In the footsteps of Mary and Joseph

It seems a simple story of an obvious choice but is it? Was it a no brainer for Mary to say, "I am the Lords servant," in response to the news that she was to be the birth mother of the Savior? Was it a no brainer that Joseph would act in the seemingly obvious manner as to take Mary as his wife even though what was conceived in her was not of him?

We can read the stories flat having heard them a number of times as if the characters were fictional. They weren't though. Have you ever watched a movie and then at the end the slogan"Based on a true story" rolls across the screen. Do you remember how that one line moves you deeply as you realize that what you just heard really happened. It changes everything.

Hear these words and allow them to settles deep in your heart, "A true story."

Mary and Joseph's responses were not obvious. As a matter of fact, if we were completely honest we might not choose to respond as they did. Here is the realization if we allow ourselves a moment of vulnerability. What is obvious on the back side looking back is never obvious in the moment.

Mary was between 13 and 15 years old. She was betrothed to a wonderful man, every woman's dream. That dream was at jeopardy. Weddings were a week long celebration in Jewish tradition. They were a lot bigger deal then we make them here in America and we make them a pretty big deal. Mary's future would be completely altered from what she had been imagining as every girl at a young age. Mary did have a choice.

Joseph was a "righteous man" that in the Jewish community had a "title", just as someone would be given of pride like, "merit of honor recipient." That place of honor was on the line. He had every right by Jewish law and tradition to separate from her publicly, but because of his love and respect for Mary had in mind to divorce her quietly. His rights to the marriage bed, something a man dreams of since a boy, he would have to surrender for the first 10 months of their union per command of the angel. Obvious choice?

What I have realized is that for most of us, myself included, what seems an obvious choice in the moment of decision making, never is. What allowed Mary and Joseph to respond as they did was the very reason God had chosen them to be the parents of Jesus. They had the hearts of a servant. There were different words for servant they used. The one Mary chose in response above was "slave." It is a whole other level of serving when one surrenders every right of their own to that of another.

What I have also noticed is that what we call servant often isn't what Mary and Joseph considered servant. We tend to be servant hearted in a worship service when the pastor is speaking about servanthood. "I'll go on that missions trip." Then when we get home and all the circumstances of our life present themselves, our passion to serve is diminished.

Following in the footsteps of Mary and Joseph is a surrender of all our own rights despite the circumstances. I have watched as people serve in worship or children's ministry, or other areas of the church because it was fun for them and rewarding at that time. That motivation to serve will always be tested. When it is the resolve of our heart is always revealed.

Another way it is tested is in our own moments of crisis or extreme joy. I have been to hospitals to visit those sick who no one else has visited. I have also been in peoples homes in what should have been times of great joy to see no one else standing there but myself. The hard reality is that your investment into others is evidenced by the clouds of witnesses or lack of.

Look at the clouds of witnesses around Mary and Joseph now. Icons of the Christmas story because of their investment into God's vision and his mission to a world despite the circumstances. Living the Christmas story really is about investment. Who's lives are you investing in?

God Hung a Star (Part 2)

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2: 1-2

I wonder if my move toward Jesus is not a move toward dependence but toward independence. Could this be exactly what happened to the followers of God in the long period of time between the last prophetic word to the birth of Jesus?

The scripture tells of the story of the Magi coming from the east. When Herod heard the reports of a King of the Jews being born in Bethlehem he was "disturbed". But he wasn't the only one. No, "all of Jerusalem" with him was disturbed too. Wouldn't you think that the response of Jerusalem to the coming Messiah would be one of great joy? But that was not the case. Instead they were disturbed.

What caused this response in God's people? What if it was a contentment to live just a sliver of life. They had gotten there before. When in captivity for multiple generations under the rule of the Egyptians the Israelites, God's people, learned a life that really had little to no hope, peace, or destiny. They settled for a smaller existence.

What if in our lives we sometimes do the same? It's as if I need God only enough to get to a point where I feel that I don't need him anymore. This is also what the world see's us as Christians doing and even the Gospel we might preach. Get Jesus so you can get you life together. What if it was because we cease to live out of a dependent relationship with Jesus when we're not hurting. Do we really realize what good times are for? Are they for enjoyment and basking in the wonders of what God is doing in our lives. Yes. But is that only what they are for? No. They are for an increase of dependency so that you can be a vessel of hope to others. It actually requires an increased dependency on Christ to be Christ to others. When your hurting you turn the complete focus to yourself. The best thing is that God's majesty allows it as he ministers to our needs. But the purpose of our healing and wholeness is to be that same vessel of grace to others.

The trap is to never turn those moments of self-focus back to others. When we don't, we live in a perpetual cycle of me. When life becomes only about me I don't experience real life. I only experience a sliver of it. What God is always doing in our lives is hanging stars. He hangs them as a sign of life that allows us in both the good times and bad times to become increasingly dependent on him for life. Dependency then is life. Life to us and then life from us.

Let's live the Christmas story. Dependency that gives and brings life.

God Hung a Star (Part 1)

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2: 1-1

God doesn't leave us with no means for faith. He always hangs a star!

Have you ever been in a place where you felt so far from God. Seemed like forever since you last really "tasted and seen that God is good." We can feel that way when our lives circumstance seem to turn for the worst. Our sin can often place us in that same place of distance from God's presence. I remember being in college and feeling this deeply. I was studying for ministry but having no sense of God in my life. It rose to the level of desperation only to be met by disappointment when is seemed like God had abandoned me.

The Magi were from the far east. They were not close to Jerusalem. They were distant from it, yet God hung a star. To the Magi it would have been the perfect way to get their attention. They were stargazers and thus were always looking to the starts. But, they were not Jews. They were not of God's chosen people, yet he hung a star for them to see.

The truth is that God is always hanging stars to announce his presence. When we are literally far away as the Magi were or our hearts are, he hangs stars. It is knowing where to look for them that becomes key. The Magi were always looking up. Are we. In that season of life in college I realized I had been looking down not up. Looking down is focused only on the next step and fretting if there will be solid ground when you place your next foot forward. It is a real place to be. There are seasons of life that come to us all that feels like were walking a tight rope with danger lurking on both sides. Desperate to not fall our eyes stay locked on the rope of our circumstances praying for some sort of balance that allows us to take the next step.

What is most impressive to me is not the tightrope walkers but the tight rope walkers who do it blindfold. Now that is daring. So is faith. It is super daring. An ability to walk the tightrope of life with our eyes not down but instead up to the stars. It is the scripture that says, "Since we live by the spirit let us keep in step with the spirit." Faith is trusting the spirit to the stepping with a focus on the stars.

Here is the promise of God. If you trust your stepping to the Spirit and look up, he will always have hung a star as evidence of his presence. God doesn't leave us with no means for faith. He always hangs a star!