Merry Christmas Thoughts

Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, visited with friends and family, ate lots of good food and got all the presents you wanted. We had a delightful holiday, first at home, then with the Davis side, and lastly with the Chapman gang. I’m sure pictures will follow soon.

Two things have been rattling around in my brain this Christmas and I need to write them down to get them straight. Please bear with me.

First I’ve been thinking about Joseph. He has become a hero of mine lately because he was just an ordinary man, because God asked alot of him, because he obeyed God, and because he took care of his family under tough circumstances. I’ve been wondering what he must have been thinking along the road. He might have been angry at the Romans for making him take his new bride (very pregnant bride) on a long journey. There were no minivans, hotel 6, or out of network health coverage. He might have doubted that he really saw an angel and heard it tell him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. He might have doubted if Mary had been telling the truth that she was a virgin. He was probably worried that Mary would go into labor, worried the donkey would break down, and worried about where they would stay in Bethlehem. How about when they get to Bethlehem? Here Joseph is trying to find someplace clean and dry to stay, his wife is going into labor, and the only place available is a stable. Should he run out a look for a midwife? Should he try to find someplace else? He must have kindled a fire and boiled water, not because some nurse was trying to give him something to do, but because there was a real need to keep Mary and Jesus clean and warm! Did he realize that God himself was entering the world or was he overcome with awe just witnessing a child being born? Through all this Joseph cares for his family with honor and compassion. He obeys God despite having little instruction and despite whatever doubts and fears he had. The beautiful thing about faith, is that no matter how afraid or uncertain we feel, it still counts as faith if we obey.

The second thing that I have been thinking about is the incarnation. A big sounding word that basically means God somehow or other squeezed down into a helpless, dirty, screaming baby. I don’t think that Jesus was born with a halo, perfectly clean, and slept all the time. Mary and Joseph would have been freaked out! No I think Christ probably came out wrinkly and covered in goo like the rest of us. Why is that important? Because it means Jesus was totally approachable. There was no barrier, no holy glow to ward off the unclean. He was a baby for goodness sake! He pooped, He spit up, He wailed when He cut His first tooth. He was just like us and because of that, we can come to Him without fear. One of my favorite Christmas carols is Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Don’t worry I’m not going to sing it, but here is my favorite verse:

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord
Late in time, behold Him come
Offspring of the Virgin's womb
veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the Incarnate Diety
Pleased as Man with Men to dwel
Jesus our Emmanuel
Hark the herald Angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!

Emmanuel, which being interpreted means: God with us. To paraphrase Hebrews 12:18-25: we are not come to God on mount Sinai where He smoked and thundered and killed anyone who touched the mountain (like we deserve, being sinful, and God being Holy beyond words), we are come, like smelly, unwashed shepherds, to a stable, to the son of a carpenter, to see God veiled in a little baby. We are accepted into His holy presence without fear. We are accepted by Him, all we have to do is come to Him.