Mary went back to her own home after three months of staying with Elizabeth. After that John the Baptist was born to Elizabeth and zechariah bursts into song at the birth of John the Baptist.
Zechariah's song also starts with praise. God has visited and redeemed His people, he sings.
God has sent a mighty saviour from the royal line of His servant David, Zachariah sings. Just as God promised a mighty saviour has been sent. The promise was from holy prophets from long ago. Zechariah sings that he will be saved from his enemies. And from those who hate us. Zechariah sings that God has been merciful to his ancestors by remembering the sacred covenant. The covenant to Abraham is remembered by God zechariah sings. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness as long as we live.
Then Zachariah addresses his son. You my little son, he says will prepare the way for the Lord. John his little son will be called the prophet of the most high. And will prepare the way of the Lord. You will tell people how to find salvation through forgiveness of sins. Because of God's tender mercy the morning light is about to break upon us. To give light to those who sit in darkness and to guide us to the path of peace. This is zechariah's song. John the Baptist grew strong in wisdom but lived in the wilderness until his public ministry.
The second chapter of Luke has a continuation of the Christmas story. It begins with the news of the census by the Roman emperor Augustus. All the Jews were supposed to go to their ancestral land. Joseph went to Bethlehem with Mary. While they were there it became time for Mary to have her baby. Mary gave birth to baby Jesus and wrapped baby Jesus in swaddling clothes because there was no proper lodging available to them. We have grown to think that the inn keepers of Bethlehem said no room to Mary and Joseph. I wondered if it was the same as the kolby koloff song no room. Is there a connection between what the inn keepers said to Mary and Joseph and the kolby koloff song no room.
I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that something that changed the world happened in a stable. Cattle saw baby Jesus first after Joseph and Mary. That stable would have felt like heaven. The most luxurious palace can feel horrible without Jesus and the most humble place can feel like heaven with Jesus. So although Mary and Joseph would have seemingly been put to great difficulty the consolation would have been great in seeing the savior of the world as a baby in the stable.
We are all given a life to live.
In this life always things are thrown at us.
But if we have the great joy of Christmas and the all encompassing peace of Christmas we can navigate anything.
In this ever changing constantly changing world the peace of Christmas gives us stability assurance , rootedness and steadfastness. The great joy of Christmas helps us to increase our talents and lead an abundant life or a life filled with lots of goodness.
There are so many Christmas songs that encapsulate the myriad messages of Christmas. One Christmas song that I liked a lot this year and last year was o little town of Bethlehem. In the song there is the line in above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. But although the sleep of Bethlehem is deep and dreamless the everlasting light shines in the streets and alleys of Bethlehem. The song paints such a charming picture of a quaint little town it's inhabitants going about their lives because the everlasting light shines there.
The other song I have liked this year is angels we have heard on high. I just like the joy in this song. It is as though the song is exhorting us to experience the great joy of the season.
Hark the herald is a worship song where if we sing along we can worship God. It is good to take the time to just worship.
Then another song I liked a lot this year which I did not even start listening more than a few days ago is while shepherds watched their flocks by night. The last line of this song is that goodwill will begin and never cease. It is a simple song which basically just puts to song the words of Luke 2, especially the section where the angels appear to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. It is a simple and straight forward song.
In the gospel of St. Matthew there are two bible verses from the old testament which indicates that the reservations of Christmas started much before Christmas actually happened 2000 years ago.
The first verse in the gospel of St. Matthew from the old testament is that
Look, the virgin shall conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son.
And they will call Him Immanuel
Which means God is with us.
So Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus in the old testament during the time of Isaiah the prophet. The exact manner of the birth of Jesus was all determined during the old testament times. The name of Jesus Immanuel was also determined before hand. The meaning of the name Immanuel is God is with us. Jesus is so very divine yet He is pleased to dwell with us. St. Joseph is asked by the angel to be the earthly father of Jesus.
The other bible verse is about the place where Christ was to be born. Even the place of Christ's birth is determined in the Old Testament. In the book of Micah is contained the verse that tells us about the birth place of Christ.
And you O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah.
For a ruler will come from you
Who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.
This bible verse was told to Herod by the leading priests and teachers of religious law when he asked them where is the Messiah supposed to be born.
In Bethlehem in Judea they said to Herod and proceeded to tell him the entire verse from the old testament book of Micah.
The question about the birthplace of Jesus arose in Herod's mind because the three kings arrived in Jerusalem asking where is the newborn king of the Jews? They also said we saw His star as it rose and we have come to worship him.
King Herod was deeply disturbed by the words of the three kings as were the other citizens of Jerusalem. King Herod probably saw baby Jesus as a threat because he thought baby Jesus came to take away his power.
But why were the people of Jerusalem perturbed by baby Jesus being born. Are not the people of Jerusalem ordinary Jews going about their lives. Why does it say in the gospel of St Matthew that the people of Jerusalem were also disturbed to know that three people from eastern lands had come looking for the newborn king of the Jews.
Herod's response was to call the leading priests and religious leaders and ask them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.
When the leading priests and religious leaders told Herod that Bethlehem was the place baby Jesus was born Herod requested a meeting with the wise men. He asked them at what time did the star appear to them when they were in the East. Then he told them to go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. He asked them to come back to Jerusalem to tell him where baby Jesus was born so he too could go and worship the Christ child.
Why did Herod ask the wise men about the time the star appeared in the east?
More importantly why did the three wise men reach Jerusalem and ask where is the new born king of the Jews. We saw his star as it rose and we have come to worship Him.
Did they ask because the star was no longer visible to them? Or did they ask because they stopped focusing on the star? It is not likely that the star would actually disappear. Why would the star disappear and then promptly appear after the interview with Herod.
In any case after the interview with Herod the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. The star went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
Scattered throughout the old testament sky like stars shining in a vast firmament are words whose meanings are not fully clear. Words that paint a picture draw an image about a virgin being with child; of a little town from where a great ruler will come; of a child being born to us; the very name of the child is to mean that God is with us. These words are contained in different books they unexpectedly make us think. They are not all organized in a way that is coherent to ordinary humans. The words themselves are lit up. In the tumultuous story of the Jewish people which forms a large part of the old testament these few words that resonate with Christmas words that echo and whisper and faintly draw
images of the Christmas before Christmas happened. When Christmas actually happened 2000 years ago it was the confluence of threads of many stories. Story of Mary the story of Joseph. The story of Bethlehem. The story of the Roman emperor Augustus who made the decree of census. The story of the travellers streaming into Bethlehem causing there to be no room in the inn. The story of the stable. The person who would have constructed the stable. The story of the simple cattle in the stable. The story of the three wise men. The story of their journey. The story of the camel's they travelled on. The story of Herod whom the three wise met on the way. The story of the leaders of the religious law who examined the scripture to find out where the Messiah would be born. The story of the shepherds who were watching their flock in the night in the fields. The story of them going into Bethlehem town and seeing baby Jesus. All these strands came together on Christmas when the son of God was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Christmas means peace. Christmas means great joy.
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