{"id":8275,"date":"2005-12-22T00:58:38","date_gmt":"2005-12-22T05:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8275"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:29:10","slug":"4655","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2005\/12\/22\/4655\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent: Pretty Cards Don’t Portray Real Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOLINE, IL (December 22, 2005)\u00a0 – Editor’s note: In preparation for the\u00a0 Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing devotionals\u00a0 that originally appeared in local Covenant church newsletters and are\u00a0 being published here by permission. The following comes from Randall\u00a0 Surey of First Covenant Church in Moline.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Randall Surey<\/p>\n
One of the things we often fail to understand is that the original\u00a0 Christmas was an overwhelming event for those who experienced it. Our\u00a0 Christmas cards tend to be picturesque scenes that do not reflect the\u00a0 difficulty and hardship of the event. And in our rush to celebrate each\u00a0 year, we fail to consider how traumatic it was for those involved.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary had to be a very heavy\u00a0 burden for a girl who was most likely in her middle teens. How in the\u00a0 world do you explain such a thing to your parents and friends and\u00a0 especially to your fianc\u00e9? We know that Joseph had his struggles with\u00a0 the whole thing because Matthew tells us of his plans and of his\u00a0 encounter with the angel of the Lord that changed his plans. We also\u00a0 know that Mary was sent to spend some time with a relative, Elizabeth,\u00a0 perhaps to get her out of the public eye for a while.<\/p>\n
Then there was the whole census problem. It required Joseph to travel to\u00a0 Nazareth to register, and Mary went with him on the 90-plus-mile trip.\u00a0 We have no idea if she was required to go, but it might have been best\u00a0 to get her away from Nazareth.<\/p>\n
Our Christmas cards also tend to show Mary riding on a donkey, but it is\u00a0 most likely that they both walked the entire distance since they\u00a0 probably could not afford a donkey. Nine months pregnant and walking 90\u00a0 miles in difficult weather. Then you have the difficulty of finding a\u00a0 place to stay and ending up having Jesus born in a stable. Again, no\u00a0 matter how picturesque our Christmas cards make it, it was still a\u00a0 smelly old stable. Add into the mix the visit by the shepherds and the\u00a0 wise men, Herod’s attempt to kill the child and the exile journey into\u00a0 Egypt, and you have a sequence of events that would challenge the faith\u00a0 of even the strongest person.<\/p>\n
Yet that was why God did it that way. One of the names for the Messiah\u00a0 was to be Emmanuel, which means God with us. Mary and Joseph could never\u00a0 have made their way through such a sequence of events unless God was\u00a0 leading them step by step and preparing the way before them. Another\u00a0 name was to be Prince of Peace. The only way that Mary and Joseph could\u00a0 have made their way through the “mess” they found themselves in is if\u00a0 God gave to them a sense of peace that they were doing what God called\u00a0 them to do.<\/p>\n
And finally, the Messiah was to be known as Almighty God. If you\u00a0 consider all that had to happen, all the preparations that needed to be\u00a0 made, all the pieces that had to fall into place, it took the Almighty\u00a0 God to pull it all off. Christmas is a celebration of God’s love,\u00a0 provision and might. It is a reminder that the same love, provision and\u00a0 might is available to us in the midst of our storm-filled lives. What\u00a0 more can we say but Hallelujah! What a Savior!<\/p>\n
(Editor’s note: to read earlier Advent messages, please see:<\/strong><\/div>\n

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