I realize that my devotionals these last few weeks have had a touch of darkness in them and this being Christmas, I decided to lay the heaviness of my life aside to focus on the Light of the World instead. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to study the bible in a new and interactive way where we step into the story to see and hear through the character’s eyes and ears. Today I thought it might be refreshing to put myself in the Christmas story to see what God would teach me from inside the story.
(Scriptures in italics—Luke 2:1-18, 20 NIV)
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 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.
Census taking today is much different than it was in the 1st Century. I imagine the turmoil that occurred in the lives of Mary and Joseph and in the little town of Bethlehem was substantial. Being first-time parents, this was probably an especially stressful and scary time for Mary and Joseph. Mary had hoped to give birth in the quiet familiar surroundings of her home with the women of her family and friends gathered around her to help her through it all but that was not to be. Jesus would not be placed in the cradle her husband made surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of their home but in a manger in a faraway, crowded and noisy place. Leaving behind everything familiar, they endured a four-day journey traveling 90 miles to stay in an overcrowded village with nothing but what they could bring with them. They found themselves sleeping amongst the hay and animals all so they could be counted and overtaxed by a cruelly oppressive government. When I think about all Mary and Joseph did in obedience to God, Mary choosing God’s will over her own at the risk of her reputation and maybe even her life. Joseph following through on his commitment to Mary and raising a son the entire town knew was not his, again a deep source of shame by societal standards of the day. Theirs was a hard life made harder by their daily obedience and yet they chose to faithfully serve God in their role as Jesus’ parents. Their faithfulness inspires me. I want to strive for and have that kind of dedication to and trust in God every day.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Trying to place myself in the Christmas story as a shepherd, I can almost hear the crackling of the fire where my fellow shepherds and I gather around to keep warm in the cool of the night. There’s a slight breeze wafting through that carries the smell of the sleeping sheep nearby. A few sheep bleat and baa to each other. All of sudden, an angel appears in the sky! (Maybe it was in the sky and maybe it wasn’t. That’s how I imagine it.) I can imagine how scary that moment was. Too many science fiction movies have prepared me to know that if something unearthly, loud and bright fills the sky, the appropriate response is to scream and run and I expect that the shepherds felt something like that. So, hearing the words, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news,” wouldn’t necessarily have made me less afraid, but it would have piqued my interest enough to pay attention.
I’m going to leave the shepherd’s here for a moment to situate myself in the sky with the angels. Oh, to be an angel on this night to proclaim the coming of God into the world, not with war or in judgement but with grace and in peace. No wonder they filled up the sky to sing his praises that night. I want to be so moved by his presence that, like the angels, I can’t help proclaiming his grace and singing his praises to the world.
Back to the shepherds: Now if a heavenly being tells me that the one thing I have been hoping and praying for all my life had come to pass, I would be curious to go see with my own eyes and to celebrate. (The Jewish people had been waiting for centuries for the Messiah to come to rescue them from oppression and restore his kingdom. And Jesus was going to do just that, but not quite in the limited human way the people were expecting.) The shepherds went and found Jesus just as the angel proclaimed and then they told everyone they met about all they had witnessed. They returned to their sheep praising and glorifying God for this miraculous event. What I want to take from the shepherd’s part in the story is the awe and marvel of that night when God’s presence was revealed and experienced. It’s no wonder they couldn’t help telling everyone about it and I want to be like that too.
There is one more person in the story—Jesus. I’m not going to try to put myself in Jesus’ place but I do want to make an observation. Christmas is the day we celebrate his birth so it may feel out of place to talk about his sacrifice but it must be understood that his sacrifice isn’t contained to Holy Week. So that we would have the hope of reconciliation, the Creator of the universe set his divinity aside and humbled himself to be born a human baby of a poor couple in an occupied 1st century Middle Eastern territory. That wouldn’t have been my first choice. If it were me, I would have at least waited for humans to progress as far as indoor plumbing and air conditioning. His sacrifice began the moment he was conceived, not the day he was nailed to the cross. Imagine all he denied himself to become human and, in his pursuit of our redemption, to be with us shining his light into our darkness.
And what kind of welcome did he receive? Aside from his human family, those shepherds, a few Magi, and a small crowd of followers later in life, he didn’t receive a very warm welcome. During his lifetime on earth, he was looked down on, ridiculed, harassed, turned away, beaten and killed. That’s a lot of sacrifice for the underwhelming reception he received but Jesus’ sole focus was not on the glory of his accomplishments but rather in seeking and doing God’s will no matter what. And that’s what the angels were singing about and what the shepherds went to see and why I gave my heart to him 24 years ago and still follow him today.
Merry Christmas!
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