Every aspect of what took place surrounding the birth of Jesus seems to have been designed by God to undercut humanity’s bent toward pride and power. The divinely sent conqueror arrives not in a chariot but a young maiden’s womb. His palace, a stable; his throne, a manger. His first earthly messengers are shepherds, considered unclean and unscrupulous by their neighbors. His herald, a child of barrenness. His presence, a provocation to the powerful. His future, an ignominious death.
If anything is lost in the clutter of the season, it’s this: the humble, and humbling, origins of Christmas. It all begins in Bethlehem, in the backyard of an inn, with a baby born into an unknown family from a town of ill-repute. It’s the way God works. |