BIBLE 101: IN A MESS

Bible 101

Joseph went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the

time came for her

to deliver her child.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and

laid him in a manger, because there was

no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:5-7

IN A MESS

by Pastor Emeritus Peter Geisendorfer-Lindgren (peter@lordoflife.org)

Do you ever wonder what it was really like on that first Christmas? Karen and I often get Christmas cards that have a picture of the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the livestock, all beautifully positioned in the stable in Bethlehem. Those pictures appear so perfect. It looks like Mary just had a makeover at Simonson’s and the shepherds are wearing new robes from Nordstrom. Even the cows seem to be smiling. It is a lovely picture. But I wonder.

I wonder because I’ve been in a lot of barns and a barn is a messy place, and I don’t think Mr. Clean™ scoured the stable before the holy family’s arrival. And remember that the nine-month pregnant Mary just rode on a donkey for 70 miles from Nazareth and then gave birth to a baby, in that barn, without an epidural. It was a messy place. Jesus is the king of the universe, and yet he enters human history wrapped in obscurity and poverty and humility. Why?? Because God wants to make this point crystal clear: that there is no place he won’t go, no thing he won’t do, no depths he will not descend, in order to bring his power and love and grace and peace and goodness to anybody who will have him. Anybody. Anywhere. This will be a sign to you about this Jesus. You will see God in life’s messy places. Which is fortunate because we are messy people, even when we pretend like we aren’t. Karen and I also get many of your Christmas cards with the beautiful family picture and the letter bragging about your perfect children. I want to shout, “I know your children, who are you kidding?” Loveable, yes. Perfect, not so much. Those cards are as inaccurate as the air-brushed pictures of the manger.

The fact is our lives get messed up, too. We don’t get into college. Or we never find a job that we really like. Or the marriage ends disastrously. Or we struggle with infertility. Or there is a cancer diagnosis. Or we are never going to be able to retire because we can’t afford it. Life gets messy. The message of Christmas is that the mess of your life doesn’t scare God at all. Because Jesus started his life in a mess, in a barn, and ended his life in a mess nailed to a cross. And in between the first day and the last day, he mostly just hung out with some pretty messed up people. God is not afraid of our mess. In fact, God wants to come into our messy lives. Because there is no place he won’t go, no thing he won’t do, in order to bring his power and love and grace and peace and goodness to anybody who will have him. Including us.