The cost of Christmas

 The birth of Jesus was a shocking event.

Mary, a beautiful virgin betrothed to Joseph, was found to be pregnant before they married. This would have been a major scandal in small town Nazareth. It is hard to realise today just how shameful and disgraceful it was in that culture to be an unmarried mother. 

However the criticism would not just have been reserved for Mary but also for her parents. People would have thought her parents had not brought her up correctly nor had they watched over her. I expect Mum and Dad were hugely disappointed in their daughter. They would have hoped she knew better. Her parents would have greeted with great suspicion the story that she was still a virgin and that this baby was conceived by the Holy Ghost. It was certainly not something to share with the neighbours. That would have added ridicule to condemnation. 

Joseph was also no doubt sceptical about tales of an immaculate conception. In fact he was mindful to divorce Mary quietly to avoid further public humiliation for her until the intervention of the angel. Having confirmed that this baby was indeed conceived by God, Joseph being righteous, married her. This would not have stopped the wagging tongues though. It would just have pulled Joseph into the public disgrace as everyone would have assumed the baby was his. 

Four people would now have been criticised and suffered public humiliation even though no one had done anything wrong. In fact they had been selected for the highest honour of all - being parents and grandparents to the Son of God. Who would believe that? 

I wonder if as Mary and Joseph discussed the upcoming birth they deliberated if they would have to go to Bethlehem. After all that is where the Scriptures said the Messiah would be born. It doesn’t appear so because it took the intervention of an ungodly Roman Emperor to get them to the right place at the right time. They left for the weeklong journey to Bethlehem when Mary was almost full term, not recommended in any culture, let alone one with modest health care facilities. 

I am sure Mary and Joseph were optimistic that God would provide somewhere suitable for the baby to be born. If nothing else, they must have both had extended family in Bethlehem. Perhaps there was no room anywhere because news of the pregnancy outside marriage had gone before them? We can only imagine the disappointment turning to despair when all they were offered was a stable. 

So Mary gave birth to her precious first born, the Son of God, in a stable with the animals. Under any circumstances that is shocking. 

I think it is all too easy to romanticise and sanitise the Christmas story as we lustily sing our favourite Christmas carols. However it is good to remember how much it cost the key players to fulfil their destiny so that God could become Man and live amongst us. 

Today there are many, many Christians suffering for their faith all over the world. For many becoming a Christian can mean being ostracised by their family or even society, losing jobs or access to good education. Just like Mary all those years ago, too many Christians today are treated shockingly. Let’s remember and pray for them as we celebrate again the wonderful Christmas story.

The trials and joys of Mary's parents

The Bible tells us nothing about Mary’s parents, not even their names and yet they must have played a huge part in Mary’s pregnancy and the upbringing of Jesus. We have much to ponder in this Christmas season from what the Bible does tell us but over these last few days I have wondered about these unsung, unknown, and yet valued-by-God heroes. 

In the Jewish culture of that day, to find that your daughter was pregnant outside of marriage was the most awful shock and disgrace as well as a terrible disappointment that your beautiful, Godly daughter had behaved in such an ungodly and shameful way. Imagine Mary protesting that she was still a virgin, that an angel had visited her and this child was going to be the Son of God. I’m sure that initially this would have been met with disbelief and it certainly would have not been much consolation.

Mary’s parents would have been going through in their minds all the ramifications of this news and would have been worried about her reputation let alone their own. After all they could not have brought up Mary very well if she became pregnant outside marriage. 

When people found out, including the extended family, their friends and neighbours and then, worst of all, the religious leaders, their responses would not be very positive. I wondered if the family thought this news would mean they would all be excommunicated from the synagogue. 

They must have felt huge relief that Joseph was prepared to do the right thing and instead of divorcing Mary, was willing to marry her but nevertheless there was still much to contend with.

Now Joseph’s reputation would also be called into question, as people would presume the baby was his. Why else would he marry Mary? 

Once the initial shock had worn off, everyone would have needed a bit of space to re-group and plan the way forward. Perhaps that is why Mary went to her cousin Elizabeth’s to help her with her unexpected but joyful pregnancy. For three months everyone would have had the space to work out how to navigate what would be shocking news in small town Nazareth. 

On top of all this, Joseph and a very pregnant Mary had to travel to Bethlehem for the census. Even with every modern convenience, no one likes to travel when a baby is imminently due. Suppose the baby arrived en route. 

Mary’s parents would have been worried sick but when the news arrived back that the baby had been safely born, I wonder if they then travelled to Bethlehem to see their new grandson. It would be some years before Mary and Joseph returned to live in Nazareth. That in itself could have been a blessing in disguise. The town gossips would have found far more juicy morsels to chew on by the time the small boy and his parents arrived back in Nazareth. 

Unfortunately I am sure the stigma of being the child almost born out of wedlock would have lasted for all Jesus’ life. You can hear the sniff of contempt that would always go with the catty remark.

Mary’s parents I am sure, loved their grandson and watched with great delight as he grew up into a Godly young man. There must always have been something different about Jesus and I wonder if they, like their daughter, treasured up every moment and pondered them in their hearts. 

We can take comfort that for every key player in the Christian life, for every one on the platform or working hard to bring God’s Kingdom wherever God has sent them, there is a host behind them, known to God who are playing a key role in the background. These are the ones providing support, encouragement, love, prayers and just being there but without whom the prominent key people would never succeed in their God given call. 

These heroes are known to God, valued and loved and for whom there will be a great reward one day. 

Not letting our history define our destiny

It can be a real stumbling block in our Christian walk if we believe that our history, where we’ve come from, our family, our education, our work, even our successes and especially our failures are the defining factors in fulfilling God’s plans for our lives. 

The reality is that when we became believers and offered our lives into God’s service, the Bible assures us we became a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5: 17). In fact Peter tells believers that they are now a chosen people, a royal priesthood … 1 Peter 2: 9

A royal priesthood is quite a promotion for us ordinary folks. Here in Britain we have a pretty good grasp of what royalty means. We have a Royal Family who, since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936, have modelled to the nation what royalty means. It is a life of privilege and wealth which some people get a bit hung up on, but it is also a life of service, duty and responsibility to the nation. Her Majesty the Queen has modelled this for 67 years now and she has passed on this life to the next generations. 

So what does that mean for us – this royal priesthood?  It means we have been born into royalty with all the privileges and responsibilities that brings.  Jesus is our King of Kings and our role is to promote his Kingdom and bring His will, plans and purposes into those areas that we are responsible for. Our background is not the defining issue in our lives.

Our areas of responsibility start with our own lives, then our families, our church, workplace or neighbourhood. We do this through a life of worship offering sacrifices of praise, worship and prayer – the role of the priest - then performing acts of service into those areas of responsibility. 

King David is a great example of this.  He was not born into a life of royalty, indeed he was the youngest brother of a large family of brothers. When Samuel the prophet came to anoint one of the brothers king, David was not called to the line up. He was out with the sheep and more than one commentator has said this may be because he was actually a half brother, born to Jesse but not Jesse’s wife. He was the despised youngest brother. 

This can be seen in Eliab’s response when David went down to the Philistine battlefield where Goliath was holding sway.  Eliab was plain nasty to him.

David was not deterred by his brother’s hostility, all those years of looking after the sheep, worshipping and fellowshipping with God, had prepared him to overthrown this uncircumcised Philistine who is defying the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17: 26). David wasn’t frightened – he knew who God is – and holy zeal for his honour rose up and the enemy of the Lord was defeated.

The Bible is full of stories of the least becoming God’s man or woman of the hour, throwing off their background and circumstances and stepping into their God given destiny.

Judah, the fourth son born to Leah, the despised wife of Jacob, and yet he rose to be leader of the whole family. His history is very chequered and yet from his lineage came both King David and the Messiah – Jesus Christ – the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Joseph, the second youngest son, sold into slavery, imprisoned on a false charge and yet rising into his destiny at God’s appointed moment to save not just the nation of Egypt but also his own family. 

Gideon, the least of the least, yet when God called, he too was able to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites.

Even the great prophet Moses, the younger son, so fearful after years looking after the sheep that he was terrified of facing Pharaoh, became in God’s hands one of the mightiest men of all time.

The Godly annals of history will not be filled with kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, emirs or any other national leaders. They will be filled with the names of the royal priesthood, faithful men and women of God who have served loyally, no matter what their background, their education, or situations and entered into their destiny. 

They have trusted God despite their weaknesses, real or imagined and believed that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3: 20 – 21.

Glory to God in the highest

I have frequently written about how Mary might have felt when Jesus was born in a stable and her precious baby was placed in the only cradle available, a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance became a sign for the first group of visitors.  

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly working men. But God loves shepherds – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15 

So it is not surprising that the shepherds were the first to hear the news and what a way they heard the announcement. This is surely one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified.

The angel then made the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds were given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. However there was more.

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Son of God entering the world of men. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven was torn open and the heavenly choir stepped forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decided to investigate.  You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that. 

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment. 

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Come and see what God has done

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

As we re-acquaint ourselves with the Christmas story through carol services, singing those beautiful songs and reading the Scriptures, we can become almost a little blasé at the familiarity of the story.  We have lived with this story and the Scriptures every year of our lives. We can feel we have understood the significance of the prophecies and the events of the Christmas season but it is good to pull back and wonder afresh at how it all felt for those at the heart of the story.

We are told that Mary ‘treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart’Luke 2: 19.  I bet she did. So much had happened to her. She had gone from insignificant young lady about to be married to Joseph the carpenter to mother of the Son of God. She had been through labour and delivery in a stable not a palace or even a clean room. The first visitors were shepherds, the lowest of the low with tales of angels singing ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests Luke 2: 14.

Joseph too must have wondered what had happened to him; the disappointment of Mary’s pregnancy followed by an angel visitation and at the end he had been charged with protecting and raising the Son of God.  I am sure there were times when both he and Mary felt hopelessly inadequate for the task.

As Mary looked at her baby and gazed into the face of God I am pretty certain she wasn’t remembering ‘For to us a child is born. To us a Son is given.’ But maybe she was.  Maybe as the years went by and they raised their extraordinary son Joseph was impacted by the Messianic prophecies as he worshipped in the synagogue.

However for us familiarity can dull the edge of the wonder of Christmas. That God became man and dwelt with us. Emmanuel. God with us.  I love some of the more recent Christmas songs. One of my favourite is Noel by Chris Tomlin.  It has the line ‘Noel. Noel. Come and see what God has done.’It gives me the shivers.  God has done the miraculous. He has become a man to dwell with us, his sinful creation so in need of a Saviour.

Matt Redman has written in his song ‘ Joy to the world. Joy to the world. The Lord has come, The Lord has come to us.’ It’s a miracle. 

With hindsight, we do get the significance of the events of Christmas.  The prophecies, the virgin birth in Bethlehem in poverty, the arrival of the shepherds and the visit of the Magi. My prayer is that this Christmas we will get fresh revelation of just what an incredible things God has done in bringing Emmanuel – God with us.  

Turning God's dreams into reality

Dreams by their very nature are unrealistic. If you can remember any of your recent dreams they probably do not reflect real life. They often, in my experience, take a jumble of memories and recent experiences and mix them up into an interesting hotchpotch of events. If you are fortunate they may construct into a pleasant, even funny story and if not they may create a frightening nightmare.

I had an interesting dream last night. It involved a new photo album we had ordered from an online company and though it was full of our photos, one page was different in that instead of being just one photo it was a slideshow of photos as you might see on your computer. I was recounting the dream to my husband and commented on the absurdity of it when he remarked that it wasn’t completely foolish. He then outlined how it could become a reality. I was amazed.

It made me realise though that the dreams God gives us, though appearing unrealistic, are actually meant to become true. The great dreamer Joseph is a case in point. He was the 11^th son of Jacob, a fairly well to do shepherd but hardly born for the high life. He dreamt that he was out in the fields and his brothers’ sheaves of corn bowed down to his sheaf. He then dreamt that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed to him, meaning his parents as well as his brothers. Unfortunately, being young and foolish he told his brothers and parents about his dreams and they were very unimpressed, so much so that Judah and the brothers had no difficulty selling Joseph to a travelling caravan of Midianites who took him off into a life of slavery and imprisonment in Egypt.

It was here though that he honed his dreaming and administrative skills so that when he was called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams he was confidently able to bring the word of the Lord to Pharaoh and save not just the nation but also his family. His original dreams were fulfilled but over 20 years later. God gave Joseph his dreams, not so he could brag about them to his brothers but to encourage him to persevere through the hard preparation years into his destiny.

In all the difficult circumstances of betrayal, lies, misjudgements, false imprisonment and rejection Joseph never lost sight of God. He was Joseph’s focus though I am sure there were times when Joseph dismissed his dreams as the vain imaginings of a young man. But God was working out his plans even in the midst of all the disappointments so that when the time came Joseph was ready, prepared by the events of his life.

We are often encouraged not to let go of our God given dreams, to stir them into life and this is important but of greater importance is to focus on the Lord in the good times, the bad times and the downright awful times. There may be occasions when our dreams seem like the vain imaginings of another era but with our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, we can ask him to prepare us for the fulfilment of our dreams.

Our God dreams are meant to be fulfilled. They are not meant to be the unrealistic ramblings of our sleeping minds. God’s dreams come true. They are there to inspire us to persevere in all the seasons of our lives but fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12: 2) we will see our dreams become reality.  

Post Christmas ponder

It is very easy now that Christmas Day has passed to put away the Christmas story for another year, to wind down the carols and to focus on the social aspects of this season. After all by next Sunday we shall be thinking about the New Year and what 2018 will bring.

However before we consign Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds and wise men to the spiritual attic of our lives, it is good to take a moment to reflect again on these key players in the greatest birth that the world has even seen. The whole event was upside down.

Royal births are a major occasion and Jesus’ birth should have been the most royal of royal events. Yet nothing could have been more removed from this birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This was not a birth to royal parents in a palace with every convenience that 1^st century Judea could provide. This was a birth in a stable of all places to two very ordinary but Godly people, carefully chosen by God to fulfil this most precious assignment – to parent the Son of God.

I often wonder what Mary thought when she realised she was going to have to give birth in a stable. She had had to deal with all the social ostracising that her pregnancy had caused, all the gossip and rejection that she and Joseph must have had to bear in small town Nazareth. Now it seemed that God wasn’t even going to provide a small clean room to give birth to his son. Poor Joseph too must have been distressed that he couldn’t provide a suitable place for this royal birth.

As I’ve said before it is so easy with the benefit of hindsight to see the significance of these events but when you are living them, Mary and Joseph had a tough time.  Then the first visitors were not the good and great, the significant and famous as it should have been – it was shepherds – unclean in every way - shepherds. These were probably the shepherds who looked after and provided the sheep and lambs needed for the temple sacrifices. More deep significance that those at the bottom of the social ladder, those providing the sacrifices for the temple, were the first to see Jesus the perfect sacrifice, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

I wonder how many mangers in how many stables and outhouses the shepherds checked before they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. They would have entered awkward and gauche to see the baby but bringing the story of angels coming to their hillside telling them that a Saviour had been born – the Messiah. They were so excited about what had happened that they told everyone about it. I expect Mary and Joseph received a lot more visitors after that. But the Bible makes clear Mary treasured all these things in her heart and pondered them.

Before we pack away Christmas for another year it is worth taking a moment to also ponder the amazing fact that Jesus came in the most unlikely of circumstances with the most improbable of people as the key players to come and save us, the most underserving of people. Do we treasure up in our hearts the wonder of our salvation by the King of Glory? 

Follow my example

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11: 1

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4: 12

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2: 21

In a previous blog (Catch me if you can), I wrote about passing on a spiritual inheritance to the next generation so they can lay hold of what others may have taken much effort and paid a great price to obtain. 

If we are to pass on this spiritual inheritance which can spur those younger in the faith to take the baton and run with it, we need to be those living a life that provides an example to follow and be inspirational. This comes first from an authentic, passionate relationship with Jesus. This is based not on our love for Jesus but on his for us. If it is based on our love it will be a fragile affair but if based on Christ’s powerful, unconditional love it will hold us in the good and bad times.

Everyone’s example can be an inspiration if it mirrors a faith based on a genuine relationship with God. Our daughter-in-law said in her baptismal testimony that she was inspired by a couple: ‘Seeing two people who really gave their lives for their faith resonated with me. It wasn’t something you just say but something you live.’ Another inspirational lady was ‘strong and passionate in her friendship with the Lord.’

A passionate relationship with Jesus is not enough though. It has to flow into a lifestyle that is markedly different to others. It is not enough to be ‘nice’ or ‘kind’. The world is full of people who are not Christians but who are very nice and genuinely kind who do all sorts of amazing things for others.

What should mark out the Christian is a different attitude to every aspect of life – a life that does not take on the world’s values or lifestyles but Christians whose lives are based on a Godly set of values and morals, not spending everything on themselves or pleasure but investing in every way to see God’s Kingdom come. J John says ‘We have not been saved to live as we want to live; we have been saved to live like Christ’.

If we truly want the next generation to follow Jesus more passionately than ourselves, to become people who desire to see his Kingdom come then we must show that our lives are radically different in the way we spend our time, our money and our attitude to others especially when others don’t deal well with us.

Joseph and Daniel both had trouble with those who were their ‘bosses’. Joseph paid a heavy price for refusing Mrs Potiphar’s advances but maintained his moral integrity and ended up in prison. Daniel would not give up his daily prayer schedule and ended up in the lions’ den. Today many Christians face great persecution in their faith. Lions’ dens may have gone out of fashion but being ostracised from family, losing jobs, facing prison, torture and even death are an increasing reality for many Christians.

Learning to follow Jesus example of grace and forgiveness whilst never condoning sin is a wonderful model. I have been inspired to follow the example of both those facing genuine persecution as well as Christians treated shamefully by others. These Christians have maintained their dignity and integrity and have never given up their faith or their determination to do the right thing despite strong provocation. That is authentic Christianity because it follows the example of Jesus.

We all need Godly examples to follow and we all need to be Godly examples. Both those younger in the faith and the world need to see a sincere Christianity that actually works in faith, in deeds and in words. Something that models love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and sacrifice.  Something in fact that looks a bit like Jesus.