Good Wednesday morning! Christmas is coming... closer and closer the day draws near. Yes, tomorrow begins the Christmas holiday for most of us. Some have already taken off to holiday destinations and some will leave today. Will some find the hotels and motels at their destination full? ("Should've called ahead like I told you, dear") Mary and Joseph found the inn full in Bethlehem. What happened there? Well, you see there was this little census ordered by the Roman government for taxation purposes. As Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem. That doesn't seem like much until you realize the rest of those claiming to be descended from the royal line - and who wouldn't want to be counted in the royal line? - also had to descend upon poor little Bethlehem. Inns, spare rooms, and even the little stone couches were probably full of travelers in town for the census.
Isn't it funny/interesting that we like to think that somehow folks from back then had stone couches or something like that? I'm sure their little behinds yearned for a comfortable chair just as ours do. However, arriving late or simply not early enough, Joseph and Mary could not find a room in Bethlehem. This seems rather uncharitable given that Mary would have been visibly ready to deliver at this time. Years later though, people would argue that Jesus had been born in Nazareth, forgetting already that the census had sent all of King David's line to one little town. Perhaps the infanticide ordered by Herod made them think all the children had been killed around Bethlehem? We don't know, but God knew and announced the birth of his son in a big way.
So much in this world we don't know. Our government has become a juggernaut and we don't know from day to day what it might do. The world is more connected now than it has ever been, and events far away can affect us as never before. Our history probably isn't what we thought it was from our school texts; and our current military actions are open to controversy. Is it any wonder that Zechariah, an old man, wanted more assurance? We could find ourselves just like poor Zech in this age. How can we be sure you'll come back, Lord? Of course, we already know that asking "when?" is not going to work.
God requires faith in this. Prophets, kings, and the people waited for more than a thousand years for the first Christmas; and they had no idea what the exact date would be. Before John the Baptist arrived, Israel had been treated to 400 years of silence from God. The prophets simply stopped showing up! We find it hard to wait weeks or days for the next Christmas day, but we have also been waiting around 2,000 years for that one great Christmas that we call Christ's second coming. The length of the first period of waiting doesn't set the length of the second; yet like the counting down of days to this next Christmas celebration, we know that Jesus will surely come on the day God has set. We cannot know the countdown, but God does know the exact hour of Jesus' return.
Christmas this year falls on a Friday, but that final Christmas might fall on any day. There will be no exchange of gifts on that great day; only an exchange of lives. Be ready and remain faithful; Jesus is coming soon!
Merry Christmas!
Bucky
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