Illogical Christmas

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. - Luke 2:7

Illogical Christmas – Day 7

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

Luke 2:4-6

Illogical Christmas – Day 6

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

This is the One who was to come. The one that would redeem His people.

Illogical Christmas – Day 4

1 The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.2 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, Do you come peaceably?5 And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these.11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:1-13

A shepherd boy from Bethlehem was surely not what the people had in mind when they asked for a king. In much the same way, the son of a carpenter was not what they expected as a savior.

Reflecting on Christmas

About this time every year I become disillusioned with all the noise around me and begin to reflect on the historical experience of Christmas. It’s really easy to look back with full knowledge of the outcomes and miss out on the wonder and fulfillment of the Advent. Over on my other site I’m walking through the events that lead up to the birth of Christ from Scripture and in song. If that’s something that you think might interest you, I invite you to stop by and offer your thoughts.

Illogical Christmas – Day 3

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.3 And Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am.5 Then he said, Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.6 And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7
Then the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?12 He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.

13
Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to them?14 God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you.15 God also said to Moses, Say this to the people of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 3:1-15

At first, this may not seem related to Christmas at all. But, in reality, this is the beginning of the process that creates a longing in the heart of a nation for a Savior. The people are enslaved and captive and God longs to bring them out. Unfortunately, due to their ignorance, this process will take centuries and never fully be realized they way that they think. Their captivity in Egypt is simply a very literal metaphor for the captivity of their hearts that they have yet to understand.

Illogical Christmas – Day 2