Power Distance and the Incarnation
How Christmas challenges every common understanding of authority
Soon enough, millions of us will be living out traditions that go unquestioned and highlighting something important: we all relate to power in unique ways. You likely have a predefined seating arrangement at Christmas dinner. You give space to the patriarch or matriarch of the family. Gifts get opened in a certain order.
Everywhere you go, you’ll be living out cultural truths about power distance and authority.
The story of the incarnation breaks every notion of power distance.
Power distance can be seen as the acceptability of people being treated differently because of their authority. Cultures with higher power distance, like China, recognize their authorities as different from them and would not openly question decisions made by their superiors. Lower power distance countries, like the United States, expect those in authority to be highly accessible and open to being challenged.
And you, my friend, likely fall right within the low power distance structures that exist in our culture. You cannot escape it. Still, the incarnation shatters every category we’ve built around power and authority. Let’s consider two sides of the birth of Jesus.
Christ’s Flattened Power Distance
Children are inherently vulnerable, needy, and exhausting—they can do nothing for themselves. Yet this is how Christ entered the world. This form was God’s choice.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-7, ESV)
These few verses highlight Christ’s entrance into the world. An outsider’s outsider. A poor man’s poor man. A vulnerable child born to a working-class family, placed in a feeding trough because the usual spaces were unavailable.
How can we maintain power distance when Jesus himself removed it? How can we lord ourselves over people and flex our positions of power when the Son of God came in the lowliest place?
But Christ’s birth demonstrated he was no normal baby.
Christ’s Exalted Power Distance
Jesus received the most intense and memorable birth announcement of birth announcements. Courtney and I sent a card out to about 100 friends and family when our first child was born. The card had a printing error and made his nostril look fully blacked out so we had to get it remade.
Jesus got a chorus of angels.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14, ESV)
This was no ordinary baby, and yet the announcement, as grandiose as it was, also came oddly—to a small group of shepherds at night. Both exaltation and humility in one announcement.
So, while we see the humility of Jesus, we also recognize the difference of Jesus.
Access, Reverence, and You
What we learn in all of this is that Jesus perfectly existed as openly accessible and fully different. He transcended the gap of heaven to come near. He dwelt among us. Yet he was fully different than us in that he was perfect. During his ministry he was accessible enough for children to run up to him and holy enough that powerful leaders bowed down to him.
Jesus shows us that his way is the best way.
These truths—Christ’s humility and exaltation—are used by Paul, one of Jesus’ enemies turned friends, to explain to a church why they need to care about each other. They aren’t left in the ethereal realm of thought experiments; they are real.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus . . . . (Philippians 2:1-5, ESV)
The story of Jesus challenges our assumptions about power.
The incarnation tells us that true authority doesn’t require distance. We learn that holiness and accessibility are not mutually exclusive. We learn that the God of the universe chose vulnerability as his entry point into our world yet remained fully God while becoming fully man. And we see that this humility becomes the model for us to serve those around us.
So I ask you, readers, to consider this question: How does the incarnation change the way you invest in others this week?
Jesus gives us a better way—humility and holiness, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Merry Christmas.
Author’s Commentary: For a more casual re-telling of the post, see below.