salt-shaker.blog

One has to marvel at the story that has caught the imagination of people across time and culture for two thousand years. ‘Inconceivable’ does not even begin to cover it! It’s a narrative about a baby born under the shadow of imperial occupation to a dirt poor couple under apparently sketchy moral circumstances. His given name was a common one, so combining that with everything else, we would certainly have concluded right along with the people of His day “Nothing to see here” – just a kid actually born in a barn. Remarkably, His identity was disclosed by otherworldy entities to the parents, advertised by a choir of alien beings to a group of scruffy nerf herders, and announced by an astronomical anomaly to foreigners who then traveled a considerable distance bearing significant symbolic gifts normally given to royalty. If they were religious, it wasn’t the right brand according to Jesus’ heritage, so they would be ineligible for inclusion. So we have a cosmic event announced by celestials to the lowliest and even unqualified earthlings. (There is hope for all of us in this!) Yet Jewish prophecies were quietly fulfilled and supernatural activity peppered the otherwise inauspicious birth of a baby. Heaven and nature sang to applaud an event overlooked by the world. Hmm!

Whatever we think about Jesus, once a year we are barraged with various traditions that sprang out of the celebration of His entrance onto the planet, along with other customs that morphed as less religious but yet still with a generous emphasis on gifting and good will. Intriguing! Or annoying. Or familiar to the point of indifference. One cannot escape the commemoration of a hope inducing divine intervention into the race, no matter how it is accepted or retooled.

The elusive ‘peace on earth’ that was heralded by the singing angels will ultimately arrive with Jesus’ promised return. He is coming back, and this time no one will miss Him. Again, celestial operatives will accompany His arrival. But it won’t be a sweet heavenly host serenading us. It will be His ‘mighty angels in flaming fire’. The Deceiver who shape-shifts his lies to accommodate culture and trends will finally meet Truth unveiled and be ‘slain by the breath of His mouth’ and evil will be exploded by ‘the brightness of His appearing’. The baby from Bethlehem, the lowlife from Nazareth, the overlooked Messiah, the scornfully labeled ‘King of the Jews’ whose life ended in apparent disaster – the King of the universe? One whom the angels have continued to applaud? Still the master of sea, wind, illness, demons, and life itself? The One who speaks the words of life? Inconceivable!

We can excuse those who missed His first coming. After all, information was limited, and it just didn’t seem like it could possibly be true! But with all of the documentation available to us now, what excuse can we give when we see Him face to face? “I didn’t know.” “No one told me.” “It just didn’t seem like it could possibly be true!”

But what if it is?

Shalom and Merry Christmas!