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Luke 2:6-12 (New Living Translation)
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

The baby had been safely delivered and was resting in his mother’s embrace. At this same time, the heavens could no longer contain their joy, and the angels broke through into the night sky to announce the birth of the Messiah.

The first to hear this world-altering proclamation were the most unlikely of people: a rough-and-tumble group of shepherds out in the fields. Yet again God surprises us, honoring the lowly and seeking out the lost. … Just as God graciously seeks each of us today.

Question…
How will you celebrate Christmas this year?

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky look down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep in the hay.

(Away in a Manger, United Methodist Hymnal, #217)

I read recently that this classic hymn first appeared in the 1887 songbook Dainty Songs for Little Lambs and Lasses, which was compiled by James R. Murray. A notation under the song credited the Protestant reformer Martin Luther as the author of Away in a Manger, but that authorship has been disputed since then.

But, whoever penned the lyrics and composed the tune, it has become one of the favorite songs to sing during this time of year. Children around the world are familiar with this sweet Christmas carol. And that is certainly understandable, as even the smallest children  can relate to a Savior who started out just as small as them! To that baby boy being rocked in his mother’s arms, they can sing, “Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me I pray.”

Question…
What does it mean to you that Jesus came to us in the form of a tiny, newborn baby?

Micah 5:2 (New Living Translation)
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.

What must have felt like an incredible inconvenience to Mary and Joseph was actually a fulfillment of prophecy from the Old Testament. Today’s reading is from the book of the prophet Micah, who lived about 700 years before Jesus was born.

The greatest king of Israel had come from this same small town where Mary and Joseph now found themselves. 1 Samuel 17:12 tells us: “Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah.”

Micah promised that a king would come, “one whose origins are from the distant past.”  Jesus was a part of the ancient lineage of David, certainly, but his origins were from a far more distant past. The Hebrew word translated as “distant past” here (‘olam) means “eternity, forever, everlasting, perpetual.”

On December 2nd, we looked at these verses from the Gospel of John: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). The Son of God existed before time began, and was intimately involved in the creation of the universe. This same Son was to be born as a human being in a stable in Bethlehem — born to save the very creation he had helped bring into being.

What an incredible gift. What an incredible God…

Question…
What does it mean to you that Jesus is both fully human (born of Mary) and fully divine (part of God existing eternally)?

Luke 2:4-5 (New Century Version)
So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David. Joseph went here because he was from the family of David. Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was now pregnant.

The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem would most likely have taken Mary and Joseph through the holy city of Jerusalem. It would be about 74 miles to Jerusalem, then an additional 6 to Bethlehem. Nowadays, we travel 80 miles in our cars without a second thought. Just a few hours on the road, and we’re at our intended destination.

Travel was significantly more difficult in biblical days. They would have had to carry supplies for the trip: food, drink, bedding. There would have been dangers: roads that were unsafe, thieves who could steal your money or even take your life. And, of course, the petty annoyances of travel: dust and grim, tired feet, long days of moving in the same direction.

Add to all this the fact that Mary was heavily pregnant, and it may have taken up to a week to complete the journey. A long, arduous trip, all because the ruler of the land had decided to demand a census.

Mary and Joseph were nearing Bethlehem when she begins labor. They were far away from home, with no support. No midwife nearby, no mother or female cousin to help deliver the baby. At this momentous occasion, as they entered the town, it was only Mary and Joseph. And the baby was coming.

Question…
When have you found yourself without support in a time of great need?

Luke 2:1-3 (The Message)
About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

Every ten years in the United States, we are asked to fill out a census form. Using the data collected by the census, the government calculates such things as the number of seats for the House of Representatives and funding for government programs.

Jesus was born at the time of a census called for throughout the Roman Empire. In order to expedite the data collection, the different Israelite tribes were require to assemble in their ancestral hometowns. For Joseph, this was the town of Bethlehem, where his great- (x24) grandfather David was born. This census was most probably being conducted in anticipation of a tax increase and for the purpose of enforcing military service.

This may seem like extraneous, unnecessary information for Matthew to provide to his readers. But think about it for a moment. We’ve all heard the Christmas story so many times, we could probably recite most of it by heart. But this detail reminds us that these events happened to real people. Mary and Joseph are not just characters in a pretty tale. They were flesh-and-blood people who lived at a particular time in a specific place, and who were involved in God’s plan to change the world forever.

Question…
What do you imagine the journey to Bethlehem was like for Mary and Joseph?

Matthew 1:22-24 (New International Version)
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Joseph would have been intimately familiar with the Jewish Law. His fiancée is pregnant and he knows that it is not his child. Under the Law he had the right to have her accused and killed. But he had already decided to treat Mary with more grace than the Law prescribed. He would quietly send her away. Then an amazing message from God caused Joseph to completely change his mind about cutting his ties with Mary. Instead, as soon as he awoke — with no delay — he did exactly what the angel had commanded. He accepted Mary as his wife, and pledged to care for her child as if it were his own.

According to The New Interpreter’s Bible, “Joseph stands, at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, as a model of what Matthew hopes for all disciples… By Joseph’s decision to obey the startling and unexpected command of God, he is already living the heart of the law and not its letter, already living out the new and higher righteousness of the kingdom. In a difficult moral situation, he attends to the voice of God, and he is willing to set aside his previous understanding of God’s will in favor of this word from the living and saving God.”

Is it any wonder that God chose this kind, gracious, obedient man to be the earthly father of the Messiah? Joseph would care for Jesus, teach him, love him, protect him. What a gift to the world Joseph was: a model of compassion and grace.

Question…
What good lessons did you learn from your earthly father?

Matthew 1:18-21 (New International Reader’s Version)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary and Joseph had promised to get married. But before they started to live together, it became clear that she was going to have a baby. She became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was a godly man. He did not want to put her to shame in public. So he planned to divorce her quietly. But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That is because he will save his people from their sins.”

Mary’s time of rest and peace with Elizabeth was over. She had returned to her hometown of Nazareth, and was now faced with the misunderstandings and confusion of her family, friends, and fiancé. Joseph, kind and faithful man as he was, decided to privately break his betrothal with Mary. You might think this seems harsh, but remember that the law at that time made it possible for Joseph to have Mary stoned to death for a pregnancy outside of marriage. Letting her go quietly was an incredibly gracious move, one which shows his compassionate nature.

But God wasn’t done with this good man yet! Just as God chose faithful, obedient Mary to be the mother of the Messiah, so God had also chosen Joseph to be his earthly father.

Can you imagine hearing these words from the angel? Joseph’s fears and misgivings were erased, and he knew what he must do.

Question…
When have you made a decision to act in one way, then suddenly realized that you needed to act in another?

Luke 1:58 (New American Standard Bible)
And Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to her home.

This is a passage where so much happens “between the lines.” We have no information about what occurred during those three months of Mary’s pregnancy. But we can guess. She was, no doubt, a big help to Elizabeth, who was far advanced in her own pregnancy, and who would have needed assistance in taking care of her home. Mary probably did the work that Elizabeth could no longer do: fetching water from the well, taking care of the animals, perhaps cooking food for the family.

Mary’s pregnancy wouldn’t have shown yet. She could spend her time taking care of Elizabeth, and talking about the future of their respective sons. This was a time of respite for Mary. A time in between the momentous announcement from the angel, and the time of reckoning when the world would know her secret.

But as Mary watched Elizabeth’s increasing belly, did she wonder what it would be like for her when she returned home? Elizabeth was long married to a faithful man who loved her. Her miraculous pregnancy would have been celebrated in the community, and both mother and father longed to hold their baby boy in their arms. What it would be like for Mary? Young, unmarried, poor. How would she tell her parents? What would she say to her fiancé Joseph? What would her friends think? What was going to happen?

But… for now… those questions would wait. For now, Mary was sheltered in a place of peace and preparation.

Question…
When you are in a challenging time in your life, to whom do you turn for comfort and support?

Luke 1:51-55 (Today’s New International Version)
“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

This part of Mary’s prayer is so interesting, because it could be taken in two completely different ways. You can look at it from the perspective of the world — where strength, power, and might are paramount. Or, you can look at it from the perspective of the God who has given all to save us and to show us compassion.

From the first perspective, the Messiah is physically strong in battle, tearing down the fortresses of the proud and powerful. This vision of the conquering Messiah is one that the world would readily understand and embrace.

But the second perspective is radically different. Jesus performed mighty deeds with his arm: reaching out to the hurting, healing those who were ill, inviting the lost. He chastised the rulers of the day for their faithlessness and disobedience, and lifted up those who were on the fringes of society. He was born into the children of Israel — Abraham’s descendants — and came to offer life eternal.

A God who would become human, a Savior who would walk along with those in pain, a Messiah who would give completely of himself to save the lost.

That is a perspective that bewilders the world.

Question…
What is most surprising to you about the Christmas story?

Luke 1:46-50 (New Living Translation)
Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.”

Until now we had heard very little from Mary. She had accepted the angel’s pronouncement with incredible composure and confidence, and with remarkably few words. But now her spirit was unleashed, and she joyfully praised God. She celebrated that she had been chosen to be the conduit of this miracle. She rejoiced in the realization that God would use this child to rescue her people and the world. She was awed by the knowledge that a small-town girl like herself would be called “blessed” by the world forever.

But what does it mean to be blessed? According to The New Interpreter’s Bible, “Mary had been chosen, ‘favored’ by God. But what a strange blessing. It brought with it none of the ideals or goals that so consume our daily striving. Today many assume that those whom God favors will enjoy the things we equate with a good life: social standing, wealth, and good health. Yet Mary, God’s favored one, was blessed with having a child out of wedlock who would later be executed as a criminal. Acceptability, prosperity, and comfort have never been the essence of God’s blessing.”

Mary knew that God’s blessing is about far more than acceptability in the eyes of the world. It is about more than financial prosperity, more than physical comfort. It is about relationship with the Creator of the universe. It is about a life overflowing with joy. It is about peace and well-being. It’s about forgiveness and reconciliation and freedom and life eternal with the God of love. That is a blessing, indeed!

Question…
How have you been blessed by God’s love in your life?