6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
Luke 2:6-7
Dear God, as I read this passage this morning and tried to remember back to the time in the hospital after our son was born, I had one specific memory. I remember holding our son, looking at him, and just wondering how I would mess up. Oh, how I didn’t want to mess up. In those first few moments of his life, I knew they would be the only moments in which I hadn’t made a mistake raising him. But to some extent, I was destined to fail him. I didn’t want to, but I did. I mean, I’m human, right? There is no way to not fail. We have all failed as parents in some way or another. None of us do it all right.
So as Mary and Joseph sat there and looked at their new baby, what must they have been thinking. I’m sure they both felt incredible pressure, knowing who he was. This was God’s son, for crying out loud. Your son! You, incarnate! And they were now responsible for him. How would they raise him? Were they really up to it?
Oh, and they were poor. How would they provide for him? How would they educate him. He was never easier to take care of than when he was in Mary’s womb. But now he was here, and he had to be dealt with. His needs had to be met. What unique needs would he have.
Then there might have been some doubt on Joseph’s part. What was he doing here? Was Mary really telling the truth? Did your angel really appear to him in a dream, or was it just a dream? As Joseph looked around the room they were in, whether it was a stable or a tent, I’m sure he wondered a lot of things. It reminds me of the 4Him song “Strange Way to Save the World.” The chorus:
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 I’m not one to second guess what angels have to say But this is such a strange way to save the world
So before the shepherds get here tomorrow, I want to just sit in this uncertainty. The insecurity. I’ve been hearing the phrase “imposter syndrome” a lot lately, and I’m sure Joseph and Mary felt it in that moment. How could they not?
Father, I failed my children in a minimum of hundreds of ways over the last 28 years. My wife did too. And they failed us as well. We fail each other. I’m sorry. I did my best. I know Mary and Joseph did their best as well. Most parents do. But from Adam and Eve through today, we all make mistakes. Give us your grace. And give us grace for each other. Give me grace for my wife and children, and give them your grace for me.
2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
Luke 2:1-5
Dear God, I like that John Piper paused here before Jesus was born just to spend a little time with Mary and Joseph before Jesus was physically in their presence.
I remember the time before our first son was born. There was so much anticipation. I told my wife over and over again, “I just can’t wait to meet him.” He was so close and yet so far. I can’t imagine what Mary’s and Joseph’s anticipation was like. What would it be like to meet your son? The Messiah? Sure, they didn’t understand the purpose of his incarnation, but they understood who he was. What would he look like? Would he glow? How would they raise him? What were their responsibilities in educating him? So many questions for this young couple.
And then there might have been doubts–at least on Joseph’s part. Did he really hear the angel right? He had been asleep after all. Was it just a dream? Was he being played by Mary? I would have doubted if I had been him.
So they traveled to Bethlehem as a newly married couple and found a place to live for the short-term. Where was that? I have imagined it was a camp for the others like them on the edge of town. They were poor. They probably couldn’t afford regular lodging. Well, we know they couldn’t because we will find out later that while they were there and Joseph tried to find a reasonable place for her to give birth there was nothing available. So they had to use the unreasonable. Their tent with a manger brought in as a crib? Maybe. Maybe it was in a barn, but that seems like a weird choice given their options. Either way, they were solving problems as a couple for the first time. They were ignorant. They had no idea what they had gotten into or what was ahead of them. They just knew they were seemingly part of something extraordinary.
How does this apply to my life? Well, I remember the ignorance of that time in my life. Thinking back on it reminds me that I am still ignorant. I think I know so much, but I don’t. I don’t know what you are doing right now. I look around my life, and I celebrate a lot of it, but there are parts I lament as well. I don’t know how it all fits together. I don’t know what you are doing in my little, insignificant life that is just one of over 6 billion in this world right now. What this story about Mary and Joseph makes me think about this morning is that it was okay that they were ignorant, and it is okay that I am ignorant now. I don’t have to know what is going on. They didn’t either. They just had to be faithful. I just have to be faithful. What is it you have me to do today?
Father, I give this day to you. Love through me. Live through me. Heal me and those I love from our sorrow. Comfort us. Let your truth reign. Bring to light what is hidden so that we might all be healed, and then take that healing and offer it to others who need the healed version of us. But I also want to thank you for how you are not wasting this pain. Thank you for using it to shape me into something that is more humble, compassionate, and loving.
Dear God, I am getting a late start on Advent, but this book (Joy to the World by John Piper) just came in yesterday, so I am going to look at the first three days of it this morning. I want to be very intentional about this Advent season.
Day 1: Luke 1:16-17
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
What a good and hopeful prophecy. I wonder how Zechariah would have felt had he known how this would all play out. A son who appeared a little crazy out in the wilderness. Ultimately beheaded. Yes, all of these prophecies came true, but the package and what the eyes would see would certainly have disappointed him and Elizabeth. It would have broken their hearts. I am sure this prophecy from the angel planted visions in their head of how this would look. Perhaps that’s why they were older when this happened. Maybe you didn’t want them to live to see it. Maybe you didn’t want them to accidentally stop it from happening. Perhaps that’s why John didn’t have siblings as well. By the time he was living out this prophecy thirty years from now, there were no immediately family members to get in his way. Perhaps Elizabeth’s barrenness for so long was also calculated. All of the lamenting she did for all of those years about not being able to have a child might just have been a necessary part of your plan. My wife and I were praying about something together just fifteen minutes ago. Something that brings us heartache every day. But maybe this situation is exactly what you need it to be. Maybe our influence on something would get in the way of what you are trying to do. Perhaps you are protecting something from me.
Day 2 Luke 1:46-55
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 49 For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. 50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. 51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. 52 He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. 54 He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. 55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
When I read this passage just now, it reminded me of Hagar and her angel visit in Genesis 16:13: 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” What it feels like to be seen by you! For Mary, something even more extraordinary is going on. She is coming to terms with what her path forward will be like. With who this baby will be. She probably spent the days between her angel visit and her arrival at Elizabeth’s going over everything in her head. Had she told Joseph already? Had she told anyone? But then, arriving at Elizabeth’s and getting the affirmation that Elizabeth knew what was going on and knew it was good just helped her explode with joy into this song, mixing in a little Psalm 146.
It can be amazing to feel your affirmation. I have to say, I have felt it in several work-related things over the last year. I’ve seen you answer prayers. Even this morning, I was thinking about ow much better something is now than it was in January, and then I realized it was probably you saying, “Yes,” to my prayers. Thank you. Really, Father, thank you!
Day 3: Luke 1:68-71
67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. 69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. 71 Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. 72 He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— 73 the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. 74 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.
76 “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
Ironically, it looks like these first three days are all about Luke 1, so I guess it worked out anyway. I realized several years ago that Zechariah actually has the wrong idea about what you are going to do through John and Jesus. He thinks that the physical domination by Rome and others is about to end. But that’s not what you have in mind. John is here. Jesus is coming. But even Zechariah doesn’t really understand what that means.
Father, as I sit here at the beginning of Advent, I find that I really don’t understand any more about what is going on around me than Zechariah did. Than Mary did. So what am I to do? Worship. I am to worship. I am to comfort those who mourn. I am to be gentle and a peacemaker. I am to forgive. I am to trust in you and have faith in you. I am to be your worshipper, and accept that you are God and I am not. Help me to live into what you need me to be.
Dear God, I was listening to The Holy Post podcast this week, and they were kind of deep diving the “war on Christmas” and what Christians mean by defending and saving Christmas. Has it become empty rhetoric, but they really are only saving the Christian veneer of something that is already secular?
For example, they talked about how polling shows that most Christians find it more important to be with family Christmas day than to be at church worshipping you. This year, Christmas Eve is on a Sunday, and a lot of people go to Christmas Eve services, but Christmas Day often has very little to do with Jesus’s incarnation. And I’m not really any different. This year, my wife is singing in our church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I will be there for both, but if not for her involvement, I wouldn’t be going to church on Christmas Day.
I think Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is probably the biggest driver of how modern Christians view Christmas. You take the ideals of family importance and reaching out to the poor, and you just kind of gloss over the Jesus incarnation part. I’ve actually been grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend this year kind of exploring all of these things. The community church-to-church walk Christmas service we did a week ago was great, including the illustration of “God and the Planet of Vicious Dogs.” Then working on the project for my coworker and her young daughter covering Luke 1 and Luke 2 really blessed me as well as I tried to empathize in a new way with the characters I’ve read about hundreds of times.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, of course, I don’t want to not think about Christmas and the incarnation throughout the year, but I am grateful for the extra emphasis on it during Christmas that I might then carry with me throughout the rest of the year. Help what I’m going to call the remnant of the discipling church (as opposed to those who have only claimed the label Christian for cultural and political reasons) to be found faithful in our worship of you and our love for our neighbors. Help me to be found faithful in my worship of you and my love for my neighbors.
I offer all of this to you through the power of the incarnate Jesus,
Dear God, several years ago, I had a thought. It started with the Christmas story and the shepherds. I wondered what would have happened if, instead of going to the shepherds in the fields with the angel chorus, you had gone to the church leaders or governmental leaders. What if you had gone to the private businessmen who were prominent in the church and announced to them that a savior was born that night? Had I overlooked how strategically important it was that you had chosen shepherds?
Then I started to think about Mary and Joseph, probably living outside of town in a tent or something while they were in Bethlehem for the census. All of a sudden, she goes into labor and has to go to a stable because they can’t find a room to rent for the night in which she can deliver the baby. But did the shepherds know of the pregnant couple visiting Bethlehem? Had they seen Mary and Joseph?
So now my mind was really clicking as I thought about these things. What if? What if? What if?
I suppose it starts with what our human wisdom would have done to bring about the Messiah. What if you had brought the idea to the temple’s leadership and asked them to submit plans for bringing your son into the world. I can see a few options they probably would have put on the table.
He should be born to a righteous priest and his wife. They would probably first ask, “Do we have any priests who are descendants of David?” Then the boy should be raised in the church and taught all of the doctrine that had been handed down over the years. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.
He should be born to a prominent family where the father is a descendant of David. Like Samuel, his family will ensure that he is brought to the temple be raised. He will be taught all of the doctrine that had been handed down over the years. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.
Another group would probably questions why he should be born at all. Let him appear among us. God’s Messiah will come to us straight from Heaven. He will ultimately become the leader of the church and will evolve into the leader of a great army that will topple Rome and bring about the revival of Israel. Yes, that is how it should happen.
The ideas would flow for a while and then you would say, “No, no. You don’t understand…
If he has an earthly father, he will not have my DNA. You don’t realize this can happen, but his mother will need to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit. He is my son, not yours. Yes, we will be playing a little loosely with the line of David part, but we can get a woman who is married to someone from David’s lineage. That will be close enough. Of course, in order to prove it’s my child, the mother will need to be a virgin until after he is born, but I can do that. No problem.
If he is born into a priestly family, he is going to be raised in the box of the religion that you’ve created over the past three thousand years. No, no priests. Maybe we can give him a cousin from a priestly family. That will be close enough.
If he is born into a family of wealth, he won’t understand suffering. He will expect privilege. Additionally, a prominent earthly father will feel the pressure to leave him in the church and then I’m right back where I started with him growing up in the box of religion. Also, you don’t realize it, but this kid will spend the first few years of his life on the run. I need a family that is willing to be flexible.”
“No,” you’ll continue, “here’s what I have in mind…
First, I’ve known all along what I’m going to do. I just wanted to see what y’all would come up with. When they look back on his time on Earth, some people will look back and think that things were orchestrated intentionally to fulfill the prophecies about him, but the truth is that I’ve been planning this all along and I gave prophets of the past insights into the future so that after it happened, all of you would know that I know exactly what’s going on and what I’m doing.
To that end, the first priority is that I need him to be raised by good people. I mean REALLY good people. I need people who love me and will do anything for me. I need people who are willing to do the right thing at any given moment, whether it makes sense or not. I’ve got a guy picked out that you won’t believe. And the woman–well, she’s exactly who I need.
On the night he is born, I need a way to affirm his parents and to let people know that this was real. There’s going to have to be an announcement, but I need to pick my audience carefully. What I’m going to do is announce it to the shepherds out in the fields. I can’t have the angels show up singing over the stable and if I send them to the people in town then they might try to take the baby from the parents. If that happens, the plan is dead. But the shepherds will go and find the parents. They will tell them what they saw and it will encourage this sweet young couple that I’m with them.
You don’t realize this, but it will be important that he is raised poor. He will see suffering. He will see sickness. He will see prostitution. He will be an immigrant, living in a foreign land for his formative years. He will know what it’s like to be an outsider and have his feelings hurt. He will know what it’s like to know Egyptians and people from other nations and love them. He will know that I’ve sent him to be the Messiah for everyone, not just the Jews.
I also need to keep him poor and obscure while he is younger because I’ve got to keep the kings of the time from killing him out of jealousy and fear. I have no intention of taking away the thrones I’ve given them, but they don’t know that. I’m actually sending him to save them too.
“So here’s my plan. I’ve got this couple picked out. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but they are perfect. I can’t tell you who they are yet because if I do you won’t be able to keep yourselves from messing everything up with your wisdom. They will end up having to move around a lot his first few years because his life will be in danger. In fact, a lot of innocent children are going to die at the hand of a jealous king. I’ve already seen it. But they will be in my arms.
“He is going to grow up and keep a low profile until he is about 30. Then he will take everything he’s learned through the experiences he’s had and the DNA he has as my child and preach truth. It’s going to surprise you. He’s going to tear down some of the things that religion has built over the last 3,000 years. He’s going to reveal my heart for all of mankind to you.
“Now this part is going to surprise you, but he is ultimately going to die. There will be no wars. No armies. No overthrowing of Rome. See, you don’t need a man to lead you to victory. You need a lamb that will be your salvation. In fact, it will be the very church that you wanted to raise him that will kill him. In the end, the Romans won’t want to do it, but the church will insist that they do. It will be the church’s jealousy and insecurity, not Rome’s, that will take his life. But that’s what you need. You just don’t realize it.
“Finally, because he is my son, and because I am God and I am capable of doing so much more than you could ever have imagined for this plan, I am going to raise him from the dead. After this happens, history will completely shift. You’ll be amazed.”
Father, I’m a Gentile, sitting here on this Christmas Eve roughly 2,000 years after you put your plan into action. It worked. I have chills as I type this. You are my God. Thank you.
Emails to God 