Post by Admin on Dec 12, 2019 7:35:15 GMT
Since our discussion last week was deferred thanks to a broken water main next door, tonight we tackled last week’s story of the birth of Jesus and notice to the shepherds, along with this week’s scheduled look at the visit of the Magi. A key concept we talked about at the start of the session was “expectation,” specifically to think about something we expected at Christmas – maybe a present as a child, or a certain experience as an adult – and how we felt when experience did not match expectation. One example is a lady who always has a vision for a Christmas night of church bells and happy family times and finds that real life never achieves the Christmas-card dream in her mind, leaving her disappointed every year.
We first read the passage in Luke 2 that details Joseph’s required trip to Bethlehem, Mary accompanying him, and the subsequent birth of Jesus, followed by the angels notifying nearby shepherds. As noted in previous passages by Luke, this gospel is filled with verifiable facts and straightforward reporting – until an angel appears with a chorus. Many of the visuals lodged in our memories about the birth of Jesus, such as animals around, are assumptions devised over time, and not facts provided by the narrative. We discussed the thoughts and prayers that Joseph and Mary might have had during the events of the story. Would they have been questioning or doubting, or wondering when God was going to arrange for something positive to happen? From our perspective now we can see how God is in fact managing all the circumstances: He arranged for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem as prophesized; He allowed the baby to be born healthy; He provided verification to Mary and Joseph through the agents of shepherds coming to see the baby and praising God. We speculated on the choice of shepherds as the first to hear of the birth of the savior, since they were of low class, poorly regarded, and thieves. As usual, God picks the most unlikely servants to accomplish the tasks that He wants completed. In fact, the entire birth scenario is setting up from the very beginning that God’s plan does not match the expectations of the Jews, even as it fulfills the prophecies.
We moved on to read the passage in Matthew 2 about Magi coming from “the east” in search of a king because they saw a star. This portion of the story again introduces sufficient facts to provide clear points and doesn’t fill in the romantic background we remember from cards and carols. How many “wise men?” No number. Did they come at the birth? No, later, possibly a year or two. We talked about the appearance of the star and their evident interest in it, which suggests some knowledge of Hebrew texts. For them, its appearance was compelling enough for a journey, yet they didn’t have the additional information of Bethlehem as the birth place. There were some interesting details in the passage that we often gloss over. The Magi go as far as Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, in their search, and then start asking around. They do not go to Herod the current king. Herod instead finds the Magi after he gets wind of their search and asks them on the sly to get back to him. When the Magi find Mary and Jesus, they are in a house and He is a child – no babe in a manger any longer. Again, God’s hand is touching all the aspects of this experience. The Magi show the immediate international impact of Christ’s birth and their worship again verifies Mary and Joseph’s faith in their son as Messiah. The appearance of the Magi instigates Herod’s murder of boy children, which fulfills prophecy, while their gifts finance Joseph’s exodus with his wife and baby – again fulfilling prophecy. What did the Magi expect when they trekked to Israel in search of a king just born? Did Jesus and Mary in a house somewhere in Bethlehem match their expectations? We can’t know for sure, although we see that they worshipped and gave valuable gifts. Then, they left. Were they changed? Did they wonder about Jesus or follow his ministry later? Again, we cannot know about them. We can see our own lives. Does following Jesus provide what we expect, or do we merely show up as required, hand over what we brought, and then move on. What do we bring to Christ as gifts, and what do we take away that changes our life?
We first read the passage in Luke 2 that details Joseph’s required trip to Bethlehem, Mary accompanying him, and the subsequent birth of Jesus, followed by the angels notifying nearby shepherds. As noted in previous passages by Luke, this gospel is filled with verifiable facts and straightforward reporting – until an angel appears with a chorus. Many of the visuals lodged in our memories about the birth of Jesus, such as animals around, are assumptions devised over time, and not facts provided by the narrative. We discussed the thoughts and prayers that Joseph and Mary might have had during the events of the story. Would they have been questioning or doubting, or wondering when God was going to arrange for something positive to happen? From our perspective now we can see how God is in fact managing all the circumstances: He arranged for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem as prophesized; He allowed the baby to be born healthy; He provided verification to Mary and Joseph through the agents of shepherds coming to see the baby and praising God. We speculated on the choice of shepherds as the first to hear of the birth of the savior, since they were of low class, poorly regarded, and thieves. As usual, God picks the most unlikely servants to accomplish the tasks that He wants completed. In fact, the entire birth scenario is setting up from the very beginning that God’s plan does not match the expectations of the Jews, even as it fulfills the prophecies.
We moved on to read the passage in Matthew 2 about Magi coming from “the east” in search of a king because they saw a star. This portion of the story again introduces sufficient facts to provide clear points and doesn’t fill in the romantic background we remember from cards and carols. How many “wise men?” No number. Did they come at the birth? No, later, possibly a year or two. We talked about the appearance of the star and their evident interest in it, which suggests some knowledge of Hebrew texts. For them, its appearance was compelling enough for a journey, yet they didn’t have the additional information of Bethlehem as the birth place. There were some interesting details in the passage that we often gloss over. The Magi go as far as Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, in their search, and then start asking around. They do not go to Herod the current king. Herod instead finds the Magi after he gets wind of their search and asks them on the sly to get back to him. When the Magi find Mary and Jesus, they are in a house and He is a child – no babe in a manger any longer. Again, God’s hand is touching all the aspects of this experience. The Magi show the immediate international impact of Christ’s birth and their worship again verifies Mary and Joseph’s faith in their son as Messiah. The appearance of the Magi instigates Herod’s murder of boy children, which fulfills prophecy, while their gifts finance Joseph’s exodus with his wife and baby – again fulfilling prophecy. What did the Magi expect when they trekked to Israel in search of a king just born? Did Jesus and Mary in a house somewhere in Bethlehem match their expectations? We can’t know for sure, although we see that they worshipped and gave valuable gifts. Then, they left. Were they changed? Did they wonder about Jesus or follow his ministry later? Again, we cannot know about them. We can see our own lives. Does following Jesus provide what we expect, or do we merely show up as required, hand over what we brought, and then move on. What do we bring to Christ as gifts, and what do we take away that changes our life?