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Christmas and the "Craziness" of God

 

I liken you, my darling, to a mare
    among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
    your neck with strings of jewels.
We will make you earrings of gold,
    studded with silver.

- The Bridegroom to his Bride; Song of Songs 1:9-11

I saw you
And knew what I was trying to do
I had to play it real, real smooth
And once I finally made my move

I went crazy over you (Ah, ah)
Over you, only you (Ah, ah)
I went crazy over you

- BLACKPINK, Crazy Over You

          Catholic Biblical scholar John Bergsma, in a talk he gave on the Song of Songs, commented that the passage on the said book of the Bible quoted above is some sort of a joke said by the bridegroom.[i]  According to Bergsma, there are no mares (adult female horses) in the chariot of the pharaoh, only stallions (adult male horses). You do not put mares on the chariot for obvious reasons: because a mare will cause distraction to a stallion(s). Instead of being focused on going to war, the stallion will be focused on mating instead. In other words, the stallions will go “crazy” on the mares. In comparing the bride to a mare among pharaoh’s chariot horses, the bridegroom is saying to her: “You make me crazy.” or “I’m crazy for you!”

          Craziness, you might say, is an effect of love. Craziness makes people do unusual things, some even dangerous. I remember hearing a story somewhere about a man who tried to impress his date by jumping from one rooftop of a building to another (spoiler alert: he got stuck between the walls; poor guy). If that’s not an act of craziness, I don’t know what is. But with love, we do crazy stuff nonetheless, and it doesn’t need to be as risky as jumping from building to building. A lover can show his “craziness” through the little things, like conversing with his beloved over the phone all night, even that might mean being tired due to lack of sleep the next day. Craziness can be shown on how one gets asked out for prom, through those elaborate publicity stunts, flash mobs, and public serenades. Craziness, in fact, can simply be shown in writing those amazingly long love letters one writes for valentine’s day. In short, love pushes us to do things that aren’t done daily by other people. Love pushes us to break the status quo, all for the sake of showing someone our appreciation of the ones we love (often times to their embarrassment!). Love is the gas that motivates us to do stuff that would invert the order of things. It tells us that it’s okay to do insane actions from time to time, as long as they’re done for the sake of showing someone their worth in us.

          If it is craziness through love that pushes us to invert the order of things, then it is the greatest of all loves that pushed God, the omnipotent King of all the universe, to do the “craziest” act of all: to become man, to be born in a manger, and to walk among His people with feet that can be muddied by the stain of the earth. Such an act is the most incredible inversion in the order of existence ever. God, through His absolute Love for creation, took a nature that is lower than that of the angels in order to save us from sin and death. If that’s not craziness, then I do not know what is.

          Christmas is proof that God loves you not merely in a “long distance relationship” type of thing. Rather, Christmas is proof that God is crazy for you. Yes, you, warts and all! He’s so crazy for you that He desired to be close to you in a very radical way by sharing your human nature. Christmas is proof that God “went crazy over (us),” to paraphrase BLACKPINK. He delights in you in the most incomprehensibly radical way! If you think you’re unloved, don’t ever believe that again! Such a thought is lie from hell! You’re not unloved. You’re not unloved because God thinks otherwise. You’re not unloved because the reason God was born of the Virgin Mary is because of you. He considers you to be His “mare among Pharoah’s chariot horses.” Believe that! Lord, through your Incarnation, I reject the lie that I am unloved and unlovable.

Oh, you can't tell me
It's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it
There's nothin' I want more
Yeah, I would fight for you..
Walk the wire for you
Yeah, I'd die for you

You know it's true
Everything I do
Oh

I do it for you

- Bryan Adams, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

          These words sung by Bryan Adams wonderfully echoes the mission of Jesus Christ as man, a mission magnificently revealed on the day of His birth. You can’t tell a lover that it’s not worth doing crazy things like walking on a wire for his beloved. You can’t tell him that it’s stupid for him to die for the one(s) he loves. He does it for the sake of the beloved and the beloved alone. Love makes him “step outside of himself,” to die to himself – all for the sake of his beloved.

          Likewise, you can’t tell God that it’s ridiculous for Him to assume human nature. You can’t tell Him that it’s not worth the try. No, it’s always worth the try; it is never done in vain, because the Lord loves; Christ loves you. Nothing is wasted as long as it is done in love, even if it might seem crazy.

          Christmas is the evidence that, for the infinite God of the cosmos, you are the “mare among the chariot horses.” It is you – the whole you: in all your imperfections, flaws, and brokenness – that God is crazy for. It is for you that He is willing to do the most unusual of things: to become one with you; to assume your nature and everything in it, except sin. I pray that you will be always cognizant of that fact. Rejoice, beloved one, for you are always delighted in by your heavenly Bridegroom.


[i] Dr. John Bergsma, The Bridegroom: Jesus, Easter, and The Song of Songs; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdBygBvTSOc

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