December 25 2014

December 25 2014 Greetings My Friend Random thoughts about Christmas floating through my brain. I’ve been thinking that this holiday can be stressful due to struggles within a family etc. As I thought on this I thought about Joseph and Mary. They felt the shame of Mary being pregnant before marriage, Joseph marrying Mary anyway and not divorcing her. They were alone on a journey to Bethlehem at the end of Mary’s pregnancy to be counted in a census. Traveling had to be hard on Mary, she could not travel quickly and Joseph put her on a donkey to help her not wear out as much. They get to town and find no place they can rent until someone offers them a stable where animals are kept. Mary goes into labor and baby Jesus is born and wrapped up in swaddling clothes (my guess is old blankets and such) and laid in a manger. A manger is where animals are fed. The pictures show baby Jesus in a manger with straw as His mattress. I think that would be rather itchy. God is so excited to share the birth of His Son that angels announce His birth with proclamations and songs. The shepherds go to see this Child born of Mary. All nativity scenes depict the Wise Men showing up at the manger but more than likely they came about the time Jesus was 2 years old. After the census was taken Mary and Joseph had a journey back to their home where they stayed until the Angel warned them to leave and after the Wise Men came with their gifts. Those gifts provided for this family while they lived in exile. About now I realize that Jesus’ birth had the same excitement and stress we deal with today. There were moments of great joy and there were moments of great concern. Today we are preparing in some way for Christmas Day, the day Jesus was born. Advent invites us to look at the Christmas “story” again. I find great peace in hearing the passages of Jesus’ coming into our world. I have wonder and awe at Him leaving heaven, coming into our world the way we come into our world. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We are conceived by our father and born of our mother. This means Jesus went through the growing, learning, feelings of life just as we do. For many years I felt that God did not understand how hard it is to be human. I feel a bit sheepish when I realize that our Lord knows all about the struggles of day in and day out living. Jesus grew up and began teaching us about Father God’s love for All of us. This warms my heart so much. Jesus gave hope to the lowest of the low of His day. That right there comforts me and propels me to reach out to the lost, lonely and hurting in our day. Just as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to remake God’s love about rules and make the people who were “pretty” in the world’s view I find that we do the same today. That homeless person created their problem so why bother with them? That drug addict isn’t pretty either. I don’t have the calling to reach out to those on the fringes of society and in a way I do. Junior and I have a heart for people that are often in a crisis, between jobs, unemployed and on welfare for generations in their family line. We try to step beside who we can and to give them love and some sort of support. We don’t try to give them just to give “things” to them either. Junior and I also have a heart for those who have been in a failed marriage, since we have been in one ourselves. To me I want to give people the hope I have the source of the healing I have been given and that is Jesus. Only because God first loved me/us am I able to go out and love others in helpful ways. This Christmas I pray you begin the next year with the love of Jesus and extend that love to people in your path. Merry Christmas. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet