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5 December 2007
An Advent Special to mark the start of Advent
Word on the Web
Luke 2:1-7
About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The actual birth of Jesus in the Bible is quite understated. If it was you or I coming as the Messiah we'd have a grand entrance, fireworks, music, an MC announcing our arrival, maybe someone feeding us grapes and fanning us, at least a five star hotel with all the home comforts. If it was a Hollywood blockbuster we'd expect to see some earth shattering explosions and close ups of adoring faces. But that isn't the point of God becoming flesh. You can't really get more humble than a carpenter and his shamed wife to-be tramping through the desert for 2 or 3 days to give birth alfresco with some hay as a bed. Not exactly five star, superstar living. Jesus came to earth in the most humble of surroundings, with no expectations of grandeur, no demands, no thoughts of being worshiped or having his greatness acknowledged.
What can we learn from Jesus' birth? How can we use it today? We are called to be Christ-like in our living.
We can learn to be humble, to look for lowly opportunities for service. Look for the seemingly insignificant tasks God wants us to perform.
Lord, in this modern world we seem obsessed by self promotion, being a superstar or achieving status. Help us to see things through your eyes. Help us to see opportunities for service in small things. Help us to only seek to serve and worship you and not ourselves. Amen
Written by Matt Grady of alternativity.org.uk
An Advent Special to mark the start of Advent
Word on the Web
Luke 2:1-7
About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The actual birth of Jesus in the Bible is quite understated. If it was you or I coming as the Messiah we'd have a grand entrance, fireworks, music, an MC announcing our arrival, maybe someone feeding us grapes and fanning us, at least a five star hotel with all the home comforts. If it was a Hollywood blockbuster we'd expect to see some earth shattering explosions and close ups of adoring faces. But that isn't the point of God becoming flesh. You can't really get more humble than a carpenter and his shamed wife to-be tramping through the desert for 2 or 3 days to give birth alfresco with some hay as a bed. Not exactly five star, superstar living. Jesus came to earth in the most humble of surroundings, with no expectations of grandeur, no demands, no thoughts of being worshiped or having his greatness acknowledged.
What can we learn from Jesus' birth? How can we use it today? We are called to be Christ-like in our living.
We can learn to be humble, to look for lowly opportunities for service. Look for the seemingly insignificant tasks God wants us to perform.
Lord, in this modern world we seem obsessed by self promotion, being a superstar or achieving status. Help us to see things through your eyes. Help us to see opportunities for service in small things. Help us to only seek to serve and worship you and not ourselves. Amen
Written by Matt Grady of alternativity.org.uk
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