The Unexpected Way
December 15th, 2020
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. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2: 1-7, NIV
Do you ever wonder if this passage is where Hallmark got their baseline plot for their Christmas movies? Troubled young person travels to their hometown, maybe bringing along a new girlfriend or boyfriend, sleeping arrangements are always weird, and someone is always isolated and put out. We know that by the end, everyone has a warm and fuzzy feeling of love and everything is magical, perfect, and golden. Today I am struck that this isn’t exactly how it was going down in Bethlehem.
Mary and Joseph travel all this way for the census, and now it strikes me that we don’t know much about their relationship. It is doubtful Mary had ever met Joseph’s family of origin before. I wonder if she felt isolated? So Joseph comes home with his bride-to-be, who is pregnant with a baby that is not his. I don’t think any of the visit was comfortable, physically or relationally. Yet, it was perfect. Even in the Old Testament, it was prophesied that an eternal ruler from the line of David would be born in Bethlehem. This added to the doubt--Mary lived in Nazareth and so when she said that she was pregnant with the Son of God, this couldn’t be who she said it was. The Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth (Micah 5:2). In all of the uncertainties, God worked to bring forth His will in the most unexpected way.
As our uncertainties in life grow, so must our trust and hope in the Lord. Our God will find a way and will use even the most mundane thing like a census to work for his good and purpose. In our isolation, we must look at the lesson, and search for where God could be working.
When you are feeling isolated, what could God be speaking into life through you?
Prayer: God, spill your Holy Spirit into my heart, my life, and the places I feel isolated and new. Increase my trust and faith in you, God, that I would be able to search for the truth you exhibit. I am in awe of your righteousness and goodness. May the prophecies that have been laid out for generations continue to move me to action. You alone are all-knowing. I am thankful for the birth of Jesus, in the loneliest of spaces so I may be made new. Grow in me the faith of Joseph and the obedience of Mary for your glory. Amen.
Lauren Fuchs
