Tag: Christmas

That Other Christmas Trip

As I’m putting away the Christmas decorations, I’m thinking about the way the first Christmas ended. Not with storing the stockings and jingle bells for next year, but with a trip to the temple in Jerusalem.

I hadn’t really thought about the fact that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus took a trip to Jerusalem about seven days after his birth, but it’s recorded in Luke 2:22, 24:

“And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’”

We hear about Mary and Joseph’s trek to Bethlehem and lament with Mary about walking or riding on a donkey over hill and dale while carrying a full-term baby. But their next trip could not have been much easier. In fact, I would prefer to travel while pregnant over traveling with a newborn, even the short distance from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

Traveling while pregnant is uncomfortable, but traveling with a newborn is a whole different ballgame. You don’t just grab your purse, phone, and keys and jump in the car. You pack a diaper bag, throw in the stroller and port-a-crib, make sure the car seat is appropriately secured, and don’t forget the extra clothes and clean-up supplies for when the baby spits up all over you. Ugh.

Okay, maybe Mary and Joseph didn’t pack a lot of extras, but they did make a trip to Jerusalem with a newborn. I think she took that trip with Jesus clutched to her chest, if she was as nervous as I was bringing my first baby home from the hospital. How many times did she tell Joseph to be careful or to slow down guiding the donkey?

 As I took a closer look at that trip, the reason for it struck me: it was for their purification. The birth of Jesus made Mary unclean. His conception was miraculous, but his birth was typical, albeit in a stable and announced by angels. A typical birth included bleeding. Bleeding required purification. The Law of Moses in Leviticus 12 says that “if a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean for seven days.” Verse 4 is what really made me think. “Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.”

I pictured Mary, unable to enter the sanctuary or touch anything holy, holding Jesus—the holiest of holies. How ironic! She was there to offer sacrifices (two turtledoves) for her purification. For the following thirty-three days, Mary wasn’t to touch anything holy. During that time, she would have held baby Jesus, nursed him, changed him, bathed him, burped him, patted him, and rocked him to sleep (or bounced him on her knees to sleep, if he was anything like my babies). She was a mom with an extraordinary yet typical baby who needed her touch in many ways.

She lovingly handled that holy baby, as the days of her purifying were completed and beyond. How many times did she pick him up to comfort him or cuddle him? She was kept away from the sanctuary, but not from the one who made it holy.

One day, her baby would shed his own blood, the holiness of which would fully cleanse her from her sin. There would be no more need for sacrifices of turtledoves or days of purification or trips to faraway places dragging along all the newborn gear. His blood would take away the sin of the world. They named him Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins.

Advent – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Today’s the day! The wait has been excruciating. I have marked off the days as my anticipation grew to almost unbearable proportions. Like that old Heinz ketchup commercial, the anticipation will be “worth the wait.” For what am I waiting (not so patiently)? Our California kids and grands are coming to celebrate Christmas with us. We pick them up at the airport tonight. I’ll be anxiously waiting in the cell phone lot, keeping a close eye on the digital sign that announces the flights as they land.

Anticipation is what the advent season is all about—a time of eagerly waiting for the Messiah to be born. I love this season. I love the sense of anticipation. I love singing the carols, shopping for just the right gifts, making the special foods, trimming the tree, wrapping the presents, seeing the lights—all of it. I love all the Christmas concerts and live nativities and sappy Christmas movies. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s, the weeks in between are my favorite time of year. For me, the anticipation reaches its crescendo, not on Christmas morning, but on Christmas Eve. The candlelight service is a beautiful time of remembering Jesus’ birth, that God sent His only Son to save His people from sin.

It’s a season of love, from exchanging gifts with those we love to seeing God’s love in giving the greatest gift of all. You might think the anticipation of Jesus coming to earth would end after all the presents are opened, the feast devoured, and the decorations put away. But this season of advent continues as we await Jesus’ second coming. Just as God promised the Messiah would come as a baby, he also promised Jesus would come again as Lord of all.

It could happen at any time. We don’t know exactly when. There’s no virgin waiting to give birth. There is no star over the place he will appear. There are no angels announcing his coming. There’s not even a digital sign to check his status every few minutes. One day, he will just appear in the clouds. Unlike his quiet, humble birth, his next coming will be with power and authority and a trumpet blast. There won’t be a smattering of shepherds and wise men who will bow before him, but every knee will bow when he comes as king of kings.

The preparations of this second advent are important and should be made with equal enthusiasm as his first—telling others of the good news of salvation, living out his Word, praying for his church and his return, and growing in love. And there are things reminiscent of the first advent season—singing songs of praise, gathering together as a family, sharing our gifts, and eagerly anticipating His coming.

So I ask myself, am I as anxious for his coming as I am for my grands coming? Does my heart flutter when I see one more sign that he will come soon, like it does when I see the sweet faces of my granddaughters sitting on a plane, ready for takeoff? Am I busy making preparations for his return? I can honestly say I am excited and eagerly anticipating Jesus’ coming. And I’m really thrilled it won’t be a short, holiday visit, but a trip that will last for eternity.

“At that time, people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And He will send his angels and gather his elect…Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Mark 13:26-27a & Revelation 22:20b NIV)

After-Christmas Jesus

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Pexels.com

I missed the after-Christmas sales due to illness the last few weeks. I was hoping to pick up some small containers for next year’s batch of champagne truffles. But I missed it. I walked into Walmart yesterday, and there was no sign of Christmas. The clearance racks of wrapping paper, lights, and decorations were empty. The “seasonal” aisle was full of Valentine’s Day candy. Christmas had disappeared. Except for a few red and green storage bins, it was as if Christmas had never been there at all.

For most people who celebrated Christmas just two weeks ago, their homes are a lot like Walmart. Christmas has been put away. Since Thanksgiving, homes were decorated with colorful lights, festive wreaths, and a spotlight on white wooden cutouts of Jesus in a manger. But they’re all gone. And I wonder, as they pack baby Jesus away, if it will be the last time they will think about him until it’s time to get him out of storage next Christmas. Like the Walmart shelves, lives are devoid of the one whose coming was so joyfully and elaborately celebrated. But the celebrations are over, the Christmas music silenced, and life is back to normal. Unfortunately, “normal” for so many means life without Jesus. 

I too have packed away our manger scene, which has graced our dining room buffet for 35 Christmases. The creche was handmade by Doug and our boys in 1997. I know this because it is dated and signed by the artists. I carefully wrapped baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, a shepherd with his sheep, the donkey, and a camel with its two wise men (one wise man and an angel were casualties of our last move). But already I look forward to next Christmas when they’ll come out again. Until then, I’ll joyfully celebrate Jesus every day, not the baby in the manger, but the Son of God who came to give abundant life to those who believe. And I look forward to when Jesus comes again in the flesh, not as a baby, not unpacked and dusted off. The next time he will come as Lord of all in power and glory. It will be something to behold!

His first coming was humble and quiet. The only excitement was the angels’ announcement of his birth to some shepherds. But his second coming will be with a trumpet blast that all on earth will hear. Then things will get last-minute-Christmas-shopping crazy! Those who have looked forward to his coming will rejoice. Those who tucked him away with the tinsel will have regrets. But all will bow. What will you do with Jesus after Christmas?

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11