On The Way To Bethlehem

 

You probably could tell the story of Jesus being born without even reading the Bible verses as reference. Just go in a store and look at their Christmas inventory. You would find scripture verses, angels, stars, wise men, shepherds, and the ever-famous Nativity scene. What is the significance of the Nativity scene? Can we integrate its importance and significance in our everyday lives? Of course we can! Its meaning is not just for Christmas time, it should be for everyday of our lives. Let’s reflect on the responses from “characters” in this story.

Mary, the virgin: I am always amazed at Mary’s response during her visitation with Angel Gabriel and the posture of her heart throughout this story. Her response tells us that she accepted and was willing to be used by God: “I am the Lord’s servant…may your word to me be fulfilled.” Mary realized that her life had a greater purpose and a higher calling during her conversation with Gabriel. She even sang a song during her visit with Elizabeth. Can you imagine back then, being a young girl, engage to be married, is visited by an angel, and now pregnant with the Son of God? A lot of things could have gone through her mind to make her second guess saying “yes” to God. What is going on inside and around you that makes you second guess your purpose here on earth? You have a greater purpose because God loves you! What is holding you back from being willing to be used by God? Because He loves you, He wants to bestow favor upon you. Will you accept it? Will you say “yes”? Finally, I love this part about Mary: “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Some versions say that Mary “treasured up” all the things and pondered them in her heart. Our “yes” to God is an adventure, fully trusting, and walking in obedience to Him. He does the impossible, is always faithful, and is always providing for us. What are some things God have done that left you pondering, that left you in a state of treasuring up everything and then deeply reflecting on them? To Mary, everything was a treasure to behold and to ponder on.

Joseph, the carpenter: Let’s look at Joseph’s response to all of this. The significance of Joseph was not in his words but his actions. We see Joseph thinking about divorcing Mary but ultimately did not because of his dream. His response was that of obedience. It does not suggest or state that Joseph questioned his dream. In fact, it says “when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” He had a heart of obedience and of action. He did not delay in doing what he was instructed to do. So many times, we can delay our obedience to God because “God I’m just not ready for that right now” or “let make sure I heard you right”, or “if I do that, it’s gonna disrupt the plans I already set for myself.” Joseph would go on to have two other dreams from the angel of the Lord. His response remained the same, he did exactly what he was instructed to do without hesitation. What is God asking you to do right now? Are you dragging your feet and delaying your obedience to Him? To Joseph, it was a matter of complete obedience and nothing else.

Elizabeth & John the Baptist (pre-nativity scene): Elizabeth’s response teaches us to learn to listen to what God is telling us, even in everyday greetings. The Bible tells us that “when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting”…we don’t know what Mary said/what Elizabeth heard but we know what the result of her listening was. Elizabeth told Mary, “as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy”.  God has a particular sound to His greeting to us. His greeting to you will always be unique and personal to you. His greeting to me is different than His greeting to you. He knows who we are because He created us in the most secret place. He knows our desires and our needs, so He meets us right where we are. Can you recognize God’s sound and manner of greeting in your life? Elizabeth teaches us to have our hearts, minds, eyes, and ears attentive to the sound of God’s voice and movement in our lives.  John’s response is amazing, the Bible says, “the baby leaped in her womb”. Can you ladies imagine being pregnant and then your baby leaping inside you? Doing joy flips if you will? John leaped for joy just from the sound and greeting from Mary. Both recognized that Mary is “the mother of my Lord”. Both worshiped Jesus as their Lord before He was born. Are you willing to accept Jesus as your Lord even though you’ve never seen Him? To Elizabeth, it was an act of favor to be visited by Mary, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and giving her an opportunity to confess Jesus as her Lord. To John the Baptist, it was a joyous occasion to hear the mother of Jesus his Lord. John would later proclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29-32).”

The Shepherds: “…the shepherds said to one another, let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off…” What a response from the shepherds! Even though they were afraid, they never questioned or doubted what they just witnessed. They quickly left the field to go find Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. How do you leave a livelihood just like that? In today’s slang, “you had one job!” and that was to watch over their flocks. But they “hurried off” (“to leave, depart in haste”) to go see Jesus and we’re all assuming here, they did not bring their flocks with them. What is it that’s been your livelihood, you would in haste leave behind to have a relationship with Christ? To the shepherds, the good news was good enough to leave everything behind for the Christ child and be a witness of spreading the good news! How are you a witness for Jesus?

The Magi (Wise Men): contrary to popular belief, the wise men did not arrive when Jesus was a baby lying in the manger. They visited Mary & Joseph in their home. The wise men’s response is a three-part response: they saw and followed the Star, they worshiped Jesus, and brought Him gifts. For them to have seen the Star means they would have been faithfully studying the skies (which was their profession) …“we saw his star when it rose”. But they also noticed that the Star was not like any other star in the heavens, or they would not have followed it. They knew the significance of the Star (“his star”) and they knew what it meant (“where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”), and so their response was to “…have come to worship him”. They had great joy in their hearts and without hesitation, “they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” To the Magi, it meant everything to follow the Star not knowing how long this journey would take. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Are you willing to wholeheartedly follow Jesus not matter the cost? What treasures are you bringing Him?

The Nativity scene is not just a scene to re-visit at Christmas time. Its significance should be in our hearts every day of the year. This good news that the angels brought, that the heavenly hosts sang about, and the shepherds talked about is good news for you too! It is “joy to the world” that Jesus came! He came for you and me. What is your response to Him coming? Are you going to accept Him or are you going to reject Him? Are you going to worship Him with your treasures and your livelihood, or are you “gonna just do me”? Each character in this story had a choice to make and each of their responses were unique to them. What is your response?

 

I hope you have a Merry Christmas & a Happy Holidays!

 

Warm greetings,

Carline

 

Scripture References:

Luke 1: 26-56

Luke 2: 1-21

Matthew 1: 18-25

Matthew 2