A Word about Families and Christmas

 

Today I want to share a word about Families and Christmas, as I comment on passages from Luke 1 and Matthew 1.

Let’s Begin by reading Luke 1:26-33: 

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 

Christmas is a time for families. It’s a time when families gather for parties, sharing food, fellowship, and gifts. It is also a when a lot of stress is put on families, because of the greater expectations that the season brings. The sad fact is that rates of violent crime go up during holiday season. 

Families are vital but fragile institutions. In my hometown, one of the prominent churches is call the Church of the Holy Family. Many of our churches today can just as easily be called “The Church of the Broken Family” because so many marriages fail and so many families are dysfunctional.

As we think of Christmas, and its impact on families, let’s take a closer look at the real Holy Family. I believe we can learn many useful things from them!

Let’s Begin with the Appointment of Mary:

When the angel come to Mary, her condition as a conventional one for a young woman of her time. She was virgin, which demonstrated her purity as well as her obedience to the Jewish law. She was also be betrothed to Joseph who was a carpenter. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that, either.

Betrothal was a state which was less than being fully married, but much more than the modern custom of engagement. Of course, all marriages were arranged then. You learned to love your spouse AFTER the wedding, if at all. As strange as this is for us today, it was perfectly normal in the First Century. 

Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, which was an ordinary town with nothing to make it famous. In fact, we will find that, if anything, it was looked down upon. Later on, Nathaniel, a disciple of Jesus, asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” We also know that Jesus and his ministry were also later rejected in Nazareth as well.

Mary was a perfect normal young lady with a perfectly normal life until Gabriel came to her. Then her life was turned upside-down. According to the Angel, she was “highly favored” and “blessed among men.” This difference came from nothing that she did, but it came solely from the grace of God.

In fact, the term “highly favored” actually means, “filled with grace.” God chose an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life, in an ordinary place to do something extraordinary: to give birth to the Uniquely Begotten Son of God.

If God can choose Mary to bless and to use in a marvelous way, can He not choose us today?

Next, let’s read Luke 1:34-38:

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Next, We See the Acceptance of Mary:

Understandably, Mary was cautious! She was troubled because this was totally out of the ordinary! In her culture, what she was being told was more of a cause for fear than for rejoicing. In fact, she rightfully looked at this as a troubling development in her ordinary, serene, and calm life.

Mary could be forgiven if she looked at the Angel like many of us would look at the modern equivalent of a snake oil salesman. So often when we hear someone say, “Have I got a deal for you!” we wind up saying, “What did I get myself into?” The ordinary response would be to run away, but Mary did not. She listened to the Angel, and it was good that she did.

Gabriel told her this was going to be no ordinary birth. Her conception would be without sin which meant that she had not sinned, and that Jesus would be born without sin. Gabriel also told her that this conception would be by the Holy Spirit, which meant it was an act of God, not humanity. He went on to tell her that the child who was conceived was a Holy One who was set apart for a special purpose.

Amazingly, this ordinary lady who had been confronted with an extraordinary message, responded with an immediate acceptance of God’s will. Truth the told, this should be our ordinary response when faced with the extraordinary blessing presented to us by our extraordinary God!

Next, lets read again Luke 1:31-33:

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 

We Also See the Annunciation of Jesus:

Every child is precious to God and the Scriptures tell us that God is the one who knits us together in our mother’s womb. This, however, does mean that every child is special. In saying that, we know that the love of a mother wants every child to be special, but in truth, most children are ordinary, and they grow up to be ordinary adults. This does not mean that they are not precious, and that they should not be loved, cherished, and nurtured, but simply that they too, like Mary and Joseph, are merely ordinary people.

One of the most beloved and feared professors I had in college was our speech professor. He was convinced that grading at the collegiate level had become lax and suffered from grade inflation. He also believed that, if the grade scaled indicated that average work should receive a “C” grade, then that was what he would give to the average student in his classes. He would award one or two “A” grades, a few more “B” grades, and the majority of the class received a “C” grade. He would not survive today in the era of awarding participation trophies and the pressure from parents and social media to give everyone an “A”. The line from the Gilbert and Sullivan play which was used in the movie “Chariots of Fire” rings true even today, “If everybody’s somebody, then no one’s anybody!”

Jesus, however, according to the Angel, was truly special. His name meant “The Lord is Our Savior” and this hearkened back to the Joshua who led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land. This child was going to be known as “the Son of the Highest,” and He would not just reign over Israel, but His Kingdom would also be eternal and never end. This is in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, like Isaiah 9:6-7, which says, 

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it an establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Jesus was truly special, and He was like no other child born, either before or since. Charles Spurgeon said: “Christ is the greatest central fact of the world’s history. All lines of history converge upon Him. All the great purposes of God culminate in Him!”

If this extraordinary child could enter and transform the life of ordinary people like Mary and Joseph, He can also enter our lives and transform them as well!

Finally, let’s read Matthew 1:18-24:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. 

Finally, We See the Amazing Faith of Joseph:

Like Mary, Joseph was an ordinary person. So ordinary was Joseph that we know very little about him. He lived in Nazareth, and he was a carpenter. We also know from the fact that he took Mary and Jesus to the Temple at least twice that he was an observant Jew. We also know he was of the house and lineage of David and that he took measures to protect his family from King Herod. And that’s about it, except . . . 

We know he was a just man; he wanted to uphold righteousness. We also know he was a merciful man; he did not want to hurt Mary and he didn’t want to ruin her life. So often we find ourselves struggling to balance our conviction with our compassion and vice versa, but Joseph came up with a way. He decided to do the right thing, but in a gracious and merciful way. That says a great deal about his character as a man.

We also know he was a faithful man. He trusted the Angel that exonerated Mary. He had the kind of faith that the writer of Hebrews describes in Hebrew 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is a shot in the dark, but with a guided missile, and God is the guidance system!

Finally, we know he was an obedient man. He didn’t divorce Mary, and he also kept her a virgin. This, of course, was done at great risk to their reputation: his, Mary’s, and the child’s. Joseph’s attitude was that found in Psalm 15:4: 

“Who shall abide in thy tabernacle, O God? He that sweareth to his own hurt and changest not!”

We really know all we need to know about Joseph. He was a kind, just, faithful, and obedient servant of the Lord His God. If that is all that it takes to be used of God in a mighty way, what is keeping us from following the example of Joseph?

Conclusion:

This Christmas, we should consider the witness of our family as compared to the Holy Family. 

- Are we righteous like this family?

- Is our faith as strong as in this family?

- Is our obedience as ready as in this family?

- Is our walk with God as close as in this family?

While we are all ordinary people, we serve an extraordinary God. This was revealed in the lives Mary and Joseph and God stands ready to do it in our lives also, if we would just let Him!

Merry Christmas!

Dr. Otis Corbitt