Glory to God

    Sorry that this is late this week. I had it written and ready to go but there were technical issues that resulted in me losing the entire post. Truth be told, I have no motivation to do this today. I only got up after nine today, which is out of character for me. It's very grey outside and I've almost finished my tea. I'm quite agitable, which is always frustrating because I desperately want to be kind. All I'm in the mood to do is go back to bed where I can curl up with my stuffed animal and my book but that's probably not the best decision to make right now. 

    Christmas preparations have begun, to an extent. We're not very good at decorating, nor do we care that much, I think. I know a lot of people who go all out and I think it's lovely but we couldn't be bothered. Not to mention, we had a couple warm days over the weekend and the season feels weird. I still need to buy gifts for people. As a kid, I never realized how expensive everything was or how quickly it all adds up. I'm grateful to be employed and to be able to give out of my abundance but I will be glad when the season ends and I can put more money away. My hours have been lower at work too and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. 

    This past Sunday, my pastor started our Christmas message talking about Joseph, Jesus' father. He never got to see the fulfillment of God's promise for his son. It's believed and accepted that he died before Jesus started His ministry and before His death and resurrection. As a family who isn't big on the commercialism and materialistic nature of Christmas, we do try to keep our focus on Jesus and it's easy to miss out on the miracle of His birth because we get so focused on His life. And this isn't to say that Jesus' life wasn't important, because it most certainly was, but that doesn't mean that it's beginning was insignificant. All Joseph had was dreams. I don't know about you but my dreams are nothing trustworthy. They're completely random and never make sense. I'm sure when God gives dreams, there's certainty behind them but I can't imagine the faith required to believe in something you were told when you were asleep, especially if I never had the opportunity to see that promise kept.

    We talk about Mary's faith a lot and I do admire her obedience and trust. She's believed to be a teenager and while that was normal for the time, teenage pregnancy is an awkward thing in modern times. Adultery is still a huge issue. Mary knew that God wouldn't task her with carrying something so precious without looking after her. I believe that God is intentional with the people in our lives and especially in marriage. We see that in the old testament with Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, even Hosea and Gomer. I believe that Mary's connection and betrothal to Joseph wasn't an accident. In Matthew 1, Joseph is described as righteous, honorable, and kind. Instead of shaming her, or killing her, which was the punishment for adultery at the time, he determined to send her away quietly and protect her. I can't even imagine the hurt and the betrayal that he felt. For Mary to say that she didn't sleep with anyone else, that it was the holy spirit, must have seemed ridiculous and laughable. There's only one way to get pregnant, after all. I believe that he did love her and we see clearly that he wanted to right by her, even though it probably wasn't what he had hoped for. To have those doubts reassured by an angel must have been a relief, even if it was only in a dream. He married Mary, displaying his faith, faith I don't know that I could have.

    I think that's why it's so important to talk about the circumstances of Jesus birth without getting so caught up in His sacrifice. To be born of a virgin is a miracle. The fact that He was sent in the first place was a miracle. Jesus' birth fulfilled every prophecy declared hundreds of years prior. Mary and Joseph were instructed to name Him, Jesus, which means "the Lord saves." In Isaiah 7:14, it says that He would be called Immanuel, meaning "God is with us." For the first time since sin had entered the world, God was able to dwell again with man. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He could've come into the world however He wanted to but He came to be born, was laid in a feeding trough, and lived life in the same way that you and I do. He was born, He had a childhood, He went through puberty. In Luke we're told that Jesus only started His ministry when He was in His thirties, which is crazy to believe. He spent a long time living as a human being, being here with us, before keeping His promise. 

    Jesus came to this earth so that we could be restored to our relationship with our Creator. Before the fall, we were able to dwell with God and Him with us. In Genesis, we see God walking with Adam, spending personal time with Him. When sin entered the world, we were separated from Him and death entered the world. In Romans six, Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death. The only thing that could pay for our sins was blood sacrifice. Jesus entered the world in innocence and lived a blameless life so that we would not just live but live with Him, so that our sins were permanently paid for and covered. That's why Christmas matters. It's not just Jesus' death that is significant but that He came to a world that continually despised and rejected Him in the first place. He loved us and wanted to redeem us, even if that meant beginning His life here in a womb, to be laid in a manger when people expected Him to be raised in a palace. He faced the genocide of His generation by king Herod and lived for time in exile. I don't know what the angels did at His crucifixion but in Luke 2, we see the angels declare: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth, peace, goodwill towards men." Promises were fulfilled in His coming just as much in His death.

    May the Lord God of Israel be blessed indeed!

        For God’s intervention has begun,

        and He has moved to rescue us, the people of God.

        And the Lord has raised up a powerful sign of liberation for us

        from among the descendants of God’s servant, King David.

        As was prophesied through the mouths of His holy prophets in ancient times:

        God will liberate us from our enemies

        and from the hand of our oppressors!

          God will show mercy promised to our ancestors,

        upholding the abiding covenant He made with them,

    Remembering the original vow He swore to Abraham,

        from whom we are all descended.

    God will rescue us from the grasp of our enemies

        so that we may serve Him without fear all our days

         In holiness and justice, in the presence of the Lord.

        And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High.

        For you will be the one to prepare the way for the Lord

        So that the Lord’s people will receive knowledge of their freedom

        through the forgiveness of their sins.

        All this will flow from the kind and compassionate mercy of our God.

        A new day is dawning:

        the Sunrise from the heavens will break through in our darkness,

       And those who huddle in night,

        those who sit in the shadow of death,

    Will be able to rise and walk in the light,

        guided in the pathway of peace.

-Luke 1:68-79

Yours Truly

Rey