Christmas Eve

The Birth of Christ

 4And 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, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And 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.

      The Shepherds and the Angels

8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14“Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

- Luke 2, verses 4-20.

Many babies have become kings. But only one king ever became a baby. 

In hindsight we take so much of the Christmas story for granted. But when you look at the situation for the players involved, "incredible" doesn't begin to cover it. Mary, for example, is about fourteen or so by most estimates. She is a righteous, Godly young woman in the city of Nazareth, which had the same kind of reputation then that Las Vegas does now. An archangel comes to her. Wouldn't that completely freak you out? He tells her that she's going to get pregnant, but no man's going to be involved; she will STILL be a virgin. Freak out. You are going to be carrying and giving birth to GOD'S CHILD. Freaking out, freaking, freaking out! 

But she doesn't. She asks one question, about the logistics ("How will this be, since I have not known a man?"), and then says, Yes God, whatever You say, God.

Would YOU have done that? Would I? Doubt it for both of us. Pretty impressive girl, that Mary.

What about Joseph? "Hey, your fiancee is knocked up, Joe, but she hasn't slept with anyone. It was God. And now you're gonna be the step-father of God. How d'ya like them apples?"

First off, he doesn't, and yet he plans something that he thinks is in HER best interest - a quiet dis-engagement, protection while she gives birth, etc. But once Gabriel comes back to visit him, then suddenly Joseph's going, Yes God, whatever You say, God.

Two pretty amazing young people. God chose well. He couldn't afford to take forty years to mold them, as He did Moses. This was going to be comparatively quick, and given that the human life of one of the Trinity of God Himself was going to be completely at the mercy of these two as parents, He had to choose well. 

Having her cousin Elizabeth being pure of heart and spirit and mind, able to be the miraculous mother of Jesus' second cousin John the Baptist, was part of the equation as well. Elizabeth's priest of a husband was visited by Gabriel as well - it was all a package deal. God had to have two related couples who could glorify Him through their own sanctity as well as His miracles, if His plan for the First Advent was going to be as He wanted it to be. Elizabeth and Zechariah are important to this story as well.

Plus all the prophecy that had to be fulfilled! And THEN, for Mary's part, we find in Scripture that Joseph is no longer on the scene once Christ reaches the age of ministry (at thirty). The universal assumption is that somewhere between Jesus' 12th and 30th birthdays, his father dies; how, we'll not know until we get to Heaven and get to ask. So Mary had to mother the God-Man on her own for years, presumably. Add in all the grit she showed throughout the Passion week in particular, and that's one amazing woman there! (NOT one to be worshiped, however - that we MUST save for God alone.)

And don't forget the shepherds, who didn't just assume they'd been out in the pastures with the sheep too long and had been hallucinating. The angels told them to go, and they went. Never mind that there had been NO CONTACT from Heaven for four hundred years before this - those are definitely angels, and so we're definitely going.

Most amazing of all, of course, is Jesus Himself.

As God, He is all-powerful, all-knowing, impervious. Suddenly, He becomes a flipp'n fertilized egg in Mary's womb. That's about as drastic a descent as I can imagine! For nine months, He cannot even SEE His surroundings, and then for several more years (and He cannot "fast forward" as a human!) He has no control over His own personal environment as a child, having to completely trust Mary and Joseph's judgment throughout His childhood for protection. He has to respect and obey His earthly parents, whom He created! Think about that! What would that even be LIKE?

For thirty-three years, unable to do anything but live linearly like us poor time-restricted mortals, He lives a life of poverty on earth, and yet He lives the life He had to live: sinless, perfect, teaching the ways of God in both WORD and DEED, and arranging His entire mortal life so He would die on the cross at precisely the week Daniel predicted in chapter 9, verse 27.

So when you go to your candlelight service tonight (and do go if you can - I think it's the most authentic church service of the year, hands down!), don't just go through the motions. Think about the meaning of what's being read from Scripture. Imagine yourself as Mary - as Joseph - as the Innkeeper - as a shepherd - as Simeon or Anna or the wise men or a sheep or any of the characters described. They were real people. (Or real sheep.) 

Imagine yourself as Christ. How vulnerable You are! How much trust You must have in the humans You've chosen. 

And thank Him for the amazing sacrifice He made for us, so that we could have access to God in Heaven above.