Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14-18, CSB).

In these verses the Hebrews writer paints a powerful picture of the significance of Jesus’ incarnation in the context of Jewish temple theology.

But, I am reminded of a story told every Christmas season by legendary radio announcer Paul Harvey that provides a most interesting and insightful perspective on incarnation.

Paul Harvey recounted in his radio broadcast the tale of a good but not very religious man who had stayed at home while his family went to church on Christmas Eve. Then…..

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier. Then he went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper.

Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound; and then another; then, yet another. At first he thought somebody must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled out there, miserably, in the snow. They had been caught in the storm. In a desperate search for shelter, they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. That was what had been making the sound.

Well, he couldn’t let those poor creatures just lie there and freeze. So, he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter. All he would have to do is direct the birds into that shelter. Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes, and he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. And he opened the doors wide. And inside the barn, he turned on a light so the birds would know the way in.

But the birds did not come in.

So, he figured that food would entice them. He went back into the house and fetched bread crumbs and sprinkled those on the snow, making a trail of bread crumbs to the yellow-lighted, wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The birds just continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them -- he could not. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms, but instead they scattered in every direction -- every direction except into the warm, lighted barn. And that's when he realized that they were afraid of him.

They were afraid of him.

To them, he reasoned, I'm a strange, terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me, that I'm not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how? Any move he made tended to frighten them and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

And he thought to himself,

"If only I could be a bird now," -- "I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language and tell them not to be afraid, then I could show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them, wouldn't I? So they could see, and hear, and understand."

So humanity could see, and hear, and understand the love of God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became a human being to atone for our sins and show us the way to eternal life.

Paul Harvey Aurandt was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. From 1951 to 2008 his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week. Paul Harvey credits Louis Cassels (1922-1974) as the writer of this story. The Man and the Birds was first distributed through United Press International in December, 1959. The story became so popular that it was reproduced in newspapers and on radio broadcasts every Christmas. One of the most notable voices to introduce the story on the air was Paul Harvey.