Look behind it
Keyword Christmas, what comes to mind?
Christmas markets, decorated streets, and shops, encounters, gifts, holidays, free time, sleeping in, stress, lots of work, little rest, and so on.Is that why we celebrate Christmas? No.
- We want to look behind, get behind it
- Gain insight into the events
- Find out what they mean
- See the connections.
- Be informed, know the way
1. First Event - The Christmas Story
It was the decree of Emperor Augustus. He wanted all the inhabitants of the Roman Empire to be recorded in tax registers. So everyone went to the homeland of their ancestors. Joseph and Mary also set out. Joseph was subject to the authorities, obedient.
2. Second Event - Bethlehem
Maria gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in diapers and laid him in a feeding trough. They hadn't found any other shelter. At the center of the Christmas story, a newborn child, not a manager, not a scientist, not a professor, not a warrior.
God comes to us as a helpless child. Look behind it. Poor for us.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become ich.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
3. Third Event - The Shepherds and the Angels
Good news. A message of joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in the city of David! Go and see for yourselves. He is lying wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger; that is how you will recognize Him.
Suddenly, a great multitude of other angels appeared beside the angel, praising God and saying:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! Luke 2:14 (ESV)
Seeing connections:
Behind this event is God's love for all people. No one is excluded. Christ the Savior is here. Jesus who forgives you all your sins.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (ESV)
God has fulfilled His promise. The prophetic word came to pass.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
4. Fourth Event - The Shepherds Search and Find
Shepherds, simple people. Embodiment of the despised and poor people.
Come, let us go to Bethlehem and see what has happened there and what God has made known to us! In the middle of the night, not a convenient time for visits.
They set out, went there, and found Mary, Joseph, and the child in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what the angel had told them about the child. That is: They passed on God's words. The reaction of those present was amazement when they heard it.
But Maria keeps all of this in her heart and kept thinking about it over and over again. Look behind it. Gain insight into the story. Find out what it means for us:
- They are not only amazed by the miracles, but also draw practical consequences from them.
- They dare to do something at the word of the Lord; they set out on the way.
- They want to have clarity about what the matter is really about.
The shepherds went back to their flocks. They praised God and thanked him for what they had heard and seen. Everything had been just as the angel had told them.
This is the depiction of the Christmas story. According to Luke 2:1-20.
The great offer is still valid today:
- Understand it and recognize the connections
- Listen to God's word, attend the service, and experience God
- Praise and thank God, proclaim Him, and share the message
Author: Edith Waechter
AI Images: https://www.bing.com/images/create/
