Luke 2:1-20

Be Still:  Christ is born! 

Help me, Lord, to find time to be with you on this busy day. Amen

Read: Luke 2:1-20

And while they were there (in Bethlehem) the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn…..And an angel of the Lord appeared to them (the shepherds) and the glory of the Lord shone round them and they were filled with great fear…..and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God….. and they (the shepherds) went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger….And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.  

(vv 6,7,9,13,16 & 20) 

Encounter:  ‘Just as poor as was the stable then, the Prince of Glory is His name’*

My wife and I tried this year to buy Christmas cards with a simple nativity scene. They are surprisingly hard to find. The simple story of Jesus' birth - stable, manger, animals, baby, shepherds (and later wise men). 

What do people without faith make of this event? I suspect that for most people it's a nice story that possibly speaks of love and peace, but not much else. The story has been shorn of all the struggle, pain and suffering that Joseph and Mary went through - with the disapproval and unbelief of their friends and family, their terribly uncomfortable journey to Bethlehem, the unavailability of any appropriate place to stay and have a supported delivery, and later the warning and flight to Egypt (a journey of around one month). Imagine how hard this was and what a struggle to keep going! 

Few people seem to see or understand the many supernatural events in the story (see first two chapters of Matthew and Luke), from Zechariah being struck dumb, to the warning to flee to Egypt. The sequence of timings, miracles, angelic appearances, dreams, inspired declarations and ‘chance’ meetings, is incredible. God wanted us to be in no doubt this was his work and direct intervention in human affairs. The angelic appearance to the shepherds is amazing - with shining glory, and a praising heavenly host. And yet this was reserved for the shepherds, who were coarse, unlearned, marginalised men. 

So - a mix of suffering and glory, both of which we may also experience in our journey with Jesus.

Apply: Let us rejoice, on this Christmas day, that our Saviour has come, Emmanuel, God with us, now and forever, and that he will enable ‘all things to work together for our good’ (Romans 8:28) 

Devote: You, Lord, are amazing. I worship you and trust myself and my life into your everlasting care.

* The Calypso carol.