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Christmas for the Broken
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Every year at Christmas we put out our Hummel nativity. We collected the pieces over years, and they are prized possessions, which we proudly display. Mary and Joseph gaze serenely at baby Jesus and the shepherds, wise men, angels, and animals, gaze in worshipful adoration. It is a perfect and peaceful scene that always gets me in the Christmas mood. But it’s not real.
The real Christmas story was much more chaotic and scary. Jesus was born into a land occupied by the Romans. They ruled with force and brutality and the corrupt and evil King Herod would stop at nothing to hold onto his power, including murdering babies. From the time of the Prophet Malachi until John the Baptist, God was silent for 400 years. During this time, the Holy of Holies of the Temple had been desecrated on several occasions through invasions.
Into this scene, an angel appears to a scared young virgin named Mary and tells her that she will have a son. Her pregnancy will no doubt cause waves and could result in her stoning. When her fiancé learns that she is pregnant, rather than causing a public uproar, he decides to leave her quietly. An angel also appears to him and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. No doubt, his decision to keep Mary as his wife will result in humiliation for Joseph.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Mary and Joseph must travel on a grueling journey to Joseph’s ancestral home of Bethlehem for a Roman census. I can’t imagine what Joseph must have felt bringing his pregnant wife on an overland journey late in her pregnancy. When they finally reach Bethlehem, they can’t find accommodation and must lodge with animals. Mary gives birth in a humble stable. God wrapped in flesh makes his grand appearance in a barn sleeping in an animal feeder. Then the young scared parents are forced to flee Herod’s soldiers who were killing baby boys, and live as refugees in Egypt. In Matthew Chapter 1, the genealogy of Jesus includes Jacob the deceiver, Rahab the prostitute, Ruth the widow and refugee, and David the adulterer and murderer. Jesus was born into a family line filled with broken people.
This is not a perfect or peaceful scene. These are not winning facts. If I had to bet, I would bet against the success of that young family and that new baby.
Think about it. At Christmas time, we wish each other “Peace on Earth,” but God sent his son into a world that was anything but peaceful. We sing “Joy to the World,” but for most, there was nothing to be joyful about. On that first Christmas, God sent his son as a gift for all humanity and he chose the most outrageous, chaotic, unpeaceful scene imaginable as the setting. Christmas has become so common to us that we forget just how radical and outrageous the birth of Jesus really was. There is only one word for the world into which Jesus was born – broken.
Recently I was having coffee at the office, and set my mug too close to the edge of the desk. It slid off and shattered on the floor. Sarah made the mug for me two years ago. It had pictures of all three of our kids in their Halloween costumes. Every morning, I drank my coffee from that mug. Every morning, I would pause and look at the face of each of my three children and smile. Then, after Henry died, I continued drinking my coffee from that mug every morning. Before I would start my day, I would look at that chubby little face in his Superman costume on his first and only Halloween, and think about how special he was to me. I would kiss his face and say a prayer. The mug felt like a talisman connecting my old self with my new broken self. Then, a few weeks ago, the mug broke. It landed with Henry’s broken face looking up at me from the floor. It seemed to perfectly encapsulate how I feel most of the time – broken.
What does Christmas say to people who are broken? It says that God is the Lord of the broken. It says that the Christ child was sent for the broken. He is for the sick and the downtrodden. He is for those crushed under the heavy burdens of sin, failure, and shame. He is for those who have suffered loss. He is for the oppressed and the oppressor. His birth, life, and death, show us that God can make something beautiful from the most unlikely and broken of circumstances. Have faith. Christmas is for the broken.
Josh, you have a gift for sharing truth. Thank you! Prayers for you and your precious family. ❤️🙏🏼
Thank you for your encouraging and inspirational words. They help with keeping our perspective that God’s Love is amazing.
This post is so beautiful, Josh. I sure needed to hear this. It really touched my heart and ministered me. Thank you 🙏🏻
What a beautiful message to read this morning. The pain and loss your family has gone through is unimaginable. You have such a beautiful gift in expressing such beautiful messages of faith, hope and love. Thank you for sharing this beautiful message.
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