The birth of Jesus Christ into our world


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The Gospel of Matthew narrates for us the story of Jesus’ birth. Very rarely do we ask our parents what was going on at the time we were born. Matthew is interested in telling us all the signs that show that this baby was the Messiah whom Israel was waiting for. This is what was going on: Mary was engaged to Joseph. According to their customs, they would live together only after they were married. However, the issue was that she was found to be pregnant while engaged. Talk about extreme family drama. If your family doesn’t have drama, you are rare! Family drama can be very difficult to navigate, especially if you are alone. For Joseph, there were options: (#1) Follow the popular view that says: denounce her and get out of it, she is pregnant, let her deal with it. (#2) is the option that he was actually considering, which was to quietly walk away. This would have minimized injury to Mary; it was kind of a safer situation. (3) Follow God’s view. But for Mary, none of the first two options really benefited her at all, which one was the lesser of two evils. We can only imagine how difficult life was, for Mary and Joseph: sleepless nights… Eventually the Angel’s message came to Joseph in a dream: He was encouraged to take Mary as his wife (# 3.) It was a blessing that God’s message helped forge the way forward without injury to anyone. Sometime in our lives we face similar difficult decisions, especially when related to family, or people we trust. But there is hope. We should not fear because in the midst of the chaos/the troubles, we see God in our midst with a purpose to heal us, to bring love, joy and bringing life back to normal.
Matthew is telling Jesus’ birth story, pointing to the prophecy: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us” An introduction from the past! The word that was used for Mary’s pregnancy in Hebrew was the creative power of God. Matthew’s point is that Jesus, is this baby that was foretold. He also tells us that Joseph woke up from his dream with an instruction to name the baby Jesus/ Yeshua [the one to save people from their sins]. Can you imagine his sleepless nights not knowing what to do, still stuck on # 1 and 2. Now with Option 3, he realized how this story is much bigger than himself, Mary or anyone else, It’s about God and his new creation! Joseph forgot about the hardship of family drama, he understood why this suffering was in his life: God was in charge! And he was part of God’s plan. Joseph didn’t need to worry anymore at that point. I believe we all need that still small voice in our lives that tells us: Sit back and relax, I am your God, I am in charge, don’t fret! Don’t you worry my son/ my daughter because I am in charge! Don’t you look at the gravity of the situation, just look at me. I am here for you, to heal you and to forgive your sins. I know you always love to weigh your options, but trust me I have your best interest in mind.
This is the best story in the entire universe. Because of God’s love for us, ever since he created us, he knew we would have things that keep us awake at night, and that this is really destroying our overall health. Born of a woman, God came into our world unexpectedly, stealthily, clandestinely into our broken families, our broken systems, broken countries, within our pains and suffering to make things new. He was born into a simple family with brokenness just like us. He understands family drama because he had one. Brother Floyd told us about Jesus’ genealogy in Sunday School. It was a real eye opener! Jesus’ ancestors were far from perfect!
Whatever is keeping us awake at night. May we know that Jesus breaks into it, to bring healing. Jesus breaks into our dysfunctions, our silent battles; prompting a change within us, challenging us to know how to live with the hard questions of life and what it means to love. God’s message to Joseph was: “FEAR NOT, TAKE MARY AS YOUR WIFE.” Perhaps this Christmas, in your quiet time, listen to God’s message “FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU, I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!”  
AMEN

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