Strangers

 

Chapter 29 Strangers

From Other Little Ships

"So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:13-15

We really don't know anything about the holy family's sojourn in Egypt. They probably lived there less than a year.

Joseph and Mary had probably never been to Egypt. People were not as transient then as we are today. They'd probably never been to Bethlehem. Probably never out of Nazareth except to attend festival at Jerusalem.

"Out of Egypt have I called my son." Hosea's 400 year old prophecy. Well, now he's "in" Egypt. And Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are strangers in a strange land. We don't know how difficult and trying this was for the young couple.

Long, long ago, at the beginning of this story, Abraham was called upon to be the first of a new family. Called to be a stranger in a strange land.

No one has ever been more out of place and alien to this world and out of this world in the world --- than Jesus. Being connected to Him, at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the story brings strangeness. Peculiarity. Uniqueness.

When the Bible calls Him the "only begotten" it is translating a term that more precisely means "one of a kind."

The call of God into the plan of God is a call to Christ. A call to Christlikeness. The closer you get to Him the more out of place you will feel in this place.

You will feel uneasy, uncomfortable, unsettled. Something's not quite right.

You won't fit in, you won't speak the language, and everything from your dress to your point of view will be foreign.

The good Squire is right on target when he describes it as being homesick for a place you've never been before.

Well, Jesus had been there before. Imagine how strange he felt.

But he is home now. And He's waiting for us.

I can hardly wait!

Egypt

 

Chapter 27 Egypt

From Other Little Ships

"When the Wise Men had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:13-15

From the shock, recoil, embarrassment, and adjustment of an unexpected pregnancy to the elation and jubilation of birth, shepherds, stars, Wise Men and splendid gifts. Now fleeing a psychotic mass murderer.

Let's admire this young couple just a little bit more. And let's wonder at God.

God was obviously willing to go to any lengths, to do anything necessary, to save us. And obviously there is a great cost to those whom God calls upon to be instruments of His great salvation.

Let's remind ourselves that this story was carefully planned in eternity past. God's not just spinning material out of whole cloth. Matthew actually quotes from the prophet Hosea (Hosea 11:1) in this confidence. Four hundred years before Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were born God knew that this trip to Egypt would be an absolutely essential part of His master plan.

Joseph, leading a donkey into the night . . . . again.

We sing about a crowded city, no room in the inn, and birth in a stable. We don’t sing about trouping in the dark to a foreign land where they don't speak the language, they don't know anyone, they had no contacts, no references, and no idea what was in store.

I wonder if Joseph knew about that verse in Hosea.

Joseph, that baby you're helping God protect is farther away from home than you are. He's more "out of place." But you're saving Him so that He can save you. And me.

Thanks. And you too, Mary.

And God . . . . where do you want ME to take Jesus?

Ponderings

 

Chapter 25 Ponderings

From Other Little Ships

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

What have you done during the holidays?

Where did you go? What did you see?

Sights. Sounds. Smells. Tastes.

Experiences. Things to treasure and things to ponder.

No doubt you've been assailed or even almost overwhelmed. But you can't hold a candle to Mary.

She had enough to reflect upon, sort, collate, mull and consider for a lifetime. An eternity. Head spinning, heart full. Overflowing.

Do we think that we understand what happened in that manger in Bethlehem? We have a more complete revelation than Mary.

We are greater theologians. We have commentaries, dictionaries, lexicons, and encyclopedias. We live in the modern era of technological and mechanical miracles but I don't think we comprehend the first Christmas any more than Mary.

We live in an age when there are numerous religions and belief systems that have no difficulty imagining man becoming a god . . . . but find it beyond belief that GOD could become a man. That God WOULD become a man. That God DID become a man.

Ponder that.

But don't make a mistake . . . whatever you conclude must be the basis for decision. Conviction. Not mere philosophy or religion. The manger was preliminary to the cross.

Mary wasn't just treasuring memories for her scrapbook. This wasn't just a singular Kodak moment. What she had witnessed was not an amazing end to be contemplated but a divine means inaugurated.

She was just beginning the process of making up her mind about whom she held in her arms. And if He was really whom she thought . . . it would change the rest of her life more than it already had the first.

MORE THAN IT ALREADY HAD!

Ponder that.

The Unused Gift

 

Chapter 23 The Unused Gift

From Other Little Ships

Did you get that ugly tie? That cheap perfume? Did that chain turn your neck green?

Unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted Christmas gifts. Too big. Too small. The wrong color. The wrong . . .

Take them back or just stash them away in the unused gift graveyard? Is it really the thought that counts? Yes.

You and I, in our personal idiosyncrasies and eccentricities may deem the offering inappropriate or undesirable, but let's never be so crass as to miss the point, the blessing, the thought.

And by the way . . . what in world was that last Wise Man thinking? What has HIS thought? He brought MYRRH to give to a newborn baby!

Embalming spice. Burial spice. Grave cloth perfume. Mary's thinkin', "I hope he kept the receipt!"

But she smiles, nods her head in polite acceptance. A look of bemused appreciation crosses her face.

After the Magicians leave she rewraps the gift. (Joseph is giddily recounting the gold -- more money than he's ever seen in his life!). She stows it away with a concluding comment of, "Can you imagine?"

Time passes. Over thirty years later this same Mother is traveling to Jerusalem. A deep foreboding Spirit leads her to dig out that ludicrous, morose, unused Christmas gift and pack it along with her trip necessities.

Arrival. Crisis. Tragedy. Brokenness. Weeping. A mother's greatest nightmare.

And then it's nearing dawn on the saddest Sunday of her life. She has unpacked the jar. She's waiting to be joined by other grieving, faithful women. Mourners.

She sighs deeply as she hears a gentle, hesitant rap at the door. She blows out the candle. The dim first light guides her hand as she reaches for the haunting burden she has saved all of His life. Received in a happier time. Kept for this very day. Given for this very reason.

Many, many times over the years she has secretly prayed a mother's prayer that she would never use this unusual gift.

She never did.

Gifts

 

Chapter 22 Gifts

From Other Little Ships

"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh." Matthew 2:11

The first Christmas gifts. Do we give gifts at this holiday because God gave or because the Wise Men gave?

These gifts were well chosen and no doubt represented not only careful Christmas shopping but also the providential hand of God.

Gold was a gift for a King. It bespeaks the infant's royalty. A conviction to which these Magi had already testified --- before the insane King of the Jews, Herod, himself!

But this gift was not only symbol. It was also substance. This young family was about to have to flee for its life to Egypt. This gold would allow them the luxury of flight into foreign territory without fear of destitution. It would soon come in very handy.

The second gift was very powerful and was used in its entirety immediately. The incense was broken open and burned as a scented offering in fragrant worship before a small baby who was God incarnate. This was the custom of most eastern religions and I'm sure that this humble stable never smelled better.

I can see Mary's face as she receives or opens the last gift. Myrrh.

The word "myrrh" means "to crush" or "grind" and may first refer to the method by which this pungent, aromatic spice is produced or symbolically to the occasion for which it was most commonly used.

It was a very costly spice that was used in the preparation of a dead body for burial. It's like giving embalming fluid or a cemetery plot as a birthday or Christmas gift.

Do you see Mary's face? What a strange and ominous gift. What were the Magi saying about this new life and its purpose?

This awesome life was also very costly and precious. But it would render it's greatest aroma when it was crushed and offered on Calvary's hill.