Beech Tree News Network

The fourth and final Sunday of the Advent season takes us to one of the defining moments of Christianity - its beginning with the birth of Jesus.  Meditate for a moment on his words in the passage below.  

Matthew 1: 18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,

but before they lived together,

she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,

yet unwilling to expose her to shame,

decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

"Joseph, son of David,

do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

For it is through the Holy Spirit

that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means "God is with us."

When Joseph awoke,

he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him

and took his wife into his home.

Matthew’s version contains the basics - an appearance of an angel, the power of the Holy Spirit, the virgin birth, and the birth of Christ. Without a doubt, these are miraculous events.  And, so is Christmas. And, so is Christianity. In a modern world steeped in all things reason and logic (not necessarily a bad thing), it is this miraculous component of Jesus that seems to be lost sometimes.  Or, if not lost, perhaps downplayed or minimized to just words on a page. Yeah, we see them, read them, but do we really understand and actually internalize their meaning? Now, that’s a different story.  

“The virgin birth makes for an interesting story, legend or tradition, but it didn’t really happen like that...did it?”

“Angels (spirits, demons, etc) can definitely spice things up a bit and are good for Hollywood but we all know they are make-believe, right?”

“This ‘Holy Spirit’ being actually responsible for the conception of  ‘God’ - surely this is a little over the top? After all, no reason or logic to be found there.”  

My intent is not to get into a debate about literal/metaphorical interpretations of scripture.  Even a casual reading will indicate both are in play throughout the Bible. However, we should all be cautious about those critics of Christianity who seek first to minimize those very supernatural elements that are at the heart of our faith in Jesus.  This line of critique seems innocent at first but its effect is foundational. If the unexplained, supernatural events are removed from the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesue, then you’re left with simply a person, a teacher - not a Messiah, a Savior, and certainly not the Son of God. 

But, our faith leads us in another direction: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Merry Christmas!

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