Christmas from a New Perspective

I was trying to gather some tools, to help me further understand scripture and the accounts given about the birth of Jesus, and I came across a story I wanted to share with you. There was a missionary that felt like he was called to Ethiopia. He happened to be arriving around Christmas to begin his missionary journey. To make a connection and to get a good idea of the people he would be working with, he went to a Christmas pageant. Upon arrival to the church, he immediately noticed that it was extremely crowded. A church that would seat maybe 100-150 people was brimming over with close to 400 people. There was no room in the inn! (pun intended) People were sitting and standing everywhere. From the outside, you really could not tell what was happening there were so many people covering the widows. Even though it was a bright and hot sunny day, inside the church it was dim due to the amount of people and the few light bulbs hanging around the exposed wooden beams. Already, it was not the typical Americanized Christmas pageant. In the play, Mary and Joseph do not travel alone to Bethlehem, but there are large crowds of family with them. In the Ethiopian culture, a pregnant woman would never be left alone so close to giving birth. In this pageant, Mary is surrounded by women and midwives. Have you ever really stopped and logically thought through who delivered baby Jesus? If Joseph was a carpenter, how did he become an expert obstetrician to deliver his new born son? I think there is enough pressure already when God sends an angel to tell you that you are going to be the earthly father of the Messiah. Plus, did you ever think about the fact that Mary was riding a donkey. Maybe the ride caused her to go into labor early? I hope you begin to get the theme here.

Jesus in Human Flesh

We tend to fill in the gaps with our own culture. Mary and Joseph heading back home alone seems to be perfectly normal for us. We pack our bags and head to the hospital, where after a few hours, we magically have a baby! I saw both of my boys being born. After the toe and finger counting, all I could think was “Jesus was born this way too.” John 1:1 tells us that the word became flesh. Does that not seem strange to anyone else?But the reality is, God took on human flesh. Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. He was born into a family that was not affluent or rich by any means. Jesus grew up in a Jewish household. As a small child, at the age of five or six, he would have started to learn the Torah (the Law…the first five books of the Bible). At age eight, Jesus could begin his education by sitting under a rabbi. At twelve or thirteen, he would have been considered an adult. As a young adult, Jesus would have begun to take on his father’s job as a carpenter. I know it seems hard to imagine, but Jesus also dealt with the same thing you and I deal with on a daily basis. You might be thinking to yourself  “No way! He was Jesus.” It took me a second too, but really Jesus knew what it was like to be tired, hungry, thirsty, frustrated, tempted, disappointed, lonely. All of the things we feel on a daily basis, Jesus knew them. So in this Christmas season, I hope that you can take a moment to realize the implications of Jesus as a baby, born in a manger.

 

Photo by Artem Sapegin on Unsplash