Last week we looked at the broader picture of Jesus' birth in time. We saw how God had promised and planned for Jesus to come. When things were bad and it seemed evil was prevailing - God would tell the people to hang in, to trust, and salvation would come. Often signs were given: some immediate, to say this was a true prophecy; others for the future, so people would know when the prophecy was fulfilled. God worked through time to prepare people to receive this unconventional messiah.
This week we looked at the broader picture at the time of Jesus' birth - and discovered that, though Jesus was perfect, there was nothing else around that was.
The interesting thing is that we started with Galatians 3:26 - 4:7 - not your usual Advent passage. It tells us that, in Christ, we are all children of God. This is why he came. To break down barriers and allow everyone to come to God. As one writer put it - to bring the end to religion - and to race and social status. The ideal result of Jesus' coming was a kind of unity and equality never experienced (as far as I know) by humankind. This was not an "anti-racism" campaign, nor a "socialist" agenda - but a true end to all barriers. Yet people keep putting up more barriers - based on race, class, economic status, religion, denomination within the religion - and probably within the denomination and within each congregation. The very antithesis of Jesus' message. It is a little disconcerting how, in a world containg innumerble Christians, we miss part of the very core of Jesus' reason for coming.
As we pondered this central message we turned to Jesus' geneology. Ho-hum? NOT! We often read how Jesus was descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well as King David - making him the best kind of Jew. Another geneology has him descended from a line of priests as well. Sounds pretty awesome. But every family has its problems. In the geneology from Matthew we see good kings but also some of the most evil kings their nation had known We see upstanding, God fearing men, but also adulters, murderers, con men. Even more interesting is the inclusion of women in the geniology - not all that common - and each of the included women has a story that is less than savory. Most are foreigners, many had been married before the union that brought about the birth of Jesus' ancestor - and all had "interesting" relationships. Jesus's family was not perfect - by Jewish standards (with all those foreigners!) but even by most people's standards - with trickery and prostitution and deception and all kinds of evil behind the scenes. Yet from this imperfection comes Jesus. We are not defined by our lineage.
If we broaden our outlook a little we see the political situation. A king needed to tax his people. Not unusual. But this king wanted to make sure he got from EVERY man - so needed to take a census - and God used this secular desire and power to make it so that prophecy was fulfilled. Even though the purpose of the the census wasn't God-centred in any way shape or form - God used it. And God used Herod - also not God centred. Not only did Herod call for the census that brought Joseph & Mary to Bethlehem, he also directed the wisemen who brought expensive gifts and worshipped Jesus, and then, when the magi did not return, began the slaughter of many infant boys. He actually seems quite devious and evil - but again - his making it unsafe for Jesus to be in Nazareth brought true the prophecy that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt. So God can use horrible situations and still bring something good from them. I'm sure Herod would have torn his hair out in frustration if he had known that he was going to help prove Jesus was the messiah by forcing his parents to move - to Bethlehem where he was born, to Egypt where they took refuge, and then finally, by his death, Herod made it possible for them to move home to Nazareth. All these places mentioned in prophecy. God can bring about amazing things even when evil abounds.
To emphasize God's ability to use even evil powers to bring about good, we looked at Psalm 2 and saw God laughing at the nations who were conspiring against Him. It talks about how God can turn their plots against themselves and/or to bring about good. There is hope in the midst of the evil, the darkness, the horribleness of human depravity.
What else was happening back then? John the Baptist was preaching - a Prophet calling from the wilderness for people to look to God. Many mistook him for the Messiah. He was noisier - more charismatic and unusual than anyone people had seen in a long time. He heralded the coming of Christ - but wasn't sure he recognized Jesus as such. He was close to God, living his life spreading the word of God - yet could not see God when Jesus appeared as God incarnate. Understandable as he probably grew up with this younger second cousin - but still interesting. God used this dedicated, well meaning man, even though he was still somewhat blind to what he was doing. God uses imperfect people.
All these passages show that, even if we look back and say it was the perfect time - in many ways by our reckoning it was a very imperfect time. If we look at geneology - Mary and Joseph may not have been the best choice to parent a blue blood prince. If we look at the political situation - it was pretty dangerous. If we look at the main jarbinger of Jesus' coming - even he was imperfect and unsure whether this was actually it. In the midst of all this blundering imperfection, Jesus came, grew up, preached, lived, died and rose again- changing history forever..
God is not asking us for perfection. God is not expecting us to always know the right thing. God can use us even when we make mistakes. The hard part is not getting God's forgiveness - it is there - but forgiving ourselves when we make mistakes, and taking the chance that we might make mistakes. It is hard putting ourselves out there in all our glorious imperfection. Jesus came from an imperfect family, in an imperfect place (a barn?!), in a time when a ruthless, self centred king ruled. Where is the perfection in that? In Jesus, himself. And Jesus, himself, has offered to help us through all the dangerous or otherwise difficult times. To help us, if we are willing, make a difference in spite of our faulty, human selves. I praise God for the timing that helps me see that perfection is, not only pretty much impossible in this world - but also highly overrated and unnecessary. The perfect time for you or I to act may be now. Go for it! Take on the challenge God has for you.
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