A Christmas Mess

A Christmas Mess

Mary

Read: Luke 2:1-7

I lugged box after box down our attic stairs that December afternoon. My two youngest children immediately began opening the cartons to look inside. Before leaving the room, I instructed them to look, but not to take anything out yet. I planned to decorate the tree and the house in an orderly, logical manner, one step at a time. When I returned several minutes later, it looked like a fully loaded Christmas tree had exploded all over the carpet. “Just look at this mess!” I scolded. “Yes, but Mommy—isn’t it wonderful?” five-year-old Holly exclaimed. “It’s a Christmas mess!”

Mary knew about a Christmas mess. As her due date drew near, a royal decree forced Joseph and Mary to make a long journey to Bethlehem to register for a census. When they arrived, they weren’t able to find lodging in the crowded town. The Bible says that Mary laid her newborn son in a feeding trough, indicating that she may have given birth in a cave or stable used to shelter animals.

Instead of being surrounded by women relatives to help out, Mary gave birth to her firstborn far from home. Although she longed to give her baby the best, she could welcome him only into a dark and dirty environment. Mary’s normal maternal instincts must have conflicted with anxiety over the chaotic events surrounding the birth, but she clung to the belief that God would work out his plan.

Just because we’re following God doesn’t mean that things will be easy, comfortable, or even tidy. Sometimes our plans disintegrate and events seem to spiral out of control, but God is always in charge. Our role is to concentrate on obeying him and trusting him to work out the problems. God looked at a world in a mess caused by sin and sent the Messiah. When our lives look like a mess, we can remember why Jesus was called Immanuel.

They will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.”

Matthew 1:23