The Master's Fingerprints

Shalom, it is good to be with you on this blustery winter day. I must admit, this is nothing like the weather I am used to, so much snow is rather alarming! For those of you who don’t know, my name is Mary and I have been immensely blessed to have the Lord work in my life in great ways. The most incredible years of my life began when I was only a teenager and engaged to be married to a wonderful man named Joseph. In my culture, Jewish culture, an engagement was as legally binding as actually being married, except that we could not consumate the marriage until after the wedding. This period of time was to give the bridegroom a chance ot build either a new house or an addition to his parents’ house for his wife and their new family. Joseph was a carpenter, so I was anticipating his success with eagerness. One day, before we could celebrate our wedding I was grinding flour for my family to make the bread for the day and I was surrounded by light! Before me stood someone who appeared like a man, but I knew right away that he was no mere man. His eyes were an unearthly color, I still cannot find the words to describe them. He had such a feeling of holiness around him, I was utterly aware of my own sinfulness and fell to my knees in utter terror when he spoke to me, calling me “favored one” and saying that God was with me. To have a being of such holiness speaking such things to someone like me, a mere ordinary woman who so often fell far short of the Law’s standards, it was hard to believe! And then, even more unimaginable, his voice softened to comfort me and reassure me, saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favour with God.” He went on to tell me that I, a virgin, would conceive a the Messiah by the power of the Holy Spirit. I, a simple woman, would bear the Saviour of the World! There is much that leads up to where I actually want to begin my story in earnest, but this was the moment that started everything on its way. After the angel left, all I could think was: how am I supposed to tell Joseph?

Praise the Lord my husband is a righteous man, all it took was a dream from the Lord and he was on board and believed. He took me to be his wife, but waited to consumate the marriage until I gave birth to my son. His patience drew my heart ever nearer to his. All this leads us to the beginning of the story that I want to tell you today. I have noticed throughout my life that the hand of God is evident in every moment of the Incarnation. How? Well, in the story I will tell you today there are 3 particular parts that stand out as showing God at work. You can find this story in Luke 2:1-39.

In the last stages of my pregnancy, when my belly was swollen and so were my ankles, my back ached no matter what position I was in, and I waddled around much like a duck, Caesar Augustus called for a census to be taken. Now, for this census it was required that every man go back to their hometown, the home of their ancestors. Both Joseph and I are from the line of David so we returned to Bethlehem, where David was from long ago. Now, for those of you who are not aware, that journey is 145 km long. Consider that I was a heavily pregnant young woman in her third trimester of pregnancy and realize how long that would have taken. Each day we woke up, dusty and dirty. I couldn’t sleep through the night anymore because I kept waking up to have to relieve myself, so I was not well rested. Each day we were more exhausted than the last, but we had to press on. Joseph took it slowly, conscious of how much I was struggling, so the journey stretched out into far longer than the 4 days it normally would have taken. Each night we fell asleep with the stars glinting above us and I would pray silently to just make it through the next day’s journey and thank God that I had made it through that day. By the time we reached Jerusalem, I was so relieved! The 5 miles to Bethlehem from Jerusalem were all downhill and I eagerly anticipated settling into a guest room at Joseph’s ancestral house once we arrived. I could not wait to wash the dust off my feet and face! While we travelled the final stretch of our journey, I began to feel the labour pangs that I had been anticipating but praying would wait. Looking back on it, I should not have been surprised that such exertion brought labour on, but I had so hoped to be settled in Bethlehem if my son decided to come while we were away from home. When we arrived, my pains had gotten much stronger and I was terribly uncomfortable… however, we were told there were no guest rooms available for us! I must admit, in my preoccupation with the ever-increasing pains, I began to panic, which did not help poor Joseph figure out what to do. Eventually we asked if we could stay on the ground floor of the home, where the animals were kept at night and food was prepared. We were given the go-ahead, and so Joseph helped me into the house and looked for a comfortable place for me to rest. Unfortunately, if you have ever been in labor, you probably know that at some points there is no comfortable way to rest… I was at that point. Not much later, my son was born, Jesus, the Messiah! I have never had such a rush of feeling in all my life! But the wonders of that night were far from over and that’s what brings us to the second part of my story.

I was resting, exhausted from my labour, when suddenly several men appeared at the door asking to see the new baby. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, but something about this prompted me to tell Joseph to allow them in. They rushed in through the door, saw Jesus lying in the manger in the middle of the room, snuggled into the straw and wrapped in swaddling to keep Him warm, and froze. They had been rowdy, shepherds who smelled of the flock and unwashed bodies, scruffy and gruff and unaccustomed to niceties. Shepherds were the outcasts in our society, unwelcome and looked down upon, and now there were four of them standing in front of me shortly after I had given birth. I didn’t even consider getting up from where I was lying, I was too sore and tired, so I watched them from where I was and saw the awe dawn in their eyes. Their eyes widened, almost in sync, as they saw my beautiful baby in the manger, and one by one they stumbled closer only to drop to their knees. Jesus didn’t even stir, He was fast asleep making little raspy breathing noises as only a newborn can when they still have some fluid in their lungs. These previously rowdy men clustered around my tiny sleeping son and the room went so silent that all that could be heard were Jesus’ little noises. They just stared at Him, several with tears beginning to trace lines in the dirt on their cheeks, and after the silence stretched from one moment to two to three, until one of the men turned to me to whisper an explanation.

“We were in the fields with our flocks when suddenly light was everywhere! An angel appeared to us and told us we would find the Christ here in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling and lying in a manger.” I felt my mouth opening in surprise, I hadn’t expected my baby’s birth to be heralded by an angel, and to shepherds? What a confusing contradiction! The man continued.

“Then the sky exploded with a multitude of angels appearing out of nowhere praising God, and they were saying ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased’. (Luke 2: 14) Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they disappeared, leaving us with our ears ringing with their praise. So we came here to see, hardly daring to believe, but He’s here! It’s really true!” His last statement was choked off by the wonder that filled his eyes, they were soft eyes, I noticed, not the kind of eyes I expected to see on the face of a shepherd. Maybe they didn’t deserve to be outcast, just like I didn’t deserve all the judgement I had faced for being pregnant before my wedding. If the angels appeared to these men, that must mean they were important enough to the Lord to announce His son’s birth to them first. I could hardly find the words, this was remarkable! The man turned back to gazing at my son, who had just started to stir. His tiny eyes fluttered open, squinting up at the men above Him quietly. It seemed as if each of them held their breath as His small still-blue eyes stared up at them, and there was this sense of anticipation, as if the world expected Him to do something that an ordinary child would not do. For just a moment, it seemed as if that gaze of His was just a touch too focused, too knowing, too loving, that a newborn should not be able to look at people like that, and then that moment passed as swiftly as it had happened. That moment was enough, though, to break open the floodgates for these life-hardened men, and they knelt, sobbing in a little cluster around the brand new baby that had come to save them. Joseph watched the scene nearby, ready as always to protect Jesus or I if the need arose, but evidently touched by the shepherds’ reactions as he swiped at his eyes too.

Eventually the shepherds left, but not before giving me their names still speaking in those awe-hushed tones. Jesse, Aaron, Eitan, and Zacharias, they left changed, but they left me changed too by observing their response to the baby Saviour. We could hear them rejoicing as they went down the street, and they must have happened upon some unsuspecting soul, for I heard excited and loud voices overlapping and caught a few words. “Saviour”, “baby”, and “angels” echoed even into our room. Joseph and I looked at each other in helpless wonderment before starting to chuckle in amazement at what God had done. The shepherds really showed me God’s hand at work and revealed to me a part of His heart that I had not realized before.

The third part of our story takes place thirty days later, when I was ready to be purified in the Temple. We went there, I was still moving very slowly, so it took longer than it normally would have to purchase our sacrifice of two young pigeons, because we couldn’t afford the larger sacrifice. I was very aware of the masses of people, it seemed like every person wanted to jostle us, sometimes bumping the baby in my arms who miraculously kept on sleeping. Although I had been around other babies in Nazareth, I was still surprised how someone could sleep so much, but leave their parents so exhausted. I felt like I was moving through a haze of tiredness, so I didn’t even notice the old man at first. He made his way to us slowly, age making his movements shaky and ungraceful. When he did enter my line of sight and it became clear that he was heading in our direction, I felt unease rise within me. What did he want? Had we done something wrong? It would seem we had not done something wrong, as he got closer I recognised the wide eyed expression he wore as the same one the shepherds had when they saw my child. This man knew, somehow, that Jesus was the Messiah and had come to be near Him!

“May I, I apologise for my forwardness, but may I hold Him? Please?” I looked at him, at the hands that had a slight tremor and the long white beard that wagged as he talked, at the gentle brown eyes and the deep creases of smile lines and knew that this was a good man to trust my baby to. I glanced at Joseph, double checking that he was ok with it too, and at his smile I handed my baby over to the man. I would later learn his name was Simeon. He stared at the sleeping infant in his arms, breathing in a huge lungful of air and out in a sign of what looked like contentment. I smiled, that was exactly how I felt when I held Jesus, as if everything had settled, but I assumed it was because I was His mother. Simeon traced the curve of Jesus’ cheek with a wrinkled finger and murmured “Bless you Lord”. Then, with a much louder voice, so loud I felt terribly conspicuous, he began to prophesy. I say this because the things he said could have only been a prophecy, and I am especially aware of that looking backwards now that Jesus has fulfilled His mission on earth.

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) While Joseph and I gaped at him in stunned disbelief and some fear - Herod was known to have ears everywhere and everyone had heard of his paranoia - Simeon then turned those piercing eyes to me. They filled with sorrow, such sorrow that I could not understand. What could he possibly be thinking of? Softly, almost gently, he uttered a warning.

“Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”” (Luke 2:34-35) I jerked back, feeling as if I’d been slapped. What could that possibly mean? How could my child saving the world pierce my own soul? I turned to look to Joseph for reassurance only to find the same sorrow in his dear eyes. He knew too, somehow he knew what Simeon meant and I was utterly in the dark. Before I could ask him though, an elderly woman came up to us and began to praise God. She knew too! She explained after a while that she had been widowed a long time and spent time praying and fasting in the Temple. On this day, the Spirit of God had led her to us. Simeon was all excited and chimed in, explaining that he had also been led to us by the Spirit of God and that he had been promised he would not die before he saw the Messiah. I was utterly amazed and so was Joseph, but Jesus just stirred and cracked one eye open. Simeon was leaning over him again and Jesus sleepily grabbed a fistful of the white beard that was tickling His face. The pure wonder and joy on the old man’s face will stay with me forever and I will treasure it. I saw God’s hand at work in Simeon and Anna and how they found us, amidst the crowd in the Temple they still found the Messiah.

I may have an extraordinary tale of God’s sovereignty working in my life, after all, my discomfort on that long journey was all so that an age-old prophecy could be fulfilled regarding the location of my child’s birth. Looking at each of you, however, I know that His hand is at work in your lives too. I want to ask you today, where do you see Him working? Is He your comfort when all seems lost, is He your strength when you feel like you cannot go on? Does He send a friend at just the right time to encourage and lift you up? Does He lead you to the right people to meet, the right circumstances to encounter, all for a reason that you can’t see until you look back on it? I want to encourage you today to start a list. If you can write down every time you see Him working in your life, whether it’s an answered prayer or a crazy “coincidence”. This list will help you to look back when times get tough and see that you are not alone and there is a plan for your life. Don’t let the moments where God moved on your behalf go without notice or thanks. Write it down and give thanks. Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you, I pray that you will see the hand of the Lord moving in mighty ways in your lives. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and give you peace. Shalom.