1 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. 2 This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. 4 So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. 5 He went with Mary, his fianc-e, who was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
8 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. 9 Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. 10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: 11 A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. 12 This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” 13 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: 14 Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” 16 They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. 18 All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. 19 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. 20 The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!- Luke 2:1-20 (MSG)
It’s times like Christmas that I think of my father the most. You see, he’s not only my father, but he was my pastor for nearly 30 years of my life, too. And it’s times like Christmas, especially when the Christmas story is read (like he used to do on Christmas morning), that I think of him the most…
My dad has always been one of those ‘larger than life’ people … to me anyway. Just talking to him will usually make you feel better. If you could just sit down with him and talk over anything, you’d feel like everything was going to be O.K.—no matter what you were going through…
I thought so much of my father when I was growing up that when my friends would be going through hard times—dealing with something they just couldn’t seem to handle on their own, I was the strange kid who always said, “You should go and talk to my dad. He’ll know what you should do.” And, he generally did… Or, I’d say it this way: “If you could only meet my dad….”
As the years have gone by, however, I’ve discovered that it wasn’t so much my dad that was special (though he is), but it’s the One who lives inside of him that makes him the way he is. He was always ‘bigger than life’ because the God he served was ‘bigger than life.’ And God’s love that lived in him … was big enough for everyone! He was always ready to share God like that…
I just finished reading a book a short time ago called “Heaven is for Real” where a young boy (Colton) fell ill and had an out-of-body (or in-heaven) experience. (Thank you, Julie!) And in that book, the father—a Wesleyan minister—was having a conversation with his kids, one of them this then 5-year-old son who’d been through the serious operation about a year earlier. Well, like all good pastors, this father was quizzing his kids about Jesus and he asked his kids, “Do you know why Jesus died on the cross?” His son, Colton, said that he did; so the father let him explain … and he said something like this: “Jesus said that he died on the cross … so we could go see his dad.” How would you respond to a 5-year-old saying something like that? Here’s what his father said (let me share it with you from the book):
In my mind’s eye, I saw Jesus, with Colton on his lap, brushing past all the seminary degrees, knocking down theological treatises stacked high as skyscrapers, and boiling down fancy words like propitiation and soteriology to something a child could understand: “I had to die on the cross so that people on earth could come see my Dad.”
In light of my experience with my own father, and in light of Colton’s very profound response to why Jesus died on the cross, I’ve been enlightened this year … about what Christmas is really all about. Yeah, I know that it’s Jesus’ birthday … but, what was the reason for Christmas? The same as Colton’s reasoning for Jesus dying on the cross: So we could all be able to go see his Dad!
Jesus, God’s only Son, was born into this world of ours so that a way could be made for us to meet his Dad! I’m sure that for Jesus, God the Father was ‘larger than life,’ too. And, I’m most sure that Jesus would have looked at many situations he ran into in his 33 years on this earth, and at least thought to himself: “If you could only meet my Dad….” Because of Christmas, the GOOD NEWS is … we can!