Preparing for Christmas

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those
with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Have you read the Christmas story yet this Christmas season? I thought it was appropriate to post it on here for someone to read. If yo have not sat down and read this yet, read back through this familiar story. I think many times we gloss over the details and forget what really happened on the night of Jesus' birth. We have heard the story for years, and it becomes easy to go through the yearly motions of reading the story for tradition's sake and never focusing in on learning something new about Christ's birth.

We looked at this passage Sunday at West Jackson for this very reason. It seemed almost too simple for a college Sunday School lesson, but once we began discussing the story, we all discovered small details that we had never paid much attention to in the past. Have you ever thought of Mary's condition as she was riding the donkey? She was right at the point of birth, and yet she was traveling on a stubborn animal. Think of her determination to get to Bethlehem for the census.

And think about the shepherds' faith in believing the angel and then traveling to the manger. Afterwards they praised God and gave Him the glory for this birth. For the shepherd's, this was "breaking news." They did not grow up hearing the "Christmas story." When Jesus was born, they spent the night praising God. Have we let the story become so old in our lives that we find ourselves not giving God glory for His gift? This Christmas season, read back through this account, as well as the one in the opening chapters of Matthew. Search the Word and see if there are some details that you have overlooked. Seek God, and allow Him to teach you something new this year. Don't treat this just like a traditional story that you must read every year. Instead, read this Scripture as God's Word written to us, for us. Jesus is more than a story!

Matt