Love All
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We had a good trip, but there's no place like home. We're grateful for the time off to rest and relax, and we're ready to hit the ground running here. So we're in part three of our four-part advent series called advent conspiracy. So far, we've been through
Spend Less- not spending as much on useless gifts at Christmas time
Give more- Charlie preached about how Christ gave himself at Christmas time, and the application is that at Christmas, we should give like Christ gave- of ourselves and our time. And today we're in...
Love All- to treat with compassion all who God loves and especially the poor. Next week, we'll be in
Worship fully- to engage in Christmas like you never have before by getting past the junk and the busyness and worshipping Jesus for his many gifts to us during this season.
Read Luke 2:1-7
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
This Christmas story begins in humility. It is a humble night, in an out of the way town. A young family traveling at the beck and call of political decrees. Immediately on the surface of the story it seems political power-plays will determine where Jesus will be born. Caesar utters a royal edict for taxation purposes that pushes everyone back to their hometown. So even though it’s probably not ideal to travel on a donkey when you're 9 months pregnant, Mary and Joseph set off on the trip home. Seriously, you ladies, can you imagine your husband asking you to get on a horse when you were 9 months pregnant? You'd be like, "you want me to what? That ain't happening. Uh-uh. NO WAY!"
So Caesar is doing something.
But....God is doing something as well.
The City
The story immediately calls us to look deeper. To not judge things based on outward appearance. And isn't that like God? Remember the words God speaks to Samuel when he's looking to replace Saul, the impressive, handsome, strong, failure of a king of God's people?
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
So on the surface, it looks like politics is in control. Yes, Jesus is born in Bethlehem because of this census but could it be that God is fulfilling his promises that out of this lowly city the King of Kings will come?'
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel
whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf.
The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
will return from exile to their own land.
And he will stand to lead his flock with the LORD’s strength,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
for he will be highly honored around the world.
Out of Bethlehem the King will come. This one who is from ancient days, and he shall shepherd his flock, and he will be great to the ends of the earth.
What narrative are you listening to? The headline of political policies, or the quiet ancient prophecy? Don't judge by outward appearances just yet, Bethlehem is small and over-looked but she's important. The new king is born this night, this king like David, in this little city.
The Inn
In the story we also learn that this King is born in unconventional circumstances. He's born in an animal stall because there is no place for him. In a hospitable Middle Eastern culture there is always room. This "Inn" was most likely Joseph's family home. The town is anywhere from 300 to 1000 people in size. The census would gather the whole extended family into town and they would all stay at the family house. This family is in the line of David, a respectable family.
The most likely interpretation of "there was no room" is that Joseph's family was ashamed of his then-pregnant fiancée. Mary and Joseph weren't married yet and here she is about to give birth. This would be shameful. This is most likely why the king will be born in a manger.
Again, what headline are you going to pay attention to?
The knocked up fiancée? Or the Virgin birth?
The story beckons us to look beyond the headlines and to find God working in the shadows, often going unnoticed, overlooked, and he's ok with it. It’s how he likes to work.
And we see this all throughout the book of Esther. Not once is God's name used, but his hand is all over the place in saving his people from destruction.
As we read on we see one more example of God working behind the scenes in this story: The shepherds.
Read Luke 2: 8-16
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
The Shepherds
During this time period, shepherds are some of the most lowly of characters; nobodies, often living on the margins of society. But God loves shepherds, these caretakers, watching over helpless animals. Every day, every night, tending, making sure the sheep are cared for. It’s detailed work in that you have be attentive to the needs of the animals.
Funny, but God visited a shepherd in this same city once before.
Who else was a shepherd in Bethlehem? A guy named David.
When Samuel the priest came to anoint this shepherd as King he almost missed him for his older better looking brother.
God had to tell Samuel directly:
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Instead of the powerful-looking older brother, God directs his gaze to little David. Out tending the sheep. David the little shepherd. Described as ruddy. Cute. And David will use his experience as a shepherd to not only defend Israel, but to care for it. The humble beginnings as a shepherd prepare him for becoming Israel's greatest king.
God loves shepherds. Out-of-the-way characters who care for others, who care for his creation.
Look back at this prophecy about Jesus in Micah from a different translation:
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days... And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,.. " Micah 5:2
Born in Bethlehem, an out-of-the-way place, a humble place God calls the greatest king-- who will be what? A shepherd.
And so it’s fitting, When God's son is born the only ones told are shepherds. Not the rulers, not the politicians, not the financiers, not the CEO's. Nope, the guys out working the field get the news. The host of angels comes to them, this humble group of shepherds.
The most glorious of characters. Heavenly beings, in radiant light sing Glory to God in the Highest!
Our king in the lowest, but look at such glory, a glory that comes in humility!
Yes, this is a humble moment in obscurity, in an out-of-the-way town, with out-of-the-way people
and yes this it is filled with the highest glory.
Application - [Love All] (connecting to Advent Conspiracy)
Don't judge Christmas by how it looks currently in our culture, not all is as it seems. Christmas is a deeply subversive story about a young family navigating political policies, and family shame. It’s about workers on the edge of society, in overlooked towns. It also happens to be story of how the world was saved.
This Christmas the invitation is to scratch beneath the surface of the headlines, to pay attention to God's story and what he is doing. To see glory in humility. To see riches in poverty. Honor in shame. God loves to work in the margins with those who have been overlooked, underestimated, discounted, and ignored.
It's why we have chosen to spend less on the flash of Christmas and decided to love those who have been neglected. To go to the places that don't grab the headlines and provide clean water. To do the hard work of caring and looking to the needs of others.
We believe God has come to us in our obscurity when we didn't deserve his generous gift of love and life, and so I think the best way to celebrate is to do the same.
The story beckons us to not get drawn into hype. The story beckons us to remember that God works with "out of the way people" in "out of the way places".
Scratch beneath the story of consumerism and you'll find a story worth celebrating, and a king worth following.
We invite you to celebrate differently this year, spend less on gifts you don't need, give more relational gifts, and love all by using the money we save to give life.
Not just water, but living water through the mission of Advent Conspiracy through living water international. And if you and your family want to love all this Christmas, to celebrate like God did by giving sacrificially and joyfully to love others, then feel free to give a check to an elder or drop a box in the offering box with Living Water in the memo line or you can give directly to Living Water by going to water.cc
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Thank you for your generosity. To this community. To our missionaries. To the causes we support. And to us.
As we close, maybe this Christmas season you are feeling obscure and overlooked. Take hope, come to the table and remember the Shepherd King who cared so deeply for you, that he laid down his life so that you could live in his.