Why a Traditional Christmas Part 6

Ever watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Remember a young Chevy Chase with all the craziness that made the movie funny; but that movie also portrayed some reality in life. It dates some of us doesn’t it?
*No perfect Christmas portrayed in that movie.  Sometimes curveballs are thrown at us at the inopportune times.
*I can remember some of ours ending up like that as we traveled around from family to family when we were younger.  Amy and I always desired for that perfect traditional Christmas, but it didn’t always work out. Sometimes it was snow storms, other times it was people.
*How about you? Christmas time is either the best for some, or the worst depending on your experiences.

The scripture text is about a couple getting ready to be a family. Something that both were looking forward to as any couple would. Hopefully I’m not going to burst any bubbles here but all this is not taking place in December. There is a timeline here that many overlook. The actual birth of Jesus was sometime between September and October. We celebrate the birth of Christ in December because of what Emperor Constantine did during his reign. What Matthew is giving us is the condensed version of everything that happened over a period of time?  

Text: Matthew 1:18-25
“18 “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

1. If you think about it the first Christmas had its share of stresses.

Many of our Christmas’s do not go as planned. I’ve watched my wife work so hard to make everything just right for us as we gather together as a family year after year. Then something would happen. Being the woman of God she is she would just send up a prayer and do the best she could. Many years we just had to chalk it up as an opportunity for Christian growth. It was like, Ok God; we can overcome anything satan tries to put in our way. We learned and we grew from hardships or things that others couldn’t or wouldn’t deal with. But we dealt with everything in a way that I believe would please God.

The bible shows us to expect your best laid plans to be interrupted. (vv:18) “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Just a little interruption.

Joseph and Mary were getting ready for a wedding…A wedding in the Hebrew culture was a big thing. Not saying one isn’t today. Amy and I spent about $1000.00 total on our wedding way back in the dark ages. Yep, big spenders! We didn’t have a lot of money and I’m not sure these guys did either.  But there was a whole lot more to a Hebrew wedding then to ours today. Joseph & Mary had been planning this wedding a long time. Then God tells Mary and Joseph that this is much more than a wedding. That they get to be a part of something really big, God’s son coming to save all mankind.

Now The Hebrew marriages had two stages.
(1) Kiddushin (engagement, betrothal): legally the couple was married, but not living together; they have not consummated the relationship. The Kiddushin could last as long as 12 months. This time period tested each one’s fidelity and integrity. In order to break the engagement you had to get divorced. So this was a very big deal. You couldn’t just say "let’s call it off."

(2) Huppah (Marriage ceremony itself would happen after the Kiddushin)
*Joseph was planning on marrying his sweetheart; drawing up house plans, carving their marriage bed...he had BIG PLANS. Sometimes Joseph gets lost in all this. He was like any other man who had dreams of what his family was to look like.
*Mary was planning an elaborate wedding, she was picking out china patterns at Macey’s, and looking for the perfect lingerie for the honeymoon...She had BIG PLANS. She was Dreaming of a life with her new husband. He was a carpenter and that life was going to be different than for others.

*But then everything changes. God comes to both of them separately and tells them His plan for their lives. Mary you are going to bear my son supernaturally and joseph you take care of him.  
*Can you imagine a 15 year old Mary going to her 20 something fiancée and Joseph starts talking about floor plans and wall color...Mary says, "Joe, honey, we need to talk....I’m pregnant." You would have to imagine the look on Joseph’s face. That’s why God comes to him after she has shared this and says it’s ok Joe. This was a big deal. I’ve thought of this; in today’s society what would this couple look like?  One of the Duggar kids?

Short of divorce, death or dismemberment which Joe had every right to do under there custom... Remember that part in 19…“[19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” God knew he would do the right thing. Joseph is a man of character and integrity. That’s why He came to him in the dream and said joseph there is a new plan for your life.
Joseph had to adopt James 4:13-15 “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, and carry on business and make money." [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."

Because Joseph was a righteous man he immediately did what God had asked. No question’s asked he moved on the very word of God. What would you do if all of a sudden God changed your plans?  We can make all the plans in the world:
In 1982, Amy and I were planning a special Christmas until I found out that the ship yard was shutting down and I would lose my job. Plans, we had a ton of them. We were going to spend a lot of money on presents for everyone. Swedish Christmas at her mom and dads. (Swedish meatballs, lutefisk, those awesome little cookies) I worked with Amy’s dad so guess what? He lost his job as well. He was almost 60 years old and unemployed. It was not a fun Christmas. There were No jobs any were to found because there’s a recession going on. We went from making great money to having no money.

We had all these plans, yet, your best laid plans are subject to interruption, but that’s not an entirely bad thing. This was a time that God began to speak into our hearts about ministry. We received the gifts or calling of pastoral ministry. What we thought would be an end to everything, God actually opened up the path to new things for us. He sold our house in a recession. Nothing was selling, interest rates were 18%…but ours did. He began to supply the money for college. He even allowed us to get pregnant. We had tried for 4 years and nothing. Then we receive our calling, head to school, and get pregnant all at the same time. What an incredible future God had planned out for us. What if we had ran from God? What if we took an offense against God? I can’t even imagine the outcome of that. So how about you? How do you react when life interrupts you? When God says I have another plan? Great questions that I hope you will ask yourself. More tomorrow...you are loved!