Each holiday we have the opportunity to receive something. This Christmas I hope you can receive a special gift – not from Kay Jewelers or some other store, but from God. I think that is the gift we would all be most excited to receive.
When I think of Christmas there are clearly 2 types of people. Those who plan early and those who wait for the last minute. The second type of person more clearly describes me.It’s the weekend before Christmas and I realize there are only 5 days left to shop and Amazon is no longer guaranteeing delivery by the 24th. I may be too late to find that perfect gift.
Gifts are important because they express our love. But what if you only had one shot at a gift, what would you give?
What Did God Choose?
Two thousand years ago, on what we now call the first Christmas, came the incomparable, world-altering arrival of the ultimate gift. In Bethlehem, that night was a truly wondrous night.
We usually think of Christmas as a little child with wide eyes and gaping mouth staring at the mountain of presents underneath a glittering tree. That child’s heart is filled to overflowing with a sense of amazement and awe. And there’s a beauty to the innocence of that childlike reaction. The best Christmases include children and toys.
But wonder can be even deeper and more meaningful as we grow older. A daily glance at CNN connects us to the darkness in the world. The awe and wonder of Christmas for adults is no longer the gifts, but rather a sense of hope because God gave us the gift of a baby who grew up to be the light of the world.
The gift of Jesus was an all important gift because without him humankind would not have clarity. The world’s problems are not going to be solved by political deals or economic improvements. Corruption and tyranny expressed in ISIS, human trafficking, poverty, crime and other serious problems wont change until people are remade from the inside out and there is only one way to do that. We have to remake ourselves in the image of God. Our best shot to do that is to have a relationship with someone who reflects God’s heart and character.
The birth of Jesus inspired different kinds and different levels of awe and wonder in all who encountered the Christ child 2000 years ago.
Courageous Mary and Joseph
The lives of Mary and Joseph had unexpectedly been turned upside down. Although they had been given a miraculous message, they had nine months to walk through an emotional darkness from being culturally stigmatized.
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matt. 1:20-21
Can you imagine explaining to someone else that you had received this message from an Angel? Who would believe it?
But Mary and Joseph chose courage. They chose to believe the voice of God even when other’s couldn’t. They chose to follow God despite the rejection and disgrace of Mary being pregnant outside of marriage.
Then came the long, hard journey to Bethlehem. We romanticize it, but imagine a week long, third trimester ride on a donkey for about seventy or eighty miles through a dusty, dry, rural landscape. Just when it seems like it can’t get any worse, Mary and Joseph find themselves with no place to stay, and no one to care for them, when Mary goes into labor.
The couple had to be wondering what in the world God was doing. Yet with the birth of Jesus came a new and deep sense of wonder. It reminds me of the song, “Mary Did You Know?” If you are a parent you know the sense of wonder and amazement that comes with the arrival of your first child. Imagine if unexpected visitors from faraway places showed up saying that they were sent by dreams and Angels.
The Book of Luke tells us, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Despite the crazy circumstances and difficulties, Mary recognized the wonder of this moment and treasured it. She turned the mixture of circumstances and feelings over in her mind and heart, and despite questions she chose faith and belief. She must have had an overwhelming sense of being part of a universally larger plan that was being orchestrated by God.
As Mary and Joseph let Jesus light shine into their hearts and lives, they surely must have found new courage to trust and step forward, no matter how uncertain the way ahead was.
The Surprised Shepherds
Then there were the shepherds out in the dark, cold night watching over their sheep. Nothing would have prepared them for a sky full of angels. The Bible tells us they were “terrified” (Luke 2:9) They may not have understood what was happening but they didn’t shrug off their experience. They went to see for themselves.
“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.'”
It was their job to stay in the field and watch the sheep, but after their angelic encounter nothing else mattered. They were drawn to something greater than themselves. They wanted to see and experience what God was calling them to.
The Trusting Magi
Unlike the shepherds, the Magi were not surprised. These were educated men who regularly studied the stars, watched the heavens, and understood the significance of the time that had come. They followed the bright star to find the child that would be King of the Jews.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'”
They must have been deeply convicted of the importance of this event to take such a long and difficult journey, to bring gifts and worship a new born baby. They were not Jews, they were foreigners.
On the other hand, Herod was not happy to hear to hear the news. Instead of experiencing wonder and awe he felt fear. This drove him to use deception and force to try to destroy God’s gift to the world. He intended to get rid of any potential ruler who would threaten his power when he asked the wise men to inform him of where the find the child.
The Magi had to make a choice: follow the light and protect the child, or give in to their own fears. After all, Herod could send soldiers to follow them. The Magi chose to trust their intuition and calling. They knew that the birth of this child was the fulfillment of a prophesy, so they chose to side with the light and be filled with it’s wonder.
What About You?
Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi – these three different groups of people had three different experiences in responding to God’s call and gift. Yet each of them allowed themselves to experience the wonder that comes from an encounter with the light.
Our Heavenly Parent wants to give each of us a Christmas gift. He hopes we encounter the light and have the courage to follow it no matter how different it is from our expectations. He hopes we will be like the shepherds who were willing to step outside their ‘business as usual’ lives, and check out something God wanted to show them. God is an equal opportunity God. He doesn’t just reveal himself to the rich and famous but seeks out every person. We are all God’s children.
God hopes we will be thoughtful like the Magi and attentive to the signs. We need to look for how God is working in the world and be sensitive to His spirit. I was reminded of how God wants to speak to each of us personally when a friend told me of her experience after leaving a Christmas party at my house.
“When I was driving away from your house I felt an indescribable awareness of the presence of God in the moments we spend with each person. Every person who has affected my life in one way or another flashed before my eyes and I saw God in them, God loving me, God seeking relationship, God working miracles, God learning and growing too even in the sadness and pain. I wondered why I should be so blessed to live at this moment, in this place and know these precious people who have never lived before and will never live again – each one a unique incarnation of God. From weirdness to beauty to crazy, silly and serious, in all their diversity every person is so amazing that it is overwhelming to me. I saw myself in tears of gratitude shaking hands with every person I’ve ever known, telling them how grateful I am to have lived my lifetime with them in it. And especially to have found Father and Mother Moon, and to have worked together with so many brothers and sisters who love them too. Why am I so blessed of all the people on earth today? So that I can bless others as well.
It was a very humbling drive home. Perhaps I would not have had that experience if I had not been at your party tonight.”
No matter what you are going through or what the world is going through at this time you can trust the promise of Isaiah 42:16, which says:
“I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”
The light of Christ came into the world to show us the way. God can speak to us and show us many things just as He did for my friend. Beyond the holiday trappings, make sure you are ready to feel the real reason for the season. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
When we seek the light and wonder of Jesus w can also live by the promise Jesus gave when he said:
“Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matt. 7: 7-8
Don’t be afraid to ask. I’m sure my friends experience with God began with prayer. That experience was also supported by my prayer as I had been praying all month that if someone stepped inside my home they would experience God. Truth alone is not enough – we need to experience God. That’s why our Heavenly Parent gave us His son.
Wherever you find yourself, our Heavenly Parent invites you into the light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) That is a promise for each of us. I invite you to experience the wonder of his birth, and allow him to be the light of your life this Christmas.
