Some of us strive to have a perfect Christmas just like we imagine that Silent Night must have been perfect. The First Christmas was really quite messy! The whole Christmas Story is nothing but a series of unbelievable events, difficult to explain passages, ending in a miraculous birth with less than ideal circumstances.
The story starts with a virgin getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit and threatening the honor and stability of both Joseph and Mary’s family. Mary could have been stoned to death for infidelity but after a visit by the angel Gabriel, Joseph takes her as her wife anyway.
Next we have a story of Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, getting pregnant at 80 years old with John the Baptist. Then Joseph is called to Bethlehem for a census that we can’t find in any history books. He takes his 9-month pregnant wife trip riding on a donkey in the rocky hills of Israel. Miraculously, Mary didn’t give birth until they got to Bethlehem. Oh darn, Joseph forgot to book a room at the Marriott so the Baby Jesus is born in a stinky stable lying in a rickety manger that was probably the animals food trough. Finally, the family is visited by shepherds who were regaled with angelic songs in the night so they dropped everything to see this newborn child who is the Son of God. The shepherds probably smelled as bad as the animals in the stable and you can bet that Mary was overjoyed to see them so soon after giving birth.
Perfect? Far from it!
If you’re experiencing the stress of shopping to find all those perfect gifts, family members who are making it hard to get everyone together for that special Christmas gathering, work that isn’t giving you peace on earth, or friends who haven’t been friendly, WELCOME to the same type of Christmas that Jesus and his family had.
Remember that we celebrate Christmas not because of all those other things but because we want to bring peace on earth remembering the birth of our savior.
We don’t need perfect. We just need Jesus.
This little child who was brought to birth under messy circumstances went on to the be savior of the world. Our savior! Your savior.
Merry Christmas!
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