Tweeting Christmas
Luke 2:5 Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him.
I’m trying to imagine, if Mary and Joseph had had a smartphone as they were on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem – if they’d been on Twitter, let’s say, what would they have been tweeting?
Have you ever wondered that? Probably not. Well I have. And perhaps it would have gone something like this:
Joseph’s tweet: It’s such a long way @Mary is so uncomfortable. Please pray with me that she’s going to make it. #faith
Mary’s tweet: @Joseph is so good – but I just want this to end. #AreWeThereYet?
When you think about it, much of our understanding of Christmas comes from pantomimes and Christmas carols. Most of us when we were growing up, every year, there was a Christmas pantomime at school or at church or both, and whether you believe in Christmas or not, pretty much all of us know the words to “Silent Night”, “The First Noel” and “Away in a Manger”.
Now don’t get me wrong, the carols are great and the whole Christmas pantomime thing is … well, nice. But the reality of that first Christmas … well, that’s quite another thing.
It was difficult. It was uncomfortable. It was uncertain. The internet was down so they couldn’t make their accommodation booking online. And in any case, AirBNB hadn’t landed in Israel yet.
Joseph: There are so many people. What if we can’t find a room? Does anybody know someone with a #SpareRoom in #Bethlehem?
On top of that, Mary was pregnant out of wedlock. What a huge scandal back in those days. People looking at them sideways, whispering. The rumour mill pumping at full steam. How would that have made them feel, do you think?
Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. (She was now pregnant.) (Luke 2:5)
And imagine the long, uncomfortable journey when Mary was almost full term, from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Yeah – that first Christmas was so different to the picture we get from the pantomimes and carols. Go figure!
And yet, that’s what God chose for His Son to enter into this world. Contrary to what our success-oriented world wants us to believe, God’s ways aren’t our ways. His thoughts aren’t our thoughts.
Sometimes He chooses a hard road for us, a road that just doesn’t make sense to our success mindset. But Christmas tells a different story.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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