as if He did. Chew on that for a second.

Pastor David Jeremiah says, (paraphrase), “On the shoreline after a hurricane, the houses are destroyed but the rocks are unmoved and unchanged. In this scenario, we are the homes. Jesus is the rock.”

Max Lucado once wrote, “Because Jesus is human, he understands you. Because he is divine, he can help you.”

Because of this truth, we can go to Jesus and declare our weaknesses, failures and faults. He knows our real needs and He’s the only one that can meet them. If anyone understands how we struggle, He does. He wore the uniform. The same dirt you feel under your feet, he felt under his.

A few years ago, I waded out into the Jordan River to be baptized. I put on a white robe and stood in line. Standing there, the sun warmed my head and the reflection from the water caused my eyes to squint. To my left and to my right were lines of people duplicating my efforts. Like me, they wanted to be in the water. The water.

Eventually I was chest-deep. This was it. Between my toes was dirty, rotten sediment. A moment made possible only because Jesus chose to do the same. Lord, forgive me, cleanse me, seal me.

THAT’S CHRISTMAS
The sound from that stable in Bethlehem was a battle cry. Despite what the world will tell us. Despite the self-help revolution and self-esteem declaration. Despite the hyper-individualism and boot-straps motivation that social media will flood us with, Jesus endured a normal birth in a brutal era and was laid in a manger because we are not enough on our own.

Christmas declares Jesus was human, because we are.
Christmas declares Jesus was divine, because we are not.

Jesus was born to live a life we could not live and to die a death we could not die. In order to reach us, He let us touch Him. That’s Christmas.

- Jimmy Peña