In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
Luke 1:39-45
Dear God, I can only imagine the buyer’s remorse Mary felt when after Gabriel left her. It’s easy to say yes in the moment, but then reality starts to set in:
What will my parents say?
What will Joseph say?
What will my friends and the community say?
Will Joseph break off the engagement?
Who will ever believe me?
Will the town stone me?
How am I going to raise this baby?
Who will this baby turn out to be?
How can I be the person chosen to do this?
Did I just imagine this whole thing? Am I really pregnant?
This isn’t how I thought my life would go at all!
So she naturally set out to see Elizabeth since Gabriel told her in verse 36 that she is pregnant too. Maybe she will understand.
So I’m sure all of these thoughts (and more) were running through her mind as she went to see Elizabeth. Perhaps she hoped Elizabeth and Zechariah would help her with her parents. But the big thing happened as soon as she showed up, and it the thing I mentioned back when I talked about Joseph and the shepherds showing up in the stable: affirmation! As soon as she got there she never had to tell Elizabeth anything. Elizabeth just spontaneously told her, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside of me. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken in her!”
Mary had to have thought, Oh, thank goodness I don’t have to justify anything to you. I can just tell you my story and you’ll believe me. I’m sure Zechariah and Elizabeth had had a lot of written conversations about what Gabriel had told him and now the puzzle was starting to make sense to them. I want to spend some time tomorrow breaking down Mary’s response to this, so I’ll do the Magnificat later. Right now, I want to just sit with the relief. The anxiety and then the way you alleviated her fears.
I guess one last thing here. I think it’s interesting that Matthew gives us Gabriel’s visit to Joseph and Luke gives us his visit to Mary. Neither book gives both. Thank you for giving us both of these gospels.
Father, thank you for the little affirmations you give to me. There are times when I have great anxiety, but you are faithful to me and you are always there to comfort me. I don’t always come to you for that comfort. Sometimes I am sinful and try to assuage my anxiety with self-indulgence. But when I come to you, you comfort me. You will send me signs and wonders. You will meet a need in a miraculous way. You are good. I am truly sorry for the times when I am only looking for distractions to ease my fear instead of looking to you.
“Along the Road” by Ashton, Becker, Dente (written by Dan Fogelberg)
Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road
Along the road
Your path may wander
A pilgrim’s faith may fail
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Darkness obscures the trail
Cursing the quest
Courting disaster
Measureless nights forebode
Moments of rest
Glimpses of laughter
Are treasured along the road
Along the road
Your steps may stumble
Your thoughts may start to stray
But through it all a heart held humble
Levels and lights your way
Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Dan Fogelberg
Dear God, some of the poetry in this song might be too much for me to get into, but something brought it to mind the other day so I thought I would spend some time with it.
It was recorded by three different women Christian artists who combined for one album in the mid-90s. This was the closing track on the album and was probably the best song on the album. It helps that it was written by Dan Fogelberg, one of the great poetic songwriters over the last 50 years. There is a ton of poetry in here.
I think I want to look at this song this morning on more of a macro level than a micro one. What is the overall emotion I’m left with after I listen to it. Hmm. That’s harder to answer than I thought it would be. There some sadness in there. There’s some peace. There is a little hope. I guess that’s what a good song/poem can do. It can tap into a lot of different emotions at once.
For me, as I sit here at 50, my life has certainly been a whirlwind of emotion. As I look back on it, however, I’m grateful that there is as much joy in it as there is. As I read how the song starts and ends–“Joy at the start, Fear in the journey, Joy in the coming home”–I immediately thought about the people who didn’t have joy at the start of their journey and don’t have it at the end. It breaks my heart when I start to think about how many children, adults, and elderly live their whole lives in fear and don’t have the joy in the in between times, or at the beginning or end.
As for me, My childhood was a mixture, but certainly more joy than fear. This middle part of my journey, frankly, has had more joy that fear as well, although the fear, anger, and hurt I’ve experienced were more than I ever expected. And then there is the peace of knowing that, whenever the end of my journey comes, I will have this great joy of being with you. I guess what gives me peace is working for you now, worshipping you now, and knowing that there will be great joy at the end of the journey.
Father, make my journey count. Help me to love others regardless of how they love me. Help me to work on the behalf of others for no personal benefit–even an emotional one. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be as part of my journey.
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”
34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”
35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Dear God, it is one thing to be Joseph and Jesus’s “step-father,” if you will. It’s another thing to be his actual mother. Flesh of her flesh. What an amazing thing for her in a physiological, psychological sense. This child was part of her and was partly her. Her DNA was in there along with yours. It add whole layer to what Joseph experienced. I’m sure it meant just that much more to her than to him, although I know it meant a lot to him too.
I think it’s interesting that Mary gets a little more latitude from the angel than Zechariah did. Zechariah asked in Luke 1:18, “How can I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” Mary asks in Luke 1:36, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” Those questions don’t appear that different to me given each circumstance. But where Gabriel is a little harsh with Zechariah, he is gentle with Mary. I have a feeling that each actually got what they needed to prepare them for their journey. Zechariah probably needed those months (almost a year?) in silence to contemplate, study, and prepare himself to raise John the Baptist. Mary, on the other hand, needed the encouragement of Elizabeth. She needed to be able to communicate freely with Joseph. And she was just a young woman whereas Zechariah was older. Mary deserved a little more guidance.
With all of that said, that’s not what hit me when I first read this passage this morning. What hit me is the idea that none of us know what we are getting into when we become parents. We can think we are ready, but we aren’t. We can think we do have or don’t have enough money, but we are wrong. We can think we know what we are doing, but we have no idea. Even on the second or third child, we aren’t prepared like we would like to be. In her case, Mary had no idea what she was saying yes to. If she had, would she have done it? Would she have signed up for giving birth in a stable, moving to Egypt, moving back to Nazareth, losing Jesus when he was 12, watching a ministry from him that would lead to his crucifixion, and then going through the resurrection and the ascension? She lost her son at 33. Yes, he rose again, but he was still gone 40 days later. I’m sure this was not how she planned it out as she visited with Elizabeth or traveled to Bethlehem with Joseph.
Father, I still don’t know what being the father of my children really means, and they are in their 20s now. I don’t know what they need from me today, and I have no clue what they will need tomorrow. don’t even know how much longer they will have me on this earth, nor do I know how much longer I’ll have them. But I know that in this moment right now, I need to simply be your servant. I need to be your worshiper. I need you to flow through me and touch the world through me. And I need to simply rest in the knowledge that you know what my children need more than I do and you will be responsible for giving it to them. Much like Mary didn’t understand what was happening with Jesus’s life most of the time, I have no idea either. Help me to use that ignorance to my advantage and to build my faith in and worship of you.
46 After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them.
51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.
Luke 2:46-52
Dear God, I want to look at the emotions used to describe Mary and Joseph in this passage:
Astonished (verse 48)
Anxious (verse 48)
Confused (verse 50–“But they did not understand…”)
I know there have been times when I’ve been angry with my kids and ready to let them have it. So many times, however, I found that they had an explanation for what they had done that made perfect sense from their perspective. They weren’t being rebellious. They weren’t being defiant. They were just doing what they thought was right.
In this story, I can only imagine the fear and anxiety both Mary and Joseph felt. Who would have guessed that the boy was in the temple, holding court? I wonder if a younger Caiaphas was there too. How about a younger Nicodemus? No matter. The people who were there were “astounded” (verse 47) by his questions. It probably doesn’t get enough attention that Jesus isn’t portrayed as sitting there and giving a bunch of answers. He’s portrayed as asking amazing, insightful questions. He obviously had a lot on his mind that he was figuring out and now he had an opportunity to be in the temple in Jerusalem to access the people who were supposed to know the answers. Of course it was necessary for him to be in his Father’s house!
It’s clear that Mary and Joseph had no idea how to raise this particular boy. His needs didn’t fit into any particular paradigm. I wonder how inadequate Joseph felt around him when it came to these types of questions I’m sure he asked at home as well as in the temple. I wonder what kinds of conversations Mary and Joseph would have about Jesus when they were by themselves. Or even what kinds of conversations Joseph would have with his friends who knew Jesus.
Father, I know I have certainly felt over my head when parenting my children through the years. I’m sure Joseph felt that much more so. He must have continuously wondered, “Am I enough for this boy? Am I adequate to raise God’s son?” I’m sure that this responsibility deepened his own prayer life and his own relationship with you. How could it not have? Help me to follow this example and to sink deeper into you as I continue to pray for my children and that you will give them what you need them to have from me, my wife, and those around them.
Every year his parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming he was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
Luke 2:41-45
Before we get to the part where they find Jesus, let’s just sit with Joseph and Mary for these couple of days when Jesus is lost. After all these years. After the angel visits/warnings. After the flight to Egypt. After returning tentatively to Galilee and Nazareth. Now, thinking that everything had calmed down, Jesus was lost! I’m sure they must have had other kids by now. Did they take those kids with them or did they let them go back to Nazareth with the friends and relatives? But forget that for a moment. Jesus was lost!
As they traveled, slept at night (which I’m sure was fitful sleep at best), what were their conversations with each other like? What were their prayers to you like? Were they repenting to you for not keeping a closer eye on him? Were they beseeching you for his safety? Were they trying to figure out where to even start looking for him? Were they afraid that he had been finally found by whomever the king was at the time and killed?
Being a father (and mother) is rife with moments like this, although maybe not to this level since Joseph knew this boy was your son. You know you’ve messed up. You know that you’ve done the wrong thing for your child. You know they are in danger and you didn’t adequately protect them. You are scared for them. It can all be overwhelming.
And as a child you never really appreciate what your parent is experiencing. I’m at a point in my parenting now that my children are childless adults that I know there are certain things they just won’t get until they are parents themselves. And being parents will give them deeper insights into you and into my wife and me. Sometimes experience is the only thing that can teach us. In this case, Jesus was about to learn a lesson in how to bless his parents.
Father, help me to be at peace with my parenting mistakes. Help me to extend grace to my children now. Help me to reach out and love you as my own father. As much as I’m able, I truly appreciate what you do for me.
The demons were planning on having a party one night.
They had beer, Jack Daniels, and pretzels,
There was red wine, some white.
They were celebrating how they crusified Christ on that tree.
But Satan, the snake himself, wasn’t so at ease.
Well, he took his crooked finger,
And he dialed the phone by his bed,
To call an old faithful, to see if he was dead.
“Hey grave, what’s going on, did my plan fail?”
Grave just laughed and said, “The dude’s dead as nails.”
On Friday night, they crucified the Lord at calvary,
But he said, “Don’t dread, three days’ later I’ll live again, you’ll see!”
When problems try to bury you, make it hard to pray,
It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way!
A tranquilizer and a horror filck, couldn’t calm Satan’s fears.
So Saturday night, he calls up the grave, scared of what he’d hear.
“Hey, grave, what’s going on?”
Grave said, “Man, you done called me twice,
And I’ll tell you one-more-‘gin, boss, the Jew’s on ice.”
Satan said, “Man grave, you remember when,
Ol’ Lazarus, was in his grave.
Everything was cool then four days later… BOOM,
Ol’ Lazarus, he was raised.
Now, this Jesus, he is much more trouble
Than anyone has ever been to me,
And this man said he only gonna be dead, for three days.”
On Friday night, they crucified the Lord at calvary,
But he said, “Don’t dread, three days’ later I’ll live again, you’ll see!”
When problems try to bury you, make it hard to pray,
It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way!
Sunday morning Satan woke with a jump,
Ready to blow a fuse.
He was shaking from the tips of his pointy ears,
To the toes of his pointy shoes.
“Hey grave, is he alive, I don’t wanna lose my neck?”
Grave said, “Satan, you are a wreck.
Cool your jets Big D, my sting is still intact.
Jesus is dead forever, he ain’t
Never coming back.
So mellow out man, just go drink up or shoot up,
Just leave old grave alone,
And I’ll catch you la… la…
Oh no! Oh no! OH NO! OH NO!
Somebody’s messing with the stone!”
Well, the stone was rolled away,
And it ounced a time or two,
And an angel stepped inside,
And said, “I’m Gabriel, who are you?
If you’re wondering where the Lord is,
At this very hour,
I tell you he’s alive and well,
With resurection power!”
On Friday night, they crucified the Lord at calvary,
But he said, “Don’t dread, three days’ later I’ll live again, you’ll see!”
When problems try to bury you, make it hard to pray,
It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way!
The gates and doors were barred and all the windows fastened down,
I spent the night in sleeplessness and rose at every sound,
Half in hopeless sorrow half in fear the day,
Would find the soldiers crashing through to drag us all away.
Then just before the sunrise I heard something at the wall,
The gate began to rattle and a voice began to call,
I hurried to the window and looked down to the street,
Expecting swords and torches and the sound of soldiers feet,
There was no one there but Mary so I went down to let her in,
John stood there beside me as she told us were she’d been,
She said they moved him in the night and none of us knows where,
The stones been rolled away and now his body isn’t there.
We both ran toward the garden then John ran on ahead,
We found the stone and the empty tomb just the way that Mary said,
But the winding sheet they wrapped him in was just an empty shell,
And how or where they’d taken him was more than I could tell.
Something strange had happened there but what I did not know,
John believed a miracle but I just turned to go,
Circumstance and speculation couldn’t lift me very high,
Cause I’d seen them crucify him and then I’d watched him die,
Back inside the house again all the guilt and anguish came,
Everything I’d promised him just added to my shame,
But at last it came to choices I denied I knew his name,
Even If he was alive it wouldn’t be the same.
But suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume,
Light that came from everywhere drove shadows from the room,
Jesus stood before me with his arms held open wide,
And I fell down on my knees and clung to him and cried,
He raised me to my feet and as I looked into his eyes,
Love was shining out from him like sunlight from the sky,
Guilt and my confusion disappeared in sweet release,
And every fear I’d ever had just melted into peace.
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive and I’m forgiven,
Heavens gates are open wide.
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive and I’m forgiven,
Heavens gates are open wide.
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive and I’m forgiven,
Heavens gates are open wide.
He’s alive!
Songwriters: Allen Collins / Ronnie Van Zant
Dear God, sometimes on Easter morning I like to think back on some of my go-to Easter songs. These three are very different, but they always come to mind. I know “He’s Alive is from the 70s. I’m not sure about “The Easter Song” by Keith Green. This one is either 70s or 80s. And then Carman’s “Sunday’s on the Way” is either 80s or 90s. I guess this is my tell for when I was more involved in Christian music.
Each of these songs is so different, I want to look at each one briefly this morning.
“The Easter Song”
This one is just pure celebration. Bells are ringing. The angel is telling us the news we all need to hear. Jesus is no longer dead. What’s an amazing thing for the disciples to learn. Despair to hope to victory. But their victory in Jesus was only the beginning. Now the work began. At this point, their entire lives were ahead of them and they had responsibilities. The news was great, and part of that great news is that they now had purpose. A new purpose. A purpose that all but one of them would die for. I suppose Easter is supposed to be a reminder to us (and to me) that my work is only just beginning too.
“Sunday’s on the Way”
This song is full of all of the bravado that was/is Carman. He had all kinds of songs like this. And it can be kind of fun to poke my finger in Satan’s eye, although I usually avoid doing it. I do not worship Satan. I worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But I do respect Satan and I hide behind Jesus’s blood when he’s involved. But what I think I like about this song is taking the fear of those at the time and relating it to the fear we have now: “When problems try to bury you and make it hard to pray, it might seem like Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way!” This song is a great reminder that you are still God and you are still capable of doing things I cannot even imagine. I just need to rest in you.
“He’s Alive”
Hopeless sorry. Fear. Guilt. Anguish. Shame. These are the emotions the song assigns to Peter as he struggles with the experience of losing Jesus and his actions leading up to the crucifixion. But by the end of the song–after the resurrection–it all melts into peace. You know I like that word as it relates to you and my relationship with you. In your light everything just melts into peace.
Father, as I sit outside in our town square typing this and looking at an empty church on Sunday morning because of this COVID-19 pandemic, I can’t help but consider how this particular Easter is impacting us. How it reminds us that, as one pastor put it, the church isn’t empty, but it’s deployed. How we have work to do. We can rest in the idea that while this particular day might not be our “Sunday” for this situation, but “Sunday” is on the way. And because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago, all of our fears, guilt, and anguish can melt into peace while we worship you and work for you in faith. Help me to do all of that this Easter.
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:19-23
Dear God, I remember when my children were in grade school and I was unemployed. As. I prayed about job opportunities and what you had for us, one of the things that always stuck with me was where you wanted them. Where did. you want them to grow up, be in school, go to church, and make friends. They were as much a part of the decision as my wife and I were. And I’ll confess that, over the years, after we moved to this small town when they were in the fourth and first grades, I’ve wondered at times whether or not we made the right move. Was coming here what was best for them?
I finally got to a place where I just simply put my faith in you and decided that you would have closed the door or guided me in a different direction if this isn’t where you wanted all four of us. The path hasn’t been straight and there are a lot of circumstances in their being raised here that concern me. But did they need those experiences to develop something in them that I cannot see? Even if something looks wrong, is it exactly right? That’s where I putting my money through my faith in you. I’m betting that things have worked the way you ordained because 1.) I prayed to you that your will would be done in all of our lives over and over again and 2.) you will guide us all into your plan.
I say all of that because I see Joseph having to make a lot of decisions. In this passage he gets his third and fourth angel visits (1. Take Mary. 2.) Go to Egypt. 3.) Go back to Israel. 4.) Go to Galilee.) so at least he had some affirmation he was doing the right thing (although I still have to wonder how much doubt he still might have had with these visits coming in the form of dreams. But all of this–all of this—was for Jesus. This wasn’t about Mary. It wasn’t about himself. He did it all to keep Jesus safe. I wonder how much of this Jesus knew and how old he was when he knew it. I wonder how you used these years in Egypt to form Jesus’ s love for Gentiles and for the poor. A love for foreigners and those who feel out of place. A love for the lonely and the friendless because he had to make new friends at least a couple of times.
Father, thank you for the joy of learning to make decisions for the good of someone else (our children) even though it will cost us something. In this case, it cost Joseph convenience, reputation, momentum in starting/stopping/starting/stopping/starting his business, etc. But he did it for you. He did it for this boy. He did it for my Messiah. I hope I am man enough to make similar decisions.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. ” Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.” After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route. After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.
Matthew 2:1-15
Dear God, here’s a question that I think isn’t asked enough, but has a simple answer. Why did you pick someone like Joseph? Why not a Person of prominence to be Jesus’s dad? Why not a religious leader? Why not a king? Why was the Messiah born to a carpenter and his fiancé?
I think there are actually several answers. The obvious ones are that those fathers would have been a bad influence on him. We’ve seen how the sons of kings turn out (well, maybe except for Jonathan). We’ve seen how the sons of religious leaders like Eli and Samuel turn out. We’ve seen how Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s sons turned out. No, there is certainly no guarantee that someone will turn out well based on who their parents are. All of us are fallible.
In this case, I think you 1.) picked the parents based on their character, regardless of what their status was. But 2,) I think it actually did matter because a person of position would have had much more to lose than Joseph did I think it was probably easier to obey you to take Mary and then do all of this moving around because he didn’t have a lot of encumbrances from his position in life. He had less to lose by going ahead and taking her as his wife. He had less to lose by waking up and deciding to obey and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.
To relate this to myself, I’ve often wondered how much I’ve allowed myself to not obey something you’ve called me to do because of the things I’ve achieved and/or acquired. I have a lovely wife. Do I want to drag her just anywhere? I have a nice home in a safe town. Am I ready to trade that security in for physical insecurity? I have a job that pays me a nice middle class wage. Am I ready to jeopardize that for uncertainty and a life of truly living on my daily bread? No, I would never have made a good father for Jesus for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is that I wouldn’t have been prepared to pay the price that Joseph had to pay. I wonder what it would look like if I were ready to pay that kind of price now, and what would you possibly call me to do if I were willing to completely open myself up to any possibilities?
Father, even now, I want to pray and tell you that I am willing to go wherever you want me to go and do whatever you want me to do, but I’m scared. I’m scared what you might call me to do. But I’m going to say it anyway. Father, I am willing to go, I am willing to do whatever you are calling me to do. I’m just going to tell you that you are going to have to make it very obvious because my natural inclination will be to miss anything you call me to do that is out of my comfort zone. So make your plan for me John-proof. Help me to make each decision correctly in the moment and then have this decisions and choices add up to your will.
8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!
15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. 17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.
21 When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before he was conceived. 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord) 24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons).
25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said,
29 Now, Master,
you can dismiss your servant in peace,
as you promised.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation.
31 You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and glory to your people Israel.
33 His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed — 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Luke 2:8-35
Dear God, when last we left off with Joseph he was sitting in a stable with his fiance and their new child. He was in the middle of some very weird circumstances. How was he to believe any of this? Surely that dream must have been a mistake. Surely he shouldn’t have agreed to take Mary as his wife. There had to have been doubts.
Then you accomplished two things at once. Well, actually several things at once. You sent him and Mary some shepherds with an amazing story. What a great affirmation!! They didn’t only tell Joseph and Mary that God had told them about the baby. They told the new parents that the angel had told them where to find them. They weren’t alone! You knew exactly where they were. In the moments before the shepherds arrived, Mary and Joseph might have felt alone and scared, but what an amazing encouragement this must have been to them.
The reason I say this accomplished several things at once is because I am sure this forever changed those shepherds’ lives too. You were just showing up and encouraging all kinds of people on that holy night.
Then you sent them more encouragement. Simeon. I know this was a big deal because of verse 33: His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. I’m sure the emotional roller coaster of the last several months must have worn them out. Joseph alone when from feeling betrayed by Mary, to relieved after the angel visit, to overwhelmed in a manger, to encouraged by the shepherds, to left in wonder by Simeon. Anna, would come along in a bit and have something to say too.
As I go through my own little roller coaster now, I am reminded that you are the constant. As I type this, our world is in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are dying. People are scared. People have lost jobs. Domestic violence is increasing. At the same time, neighbors are reaching out to neighbors and loving on each other. People are looking for ways to get back together as the church. And on a personal level, you have brought me different encouragements along the way. Encouraging phone calls. Encouraging donations.
Father, help me to stay in the middle of your presence and not swing too wide in enthusiasm or despair. Help me to see all of this with your eyes. Of course, I will never be able to know what you know–nor should I be able to–but I can surely see in the moment at least a little of what you see. Give me the serenity, the courage and the wisdom I need to get through this day.
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:1-7
Dear God, it seems that this just wasn’t going well at all. I mean, Joseph said yes to the angel in the dream. He did his duty and went to Bethlehem. And he took his pregnant fiance with him. They were probably camping outside of town when “the time came for the baby to be born.” What to do? Where to go? “No guest room [was] available for them.” So there they sat. I’m sure they had had some amazing conversations leading up to this moment. How they must have talked, wondered, and dreamed! Can you believe this is happening? The Messiah is coming! And now, here they are, sitting in a barn-like area, all alone with their new baby.
I’ve used it here before, but the words to the 4 Him Christmas song, “Strange Way to Save the World” come to mind: “Why me? I’m just a simple man of trade. Why him, with all the rulers in the world? Why here, inside this stable filled with hay? Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl? Now I’m not one to second guess what angels have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world.”
Did he have doubts in this moment? Did he start to wonder about his dream? Did he start to doubt Mary? This was not the path of least resistance for him. What will happen next?
Father, I’ll get to what happens next tomorrow because what happens next deserves its own time. Right now, as I sit here in the midst of a pandemic that no one really knows how to respond to, I want to relate to Joseph a little. Mary too, but she’ll get her time in these journals. Right now, this is about a man with responsibilities trying to figure out the right thing to do. He’s trying to love his fiance, care for a new son that isn’t his, all while living up to his duty as a citizen. In that moment, he had to be talking to you and maybe even doubting. After all this was an awfully strange way to save the world.
Emails to God 