Day 6 - Turmoil in the Temple

Read Luke 2:21-38 (yes this happened before the wise men got there)

Have you ever debated about what to name your kid?

The Jews only named their kids after they were circumcised, which happened on the eighth day. This gave them eight whole days to debate on the baby’s name. Jesus’ parents follow this timeline and on the eight day gave him the name Jesus, which means ‘The Lord saves’ and is similar to the name Joshua. But wait, wasn’t the baby supposed to be called Immanuel, “God with Us”? Actually Immanuel is a title for the baby. And people have been calling him that every year for centuries... “O Come, O Come Emmanuel ...”

In verse 22 it says that the family went to Jerusalem for their purification. This ceremony is a two-fold for both Mary’s purification after birth and for Jesus’ dedication. In the Old Testament, God commanded that the first-born animals or sons had to be redeemed by a special offering. The required sacrifice was a lamb. But Jesus’ family was so poor that they had to opt for the exception clause in sacrificing two doves.

Here we see two things. First, that God became poor, so poor that his family wasn’t even able to worship at the same standards as everyone else. Second, we see that Mary and Joseph did all that they could to follow the Law and worship God. This is important because Jesus is said to have fulfilled the Law even as a baby.
Now imagine the scene. Mary and Joseph are a bit discouraged about their finances and just finishing up their baby dedication and a great big man runs up and excitedly grabs the baby Jesus. He launches into this loud preachy prayer about how God can let him die now that he has seen the savior of the world. He stands there lifting up the baby and shouting about God’s mighty work for all people even the Gentiles, while Mary and Joseph just stand there and shuffle awkwardly. Then the large man, Simeon, turns to the parents and starts revealing some hard things about their future and the future of their son.

Before Simeon had finished yelling at everyone, a really old woman hobbled over and joined in with the praises of Simeon. Mary and Joseph recognized her as Anna the widow who was over a hundred years old and never left the temple. Then she starts squawking to anyone who would listen about the redemption of Jerusalem through this baby.

Mary and Joseph were once stuck just in awe of the attention this seemingly insignificant baby received.



Questions for Reflection

• What do the meanings of the names Jesus and Immanuel teach us about His nature and mission?


• Isn’t it shocking that God who literally owns everything became poor, likely poor enough that people noticed his family didn’t have enough money?


• Do we rejoice when we see Jesus like Simeon and Anna? Or have we grown accustomed to being around or flippantly talking to or about him?

• This is the first time in Luke we hear mention of Jesus’ mission to the gentiles. Spend time today thanking God that he sent Jesus as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”

Day 5 – Serving Jesus a Happy Meal

Read: Luke 2:8-21

Its 3:30 AM on Wednesday and you are stuck at work. You’ve been down on your luck lately and forced to just take a job well below your capability. As it turns out McDonald’s is always hiring. So here you are going about your business as the late night shift coordinator on a slow weeknight at McDonalds. No excitement is expected to happen beyond a random drive thru order. Maybe your new buddies, the night shift janitors from the office building across the street, will come in for their nightly coffee break.

To help alleviate the boredom, you wander outside to throw out some trash. Suddenly a bright light lights up the sky brighter than the day! An imposing spirit-like being appears in the sky, far too bright to be a ghost. Is it an angel? By this time your coworkers have seen the light and made it outside, so it’s clearly not your imagination.

“Don’t worry, I have great news for you!” Says the angel, his voice sounds like thunder but is strangely calming. “In this very night the KING and LIBERATOR of the world has been born! God himself has come down! You can find the family huddled in a back alley and the baby wrapped in old clothes and garbage bags.”

Before you had any time to digest what that could possibly mean, the lit-up sky was suddenly filled with thousands of these terrifying angels. They began to praise God for the mighty things he had done. The sounds of their voices was not that of a pleasant choir but sounded like a packed out stadium of a victorious home crowd. At this point everyone within the block had come out to see this boundless celebration.

Suddenly at the top of their voices the angels chanted in unison, “Glory to God in Heaven! See his greatness! Fullness and life shall come to those who please him! Glory to Him alone!” This chant of praise went on and on and soon more and more angels were present. It seemed that Heaven itself was opening up.

Then as quickly as they had come, they disappeared and the quiet night returned. Everyone who had gathered just stood there in shock. You look around, blink a few times and start to wonder what it all means. The angels did say something about a baby, a really important baby! Someone suggests that we should go find this baby. Of course! Why didn’t you think of that first! So the whole crowd goes off to find the baby of utmost importance, McDonald’s workers, janitors and everyone else.

As you search for the baby, you begin to wonder, why did the angel announce this to you the down and out? Will this baby really make a difference in your life? All of Heaven seemed to make a huge deal about this baby, will the baby be as big a deal to you?

Day 4 – Adding to the story...

Read: Luke 2:1-7

What’s the most embarrassing baby story ever retold?

The couple was required to travel so that they, like everyone else, could be counted by the government. This is more than a little inconvenient. Why do they need to be counted you ask? So that they can be taxed - an experience everyone loves! Mary is really pregnant as she travels which makes for an unpleasant two-day journey. She may have even had to walk the whole way! The passage doesn’t mention the famous donkey and we already know that Mary and Joseph are poor so it’s unlikely they owned any animals.

They are forced to travel by an unfriendly government and Mary starts to worry that the baby might come the night they get there. You can only imagine how badly they longed for a warm place to spend the night. But they searched house to house for a room and couldn’t find one. How frustrating and discouraging would that be? Then some friend of a friend of a cousin offers that they could stay out back with the animals. That’s borderline insulting but they had run out of options by this point and settle in. Once again our retelling of the story has softened the harshness of the story. Nowhere is the stable mentioned, only a feeding trough is specifically noted. A more likely place was a rocky outcropping or cave that the animals used to hide from the rain. So imagine having a baby on a cold camping trip and you’re getting closer to the biblical picture.

The couple also didn’t have the benefit of a baby shower to get them the necessary blankets, clothes and cribs for having a baby. The newborn is wrapped in essentially burial cloth and laid in a trough. Did they spend the rest of night shooing animals away from the manger?

Even though we know this story and retell it often, much more exciting things were going on in the Roman empire at that time. Here is a list of what some headlines might have been:

KING ARTAXUS NEAR DEATH

GRAIN SHIPS DOCK, ROME RIOTS END

NINE PIRATE SHIPS SUNK BY SIXTH FLEET

ATHENS STUDENTS CLASH WITH POLICE

OLYMPIC WRESTLER STILL IN COMA

REPORT ANGELS SIGHTED IN JUDEA^[1]

But we know something far more significant happened in an obscure corner of the known world. God himself was born as a baby! The all-powerful, eternal creator God was born as a helpless, crying baby. Yes baby Jesus cried. Silent Night takes a bit too much poetic license. If Jesus were to be fully human he would have been a typical noisy baby. Think about it, babies are cute and beautiful but they have issues! They leak uncontrollably from a couple of places, often are bad at communicating and can’t do anything by themselves. God, in Jesus, humbled himself to such a place that he became needy and dependent on his earthly parents, all so that he could come to save us.

Questions for Reflection

• Have you spent time around a newborn baby recently? Reflect on how dependent the baby is on his parents. Isn’t it strange and mysterious that God became dependent?
• How does the wording “having a baby on a cold camping trip” change how you look at this story?
• Jesus’ birth seemed almost inconsequential at the time it happened but Jesus would become the most revolutionary person who ever lived. What seemingly inconsequential things can you do for God today that might have everlasting impact?
• Philippians 2:5-11 says that we are to model humility after Jesus. What can you do today to be humble like Jesus?

---

^[1] Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher's commentary (642). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

Day 3 – Prego Party

Read: Luke 1:39-56

When life throws you a curve ball do you go visit the relatives?

After the shocking visit from the angel, Mary goes to visit her older relative Elizabeth. The Bible is unclear how they are related but there appears to be a large age gap between them, as Elizabeth was barren and Mary was a young girl. But as family goes, they seemed to know each other well. I picture it as a loving and close aunt/niece relationship. Mary travels two days from Galilee to Judea to see her aunt and perhaps to see if the angel was telling the truth about Elizabeth’s surprise pregnancy. This could also serve to ground her own heart in the truth of what God had called her to do.

Mary receives more than just friendly encouragement! As soon as she gets near, Elizabeth rushes out to meet her and begins to prophecy about how blessed Mary is and how her baby will be the Lord of all. Clearly this is a prophecy because Elizabeth could not have known about Mary’s baby unless the Holy Spirit revealed it to her. Another divine encouragement that reinforces very blessed she is! Mary will be blessed if she has faith and believes God.

Mary’s response for all that God has shown her is to sing. Her song has been called the Magnificat, or the Song of Mary. It has been set to music and sung throughout history. Here we get a picture of what Mary’s spiritual life looks like. She rejoices in who God is and in his mighty promises to her. She admits that she needs a savior like the rest of us and repeatedly praises God for the great things he has done.

There is also a foreshadowing of Jesus’ upside down kingdom as God ‘scatters the proud’ and dethrones the mighty so that he might raise up the humble. He will bless the poor and hungry and reject the rich and powerful. In this way God will show mercy to those who trust and fear him.

Questions for Reflection

• Do you have an older mentor in your life that you can go to for prayer and encouragement?

• Do you believe that you will be blessed if you have faith and believe God?

• Mary’s response to God is to sing. Do you find yourself about to respond to God in this way?

• Often we criticize God when things in our life go wrong and take the credit for ourselves when things go well for us. Mary does exactly the opposite. How can this be an example for us?

• Compare Mary’s Song with Hanna’s Song (Hanna is the mother of the prophet Samuel who prayed earnestly for a baby) in 1 Sam 2:1-10. What do you notice?

On deck: Day 4 - Someone famous is born....

Day 2 – Arranged Marriage...

Read: Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-24

Did you miss 400 years? It is not specifically mentioned in these passages that 400 years of silence led up to the day that the angel visited. We read this like the rest of the Bible stories where miraculous things are common place. The stories in the Old Testament may have felt as distant to Mary and Joseph as they do to us because they had happened so long ago. Think about it, 400 years ago there was no such thing as Canada (144 years old), or the United States (235 years old). In 1611 the King James Bible was first published, Henry Hudson was abandoned by his mutinous crew and Galileo was just beginning his discoveries. 400 years is more than long enough to create a huge disconnect with the past.

So for an angel to appear was not a common thing. Mary had never seen one before, nor had anyone she knew. No wonder she was ‘greatly troubled’ when she heard the angel and ‘tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be,’ - translation “she was terrified and had no idea what to think.” She didn’t have weekly meetings with Gabriel or have friends to coach her on talking to an angel. She likely knew some stories from the Old Testament and would have found herself amazed to be in the same category as the heroes of Israel.

What the angel told her was exciting, she was having a baby! But also alarming because she would have this baby as a virgin. This was usually clear evidence of adultery - a capital offense. By accepting this task from God she was risking being expelled from her future marriage and community at a minimum, and at worst, being stoned publicly. God called Mary out of her obscurity to a calling with great responsibility and risk.

But God also called Joseph in a dream. So Joseph is called to include himself in the potential risk and shame of Mary’s pregnancy. I’m not sure how divorcing Mary quietly would have worked with the hyper conservative small town dynamics but that seems to be his honourable plan. There would have been some tough months before they left for Bethlehem with Mary being really pregnant and the whole town would have had opinions if they believed in this ‘virgin pregnancy’. Imagine the whispers as they passed by, the disapproving glances and the backhanded comments all because they were faithfully following the path that God had for them. I wonder how often Mary wished for another angel to reassure her, or how often Joseph lay awake at night longing for just another dream. I wonder about the strain on their relationship as they may have not been that close in age in an arranged marriage.

It’s easy to gloss over this because we know the end of the story. There are amazing promises about this baby. He would “save his (God’s) people from their sin” and would “rule on the throne of his father David forever.” But that must have seemed a million miles away in the days and months before Jesus was born.

Questions for Reflection

•Has God called you to something difficult for his sake? What are you willing to risk?

•How can Mary and Joseph be an example of obedience to you?

•Do you think that if an angel showed up you would never doubt again? Reflect on the Old Testament example of Abraham, Moses and Elijah and Mary’s own doubts in Mark 3:20-21, 31-35.


tomorrow is Day 3 – Prego Party

Day 1 – God moves into the neighborhood

Read John 1:1-18

God himself came on a rescue mission to save us. How amazing is that!

His mission is more than just showing up and getting a firsthand look at the problem around here, he came to provide a solution. He has made a way for us to become children of God if we put our faith in him. As Christians, we have heard the phrase ‘a child of God’ so often it has started to lose its revolutionary feel. We are adopted into God’s family! His family is perfect by the way, and you can’t just be born into it. Jesus has sought us out at great cost to himself to bring us into God’s family. We also are not the missing piece that makes God’s family perfect. We are more like the grumpy, whiner who spills the gravy all over his big brother and then says really nasty things to everyone. But Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice that we might be brought into God’s perfect family and have life as it was meant to be lived.

But let’s go back and figure out what ‘the Word’ means? From the passage it seems to be talking about Jesus but isn’t that a strange way to phrase it? The primary way that God communicates through his people is through his Word. All through the Old Testament we see prophets telling people “this is what God says” (thus sayeth the Lord) and showing what God is like. The people of God treasured the Word so much that they made sure that it was preserved in the Old Testament scriptures and made sure that their children knew it and studied it.

The Word is also the source of God’s power. When God was creating the world, he spoke the Word and it happened. John tells us that “all things were made through him” so the Word was a critical player in creation. But we also read that the Word was with God before creation, and that he is God and yet separate from God because he was ‘with God’. So we see that the Word is a person.
So here we see the Word is a person, the main channel of his life giving power and the way God communicates with us. Verse 14 tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us!” Hold on, God (who is all-powerful, everywhere and eternal) became a man and lived on Earth?! That’s almost unthinkable! The Message translates this as “the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”

Let’s pause for a moment and think about what our ‘neighborhood’ is like compared to Heaven, Jesus’ neighbourhood. Sometimes we have really bad weather on Earth, in Heaven it is always sunny. On Earth people sometimes don’t get along as well as they should, relationships tend to work really well in heaven. There is also no sickness or pain in Heaven, and on Earth well, we’re still working on that. I could go on but you get the picture. Our neighborhood doesn’t hold a candle to the one Jesus left but he came to our dark and dying world anyway. This is the best news because Jesus himself is light and life. He is the exact solution to our world’s big problems.

Questions for Reflection

• What do you think what it would be like for God to move into your neighborhood?

• Since Jesus is God’s means of communication and the main channel of his power, how does that change how you think about Him?

• How do you feel about being portrayed as the “grumpy whiner” who is adopted into God’s family? Do you think it is true? (Keep in mind the metaphor is far more in your favor than it biblically should be.)

• Does looking at the Christmas story from Heaven’s perspective shed more light on the story for you?

• There are many parts of this passage that I didn’t cover. What else can we learn about Jesus and the nature of his rescue mission?


stay tuned for Day 2 - Arranged Marriage...

Merry Christmas!

As it turns out there are 13 days between Dec 25 and Jan 6, which makes the whole 12 days of Christmas just a bit more confusing. Perhaps this is why it fell out of style. The 12 days after Christmas doesn't have the same ring to it.

At any rate the devotionals are written and ready to go for the most part. Beginning on Boxing Day, I will post a short daily devotional that is designed to make the often heard story of Jesus birth 'pop' and sound fresh again.

Enjoy the Holiday as much as possible and tune back in on Boxing Day!

~CHAD

Get Ready!

Here comes an old school way to celebrate Christmas! Turns out the 12 days of Christmas is more than just a cheesy song. The 12 days are the days between Christmas Day (Dec 25) and the Christian holiday of Epiphany (Jan 6). The celebration of Epiphany has fallen out custom, but it is the day that Christians celebrate Jesus' baptism (or the coming of the wise men). Both of which have to do with God becoming a man. So the 12 days are designed to be a continual celebrating the miracle of Jesus' incarnation.

Incarnation literally means becoming flesh. Think Chili-con-carne, which means Chili with Meat(the best kind). So at Christmas God put on meat, put on flesh and came as a baby.

I will be blogged devotionals from Dec 25-Jan 6 to help us reflect on this miracle and season. I know what your thinking, why do we need more Christmas? But here you get a chance to reflect on the Jesus' birth after all the commercialism has long passed. I think this could be a great opportunity to revel in God's mystery and beauty as we transition out of the Christmas season.

More to come....