“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1:14 (The Message)

Devotion:

As I was reading about New Testament history in my seminary studies, a thought from theologian Dr. Ben Witherington permeated my memory and can be summed up this way: like the gospels themselves, the narratives of Jesus' birth are a mixture of the miraculous and the mundane. As I began to dig into the Scriptures, I realized how true this statement really is.  

Mary and Joseph were a young couple forced to participate in an inconvenient governmental process for tax purposes. Have you ever had to do that? It’s highly likely you have if you’ve lived any years in adulthood. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who just loves to spend hours in front of a computer painstakingly preparing those annual tax returns.  

For these two, it wasn’t paying taxes, though. They had to travel to Joseph’s ancestral home to be counted in the census, so they set off on a road trip … not one of those fun ones where you eat Peanut M&M’s, drink Slurpees, and listen to all the Taylor Swift albums. Poor Mary was expecting, about to give birth, and she and Joseph were likely making this trip on foot or on the back of an animal. Sounds miserable, right. I would bet you have a few ridiculous road trip stories to tell as well. Bumper to bumper traffic, breakdowns, toddlers, and less than sanitary gas station bathrooms are just a few of the things that come to my mind.  

To top it all off, when this couple finally arrived in Bethlehem, the place where they planned to stay was already filled with other guests, so they had to settle in the only spot left available … with the livestock. I imagine it would be a little like today’s version of visiting family for the holidays and getting stuck on the blow-up mattress in the basement with the kid cousins because all of the beds and couches were already claimed by other adults. Despite these difficult circumstances, Mary gave birth to a baby boy, which in reality is a pretty common occurrence as well. In fact, about 385,000 babies are born worldwide every day.

Amidst all of these mundane happenings, God chose to execute the masterstroke of a plan he had been miraculously weaving throughout history to reconcile humanity to himself. Its supernatural unveiling is an account filled with power and brilliance that stands in stark contrast to the humble experience of the two young parents. From a virginal conception to a birth announcement from the angel Gabriel, this was no ordinary story. Jesus’ birth initiated a heavenly celebration of singing angels declaring his arrival to a few lowly shepherds watching their flocks that night. A light was put in the sky signaling to high-ranking Gentile scholars the birth of a king, compelling them to make a long journey to see the child and present him with precious gifts. This paradoxical mixture of miraculous and mundane continued as Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God in so many unexpected ways.

As we take time today to celebrate Jesus’ birth and trace the path of his life, death, and resurrection through the Gospels, we’re able to see his one-of-a-kind glory for ourselves, and experience his saving grace in our own lives as well.  

PRAYER

God, you are truly awesome. Your plans are beyond our imagination. We are so thankful for the gift of Jesus and the life you have given us through him. God, help us to see and hear through spiritual eyes and ears fixed solely on you, so we can experience all the extraordinary ways you are working in our normal, everyday lives. Amen.

Jill Poe-Thompson

Pastor of Connections Ministry

Jill Poe-Thompson is Crossings Pastor of Connections at the Edmond location. Jill has the pleasure of building relationships with people who are already a part of the Crossings family, as well as those who are new to the community, helping them to plug into groups, classes, and serving opportunities in order to encourage spiritual growth as people navigate through their Christian journeys.

Resources: 

• Listen to “Away in a Manger” sung by Crossings Venue Worship
• Research the context of each gospel, including author, author's purpose, time frame, audience, and historical setting. Then dive into each gospel reading from a contextual lens. There's so much to discover from this point of view. The mingling of the miraculous and the mundane is evident through the gospels, not just the birth narratives. The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible is a great resource for this kind of reading. 
• Lectio 365 app for daily morning/evening audio devotionals as a way of centering your heart on God each day.
• "Ask NT Wright Anything" podcast  

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