Pause

Luke 2:1-7English Standard Version (ESV)

The Birth of Jesus Christ2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.[c]

Again we pause at the stable. For a moment we soak in the magnitude of this event. The son of God has finally arrived! Today we look back a bit as well, back to the prophets like Isaiah who said:

"3 This king will be glad to obey the Lord. He will not judge by the way things look

or decide by what he hears. 4 But he will judge the poor honestly;

he will be fair in his decisions for the poor people of the land. At his command evil people will be punished,

and by his words the wicked will be put to death. 5 Goodness and fairness will give him strength,

like a belt around his waist. 6 Then wolves will live in peace with lambs,

and leopards will lie down to rest with goats. Calves, lions, and young bulls will eat together,

and a little child will lead them

Here was the child, the shoot from the branch of Jesse who would restore what was broken between God and humankind from Adam until now. Here lay a promise. The miracle that the people of Israel had prayed was now here to judge and restore. What they didn't understand was that he was not there to restore their power or reputations, no, this Messiah was there to restore their hearts. To show them once again what it meant to love. He would model how to be in loving service to God by being in loving service to one another. He was there to show them how to be fair to one another rather than making the world give the people of Israel their fair due. Perhaps the wicked that would be put to death was the wickedness of their souls. The wickedness that would allow them to put the heavy yoke of legalism, prejudice, and Pharisaical hierarchy to an end. His punishment did not come in the form of jail, but rather conviction and penitence for the mindset that some were more worthy of God's love than others. He would rip the veil that separated the Lord and man and reveal the heart of Yahweh for His people. For those who believed he would restore an innocence in man's approach to their king. Once again we would hold our arms open to our Holy Father knowing that He, not we, knows best and wants what is best for His Children.

Here lay a new beginning for the world. In the manger lay the redemption of mankind for the ages, but for that moment, he was cold, so his mother swaddled him and held the Messiah close to her heart.

Prayer: Holy God, help us to seek put to death our sinfulness each day through your forgiveness and let us never forget that this miracle of Grace, this Savior, is still in the business of restoring God to his people. Amen