A Faith Walk With Immanuel
Christmas is commemorated and celebrated globally. On every continent devotees pause to reflect on the birth heralded by a natal star, the birth of Jesus Christ.
For those not of the Christian faith the following is shared in order to help understand what it is Christians are solemnizing. For Christians it is an opportunity to reflect on a distinction of their faith. This account encapsulates history and faith. It recalls an event and shares a revelation of who Christians conceive Christ to be.
The cast on earth and in heaven was assembled. Let the drama begin. The curtain call was about to be given by Gabriel. It was a sermon, not a song that came from the angels, but it has put a song in the hearts of devotees ever since.
Mary and Joseph, a nonpareil young couple from Nazareth were about to have their faith stretched.
Jesus Christ’s birth defied possibilities and marched just inside the realm of reality.
With a heart full of love with resolve He quietly walked into Time. As with the virgin waiting on earth, His time had come. It was His moment to be born of Mary. The heartbeat of heaven was soon to be heard in an infant’s small chest.
In Eden God produced a motherless woman from the body of a man named Adam. In Bethlehem He produces a fatherless man from the body of a woman named Mary. In Him were combined the greatest of all possibilities. He was the God/man-man/God, as much man as though He were not God, and as much God as though He were not man. He was conceived by and born of a woman, but not begotten by man. Don’t wait until you fully understand that; we can’t even fully understand human beings’ birth.
Christmas is the occasion when Christians celebrate the moment the foreshadowed Prince of Peace stepped on history’s stage with the floodlight of prophecy focused on Him. Immanuel came to be temporarily domiciled in flesh in Bethlehem.
Little wonder that Mary “pondered” these things as it is noted by Dr.
Luke. It means to put together things in light of circumstance.
Great choirs sing of the joy it brought to the world. The peace promised on earth is still possible. The declaration of peace on earth was not a prophecy, but a prescription for individual peace as personalized in Bethlehem’s babe.
The renewed Scrooge in Dickens’ Christmas Carol said, “It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when the Mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
Let the little girl within you ladies and the little boy who still lives in you, fellows, come out and enjoy Christmas.
As with Mary and Joseph Christmas is a grand time to start a faith walk with Immanuel.
During this season may you make time to reflect on this miracle of love, and how it affects you. Doing so can result in a Merry Christmas.
The Curtain Call of Christmas
Today is the first of 11 Posts related to Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. For emphasis some material will be repeated in these Posts. May the historical and inspirational material be a blessing to all who read them. First, the background.
The cast on earth and in heaven was assembled. Let the drama begin. The curtain call is about to be given by the angel Gabriel.
Earth’s greatest mystery, the greatest mission, was about to unfold. Imagination is ignited in two realms, heaven and earth.
He who the whole universe could not contain was now to be bound by the walls of a cattle stall. The voice that called worlds into existence was for a time to be reduced to a baby’s cooing. The voice that stirred the deep dark to sprout worlds now cries with the voice of the infant He was to become. He who breathed the breath of life into man, now as a man breathes so slightly as to seemingly have no breath at all. With a heart full of love He with resolve was to enter time. The heartbeat of heaven was soon to be heard in an infant’s chest.
He who in eternity leaned on the breast of His Father is now in time to lean on the breast of His mother. He was as old as His Father and eons older than His mother.
At a time when man was trying to make himself god, God made Himself a man. The creature could not come up to the Creator, so the Creator came down to the creature, humans.
In antiquity there were two stages of Jewish marriage, the Kiddushin and the Huppah. The first was a period of betrothal, also known as espousal. A binding contract was agreed upon and signed. At that point they were considered legally married. However, at this point they did not come together and often never even saw each other for a year. If the male died during this period the woman was referred to as a virgin who was a widow.
At the end of this first phase the actual wedding, which often lasted several days, was conducted, and thereafter the marriage was consummated.
It was during the period of betrothal an angel announced to the virgin Mary she would have a child fulfilling the prophet promise:
“For unto you a Child is born,
Unto you a Son is given.”
The enigmatic couple locked wills and began their faith walk. As the birth neared they complied with a government decree and began their journey from Nazareth that would have taken them along the western bank of the Jordan River and through the Wilderness of Judah to Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth and thus the Word became flesh and came and dwelt among us.
There is a formula applicable to all of life that is especially appropriate for the birth.
“The length of wait multiplied by the depth of anticipation equals the height of joy.”
For good reason heaven burst forth with angelic voices proclaiming the birth. Shepherds left their solitude and ventured into Bethlehem to marvel over the event. Wise men journeyed a great distance to pay homage.
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth, a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices….”
That is what Christmas is all about.
Then There Was Joseph
Of the Bible characters associated with the pending birth of Jesus, Joseph is one of the most ignored participants. He, like Mary, was of the house and lineage of David and lived in Bethlehem. The girl he was betrothed to and scheduled to marry was pregnant, and that was punishable by death. Had it not been for him, like Mary, being visited by an angel and told why she was pregnant he wanted to hide her. Though he believed that still afforded community shame and pain. This identifies him as being possessor of boldness, courage, daring, and strength of character to defy the expectations of his entire community and take Mary as his wife. This required great strength of character.
He even obeyed the angel’s instruction and named the baby, Jesus. Jesus had no earthly father through which to be born of the Davidic line. Joseph gave Him the name “Jesus.” By Joseph, the surrogate father, naming Him Jesus, that was equivalent to adopting Him, thus qualifying Jesus to be considered of the house of David, in keeping with prophecy.
The name “Jesus” means “Yahweh is salvation.” The angel’s interpretation has important Christological implications, the angel unequivocally insisted that Jesus Himself would “save his people from their sins.”
Joseph did some things indicating his character and faith.
He obeyed and was faithful to take Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:24)
He respected the virginity of Mary until after Jesus’ birth. (Matthew 1:25)
He acted according to Mosaic law and took the infant to the Temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord. (Luke 1:21-27)
He obeyed the order from another angelic messenger and took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid the massacre by Herod. (Matthew 2:13-14)
After the death of Herod, he obeyed the Lord and took Mary and Jesus to Nazareth where Jesus developed in His youth. (Luke 2:39-40)
Jesus, like other children, grew up learning. His knowledge was uncommonly excellent, far more than he could have learned in Nazareth. Joseph, Jesus, guardian, doubtless played a role in this. Joseph is said to have been a carpenter. The word has various meanings. He likely was a stonemason because most work in Sepphoris was with stone, not wood. Here Jesus would have been exposed to commerce and trade. Later in dealing with the Jews in Jerusalem, He used illustrations based on business.
Based on the fact Joseph was not at the wedding in Canna of Galilee, it is commonly assumed that by that time he was dead. At His death Jesus committed Mary to His disciple John further indicating Joseph was dead, ( (John 6:42)
Joseph, the man always in the background, slips out of the story without even a sentence to mark his passing.
The minimization of his role today is characterized by an experience at a plantation in South Georgia often visited by many guests. In a great room there hangs a lovely oil painting of a scene representing the gathering of people and animals normally associated with the birth of Jesus. There is a long standing employee at the home who delights to tell the story identifying various ones. He goes through all the animals and what they might indicate as forthcoming. There is a description of the Wise Men, the shepherds, and the highlight, Mary. Then he concludes by saying, “And there is old Joe, he is just there.”
Often that is our role, just to be there. If we are where God wants us, it is important that we be there.
Such can make for a MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Then There Was Mary
Throughout the Bible are numerous examples of God using the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. There is no better example of that than the little teenage peasant girl from a small village in Galilee. It was so small that no list of villages in the area mentions it. Mary was among the last of persons suspected of or expecting to be God’s chosen vessel.
First, her hometown. Nazareth was tucked away in a remote village near the nice size Roman/Greek town of Sepphoris, a major ancient city located in lower Galilee, in what is today Israel. Most prominent in the Roman era, the city was located within sight of Nazareth. It afforded manual labor opportunities for those who walked from Nazareth.
Some hundred or so who lived in Nazareth dwelt in caves, it was so primitive, while Sepphoris was a sophisticated progressive city.
Much to her astonishment, an angel appeared to Mary. Tradition says she was at a well when this occurred. However a well isn’t mentioned in the Bible narrative.
Her faith was revealed at the first message shared by the angel. She responded with a question, “How can these things be?”
She was informed she would conceive of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine what happened at home when she told her mom. Her response might have been, “The Holy what.” Though the Bible mentioned the Holy Spirit working in some lives during the Old Testament era, it was not a doctrine taught in Synagogues.
She knew that being pregnant out of the bounds of marriage was punishable by death. She willingly risked such. In a little settlement the size of Nazareth there was no way to hide the fact. She even amplified that possibility by visiting her cousin Elizabeth in Emmaus, who was married to a priest who served in the Temple. According to custom Elizabeth told her husband. According to law he was obligated to report the “crime.” The two of them evidently believed Mary and kept the confidence.
Flash forward, one of the best evidenceS she believed the angel and her conception was of the Holy Spirit was at the crucifixion of her Son. As she saw Him carrying His cross she would have heard and seen the charges against Him as He was the Son of God. Custom allowed any person knowing a charge was false could step forward and deny it. She did not deny it; she knew it was true.
Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem to be taxed because he was of the house of David. Years before Israel was conquered and the people of the Galilee were carried away as slaves. When Israel became free they moved people from Judea to repopulate that region. Among them were some of the House of David from Bethlehem. God staged it all.
Scripture tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We assume it was immediately after they arrived, but Scripture doesn’t say He was. They may have left Nazareth earlier in order to avoid the critics.
There in Bethlehem the angels announcement was fulfilled. God had used the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary. He who enabled it can use you.
Are You an Ingrate
In II Peter 1: 2 – 6 it is as though God is saying I have made, and am keeping these grand and gracious promises to you. Now, I want you to do these things for me, and the Lord lists His standards. Following is the full text with the part for our consideration, at this time, in bold print, and my notes inserted in italic. It is expedient that the full context be noted so it can be understood in the setting.
“2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (In Scripture there are seven thousand promises that are pertinent to believers.) 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, (In these promises there is included reason and strength that will enable you to…) add to your faith virtue, ( virtue is moral excellence) to virtue knowledge, (which is rooted in faith) 6 to knowledge self-control, (control over self. God expects us, to control our self not for Him to have to inject His will and do it for us) to self-control perseverance, ( endurance, in maintaining His standards.) to perseverance godliness, (God’s standards.)7 to godliness brotherly kindness, (kindness that goes beyond mere duty.) and to brotherly kindness love. (Unselfish love,) 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
In verse 8 is the promise that if you keep these standards you will not be unproductive, but will be productive.
In verse 9 the person who does not live by these standards, even those associated with salvation is an ingrate.
Now consider those standards in light of Exodus 20:7 which says: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
The Hebrew word “nasa” can be translated as in the King James “take.” Its full meaning is seen when it is also properly translated in its full meaning “bear,” which means to carry. When you become a Christian you take, that is, carry the name of the Lord, Christian, meaning Christ partisan. You take the name of the Lord wherever you go. If you don’t allow God to work in you, enabling you to take it, that is, bear His name properly, you are taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Now, read the text again and evaluate your compliance with it. Are you taking, carrying His name, so others can see Jesus in you?
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)