12-21-2014

Good Morning All,

       Luke 2: 4-5; “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.”

   It was about 120 miles or so.  That would have been the approximate distance that they travelled.  They went because they had to not because they wanted to.  Who would take a first time mother on a walk/donkey ride when she was over 8 months along, if you didn’t have to?  The Bible doesn’t tell us much of the trip; it just says they went.  All of the lore and the speculation surrounding the trip is just that, lore and speculation.  Did Mary walk, or ride a donkey or in a cart of some kind?  Did they travel alone or were they part of a group?  One thing that I think most women would agree on is that it was not the most pleasant trip to take no matter what mode of transport was available.

    We might wonder what they thought or talked about on the trip.  Mary probably was pretty sure that her baby wasn’t going to be born at home now.  Her baby would be born in Bethlehem.  She maybe was aware of the prophecy that the Savior was born in Bethlehem but maybe not.  She undoubtedly kept replaying the conversation with the angel in her head, “You shall give birth to a son who you will name Jesus.”  Joseph was probably deep in his own thoughts remembering his angelic visit, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, the child she is carrying is of the Holy Spirit and you shall name him Jesus.”  Of course they probably had to endure the scoffing and the ridiculing of the neighbors, the busy bodies and the uppity relatives.  She was pregnant before the wedding, tsk, tsk.  How much did they understand?  Probably, not much.

    You and I are called on to do much the same thing.  We take a journey, maybe not always the one we want at a time we want, but we have to go.  As we go we know part of the story but we may not know the whole story.  That is our life.  We know that we have God’s promise of salvation, of forgiveness, of his presence and comfort as we go but a lot of it is unseen.  At times we probably have endured ridicule for our faith; we may have even wondered if the story made sense.

    Our best response is to do what Mary and Joseph probably did; cling to what we know and keep repeating it.  Mary and Joseph had visits from angels to tell them the next step they were to take; have a baby to raise together.  Our next step may not be quite so dramatic or revealed but we take the next step in faith.  God has told us that we are his children.  We are saved and are allowed to call upon his name for strength.  We are in the family and the devil cannot harm us.  So we continue on our journey, trusting in God’s promise, living in hope of the resurrection.  That is our journey.

Father, we seldom see or know the way we must journey.  Help us to know that we are in your loving arms.  Help us to know that we are safe.  Be with those who are struggling on their journey.  Remind them that nothing in all creation can separate them from your love.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret