Christmas Wrap

And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

As you probably notice, I blog inconsistently. And it hasn't happened for the last week or so because of Christmas. No, I lie. It is because of ME at Christmas. Distracted, busy preparing for the coming of the kids who will be staying here for a week and need a place to sleep, busy with parties and food, and ordering presents, buying them, wrapping them. You know the drill. I haven't ignored the scriptures, but God knows they haven't come first. I have listened to sermons on the internet, read posts and blogs online, and gone to church. As I opened to this passage, there were my sermon notes. On the back is the to-do list...my faulty attempt to write down all the things I needed to do this week so that I could be comfortable knowing I wouldn't forget anything in hopes that I would then be able to focus on the sermon. As I look at the sermon notes on the other side, it's obvious I didn't focus very well. Sigh.

At prayer meeting last night a few of us were talking about the stress of the holiday season. So much to prepare for...the gifts, the attitudes toward family and gatherings. I prayed that Satan not take over even our hearts this season, weighing our hearts down instead of letting us rejoice in what we are really celebrating. The work we go through at Christmas probably more addresses Mary's labor in giving birth than the joy of holding God in her arms. Maybe we do act more like Mary during the weeks heading up to Christmas. She is heavy with child, socially awkward due to the unmarried state of her pregnancy, has to make an unplanned trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem because the government stepped in, and then was relegated to a barn to sleep. In the chaos that was Mary's life, the Christchild was born. An angel had appeared to her, telling her she was favored with God, she would bear a son who would be the Son of the Most High and be a king. She had questions, and she got answers. My Bible said she was perplexed (I looked it up...Completely Baffled, Very Puzzled). How did any of this make sense? Why her? Puzzled...looking at that table full of pieces and wondering how in the world they would fit together to make a complete picture. What piece was she? What piece was Elizabeth? What pieces would make up the next years of her life to make the coming and living of the Messiah in Israel happen as they were foretold. I imagine in month 7 or 8 she pondered the whole Bethlehem thing and wondered how that would work out...and then the decree! Or did the decree happen months before and the date was scheduled for the trip and she wondered if she would be carrying the baby inside or in her arms. Or perhaps she pondered God's Word and faithfulness, realizing ahead of time that this would fulfill the scriptures, and worshiped for months the plans of God. We don't know. What we do know is her response,” Behold the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” That is faith, and trust, and hope, and submission to the will of God to be used however He desires for His plans and purposes.

I, having a prophet's nature (it's got to be right, folks, or I will probably correct you, or warn you, or ask God how to get through the truth to you) get justifiably agitated over the secularization of Christmas. There are days I want to scream, “Give it back to the Catholics, let them celebrate it. Let the world not profit from it since they want to gut it of its religious moorings.” Someone posted a blog where someone said we shouldn't force our friends and rest of the world on Facebook and elsewhere to put the Christ back in Christmas. I about had a heart attack. When I peeled myself off the ceiling, I wrote as gently as possible for me that it isn't forcing them to remind them what this is all about. It is an opportunity to talk about what God did for us. Twice a year the world acknowledges God. Christmas, the birth of Jesus, whether they secularize it or not, brings around the story of God come to earth, the idea of peace on earth and a God who steps low to honor the humble with His Son, with angel choirs, and with Stars showing the way to get to Him in the house where Joseph and Mary stayed later. This is a God who calls for us to come by coming Himself. He hides only from the haughty, the powerful, the self-righteous. He avoided the Pharasees and went to the common man and shepherd. He skirted around Herod the governor while calling foreigner wise men who were willing to bow instead of being bowed to.

If the Word of God is only opened to the world twice a year, who am I to tell God not to leave it on the calendar? He WILL judge this country for turning Him away like the innkeeper in Bethlehem. But dealing with my own frustrations is a small price to pay for the gospel to be advanced. What child seeing a nativity scene perhaps for the first time won't ask what it is about? Will they not be more curious over the years to wonder where this holiday of giving came from once the Santa thing wears off? If I truly bear the weigh of the expectations of Christmas and all its busyness for the sake of the gospel, will it not rejoice my heart? And it's the time of year where we can sing hymns of joy in our hearts while wrapping those gifts like Mary wrapped Jesus. He was the gift, wrapped in humble poor-mans cloths. And that should be my distraction from all the rest of the busyness of Christmas. Christ was given to us.