A Message of Purpose and Grace

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV). I hope you are beginning to enjoy the Christmas season. There is always a flurry of activity at the start of the month. We have so much to do to “get ready” for Christmas. We have gifts to buy, decorations to set out, plans for family gatherings, and so much more. Sometimes all the activity intrudes into the joy of the celebration. Perhaps it’s because we get lost in the busy schedules and cannot see the message of Christmas very clearly. I’m convinced that a good part of the message of Christmas is that God intrudes upon the weak and the vulnerable, which is what we so often miss. God does not come to that part of us that swaggers through life, confident in our self sufficiency. God often leaves the best part of his treasure in the broken places of our life. God comes to us in those rare moments when we are able to transcend our own selfishness long enough to really care about another human being. On the wall of the museum of the concentration camp at Dachau is a large and moving photograph of a mother and her little girl standing in line of a gas chamber. The child, who is walking in front of her mother, does not know where she is going. The mother, who walks behind, does know, but is helpless to stop the tragedy. In her helplessness she performs the only act of love left to her. She places her hands over he child's eyes so she will at least not see the horror to come. When people come into the museum they do not whisk by this photo hurriedly. They pause. They almost feel the pain. And deep inside I think that they are all saying: "O God, don't let that be all that there is." God's hears those prayers and it is in just such situations of hopelessness and helplessness that his almighty power is born. It is there that God leaves his treasure. Mary must have felt that presence of God when she discovered she was pregnant. All of her dreams and hopes of being with the good man, Joseph, would certainly be lost in her mind. She would be an outcast. She would suffer from poverty and have the sole responsibility of raising this child. How could that be a gift from God? It is at that moment that God breaks into the doubt and fear with the message of purpose and grace. That’s the message of Christmas for all of us. God is shouting from Bethlehem how he loves and provides for us. Can you hear Him? I can.