Everyone likes surprises? Some people love to receive gifts at Christmas that are completely unexpected. Others love to share an idea of what they hope for. Some unexpected things can be nice: a call from an old friend, a promotion at work, a good grade on an assignment….
Imagine someone going about their daily routine, working hard to make ends meet, and suddenly, unexpected and life-changing event that can bring immense joy and also new challenges. You see life can throw surprises at us when we least anticipate them, turning our circumstances upside down and requiring us to adapt to a dramatically altered reality.
Luke 2:1-7 shares a single event that dramatically altered reality, as Jesus’ birth takes place.
God chose a woman to bring Jesus into the world. He did not choose a queen. He did not choose the daughter of a rich man. He chose a young girl from a small town. He did not choose flashy, he chose humble. Becoming pregnant with the Savior of the world was a very unexpected thing to happen to Mary. It was especially surprising, being that she was a virgin who was committed to marrying a man named Joseph.
Picking up where this passage starts, Joseph, Mary, and her unborn baby must leave home and travel to the big city for the census count. This was mandatory for the entire Roman world. Today, we can simply mail our census in or fill it out online, but in this time in history you had to show your face in person. There were no ultrasounds, there were no due dates. Even with all of today’s technology and advancements in health care, you never really know when a baby is coming. We can assume that Mary did not plan to have her baby anywhere other than her home, and certainly not in a dusty stable. But God had a different plan.
Imagine being far from home, traveling mostly on foot, being extremely pregnant, and not having a place to stay for the night. The city was filled with all the travelers that had come to report for the census and there was literally no room to stay, even at this inn. There was no vacancy for the young family to occupy. Hard to imagine, but there was physically no space for them. They were out of options.
So, Joseph and Mary were given a manger, which is essentially a sweeter word for barn. Mary gives birth to Jesus and as scripture says, “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”
Jesus came into the world in a lowly and humble way. This was all intentional. Jesus was not born to wealthy parents in a palace like the many kings before Him. We witness the most unexpected arrival of the Savior of the world. God planned this. God connects with humanity in a very vulnerable way. By being born the way He was, where He was, Jesus immediately identifies with the marginalized and the ordinary of the world. It is Christmas when we are reminded that God’s love is not reserved for the elite but is accessible to all people. Jesus arrived in an unexpected way which set the precedent for his entire life.
So when life throws surprises at us when we least anticipate them, lets respond like Mary and Jospeh embracing unexpected moments that bring great joy
