Wednesday December 13, 2023

Today is Wednesday, December 13 and we are reading about the joy of Christ’s Birth.

As I enter this time of prayer, I still my mind, slow my breath and draw my heart near to God. As Christmas approaches, I prepare my soul and joyfully await the coming of the Messiah.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I come here to listen for your voice speaking to me from the sacred words of the Holy Bible. Remind me of the truth of the Incarnation of Jesus and the joy his birth brings to the world. Amen.

I praise God and seek his eternal truth in the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:1-3a

Pause and Pray

Luke writes as a historian, giving readers the time, date, place and circumstance of Jesus’ birth. He answers an obvious question, how did it happen that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem? Bethlehem was the city of David and that is where the Messiah was expected to be born. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to take part in a mandatory Roman census. That is what a nation does when it rules and occupies another nation – it keeps an accurate accounting of people so that they could be taxed and conscripted. This was a source of income and opportunity for control and oppression. An imperial edict from an emperor such as Caesar Augustus must be followed.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Luke 2:1-5

How inconvenient it must have been to travel to another town to be registered by the occupying Roman government. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 90 miles and would have taken days traveling on a donkey. The terrain was mountainous and rocky. The young couple traveled outdoors exposed to the rain and cold and Mary was far along in her pregnancy. That must have been a horribly uncomfortable journey, yet it served an essential purpose. The trip to Bethlehem put Mary and Joseph in the town where the Messiah of the world was prophesied to be born. They were in the perfect place at the perfect time.

Ask: When have I discovered unexpected blessings in difficult circumstances? How have I seen God work in the circumstances of my life?

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, as you journeyed alongside Mary and Joseph on the long road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, join me on my journey. Let me see how you work in this time and place and meet me in my circumstances. When difficulties arise and I encounter setbacks, remind me of your loving presence and help me remember to trust you in all situations. I read the words from Luke again and listen for the message you have for me.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Luke 2:1-5

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Caesar Augustus was a ruler who instituted a census for practical, imperial and selfish purposes. The census was to benefit the Roman government, not the people of the land they occupied. The headline news of the day would have been what was going on in Rome and in the big city of Jerusalem. That is where important things were happening. No one would have noticed that the most important event of all human history was taking place, not in Rome, but in the “little town of Bethlehem.” The center of the world seemed to be Rome. The center of everything was happening in the backstreets and alleyways of Bethlehem.

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, enter into our world once again. Find the quiet, humble stables of our hearts, come into the untidy mess of our minds, enter into the desperate dark loneliness of our souls and shine your light of hope, peace, joy and love. Come, Lord Jesus, you are king of my life and shepherd of my soul. Amen.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2

I leave this time of prayer filled with joy for today’s journey. I go to share the joy of Christ with a broken world.

Amen