A Story of Love
The birth narratives of Jesus are included in two of the canonical Gospels—Matthew and Luke. Matthew tells the story of the magi—the wise men, while Luke tells the story of the shepherds. In most nativity sets, the magi seem to occupy the center of the stage as characters who are distinguished by their opulent flowing robes and impressive gifts, while the shepherds are represented by a single character or, maybe two characters. There are often several animals included, but the angels are sometimes omitted or overlooked. The crèche (defined as the model or tableau detecting the scene of Jesus’ birth) communicates far more than is obvious open first glance.
The typical scene of Christmas is one that introduces the world to the chaos of preparation and the relief of arrival. The story centers not only upon the arrival of Jesus, but also the details of the challenges that have confronted Mary and Joseph, but the words and actions of others who have been and will be involved in His life. The degree of Caesar Augustus that everyone should be registered (Luke 2:1) was not a simple exercise in numerology, people were to be counted for the purpose of taxation, fees were to be exacted from the people in conquered lands for the benefit of the emperor. The demands of Augustus presented logistical and financial obstacles, traveling with a pregnant woman is not without its challenges.
Matthew details the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Jacob (the father of Joseph) and notes that there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen generations from the exile to the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17). Forty-two generations are detailed in the first 2/3 of a single chapter of the book of Matthew. As families gather for the holidays, it is a reunion of the family; an acknowledgment of the generations and the journeys. There are familiar stories of relationships, gifts that have been exchanged, gifts that were desired and challenges that were overcome. Stories of signs, stories of hopes and stories of frustrations.
At the center of each of these stories is the revelation of the power and perseverance of redeeming love. Real love “hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things…” love never fails (1 Corinthians 13). As you exchange gifts, celebrate the arrival of friends and family, both those who bring impressive gifts and those whose greatest gift is their presence and their proclamations, and as recall the genealogy of many generations, incorporate the story of faith as often as popsicle into each recollection. The love that we feel for each other is easily eclipsed by the love that God has for each of us. Most importantly, the love that God shares with each of us is to be shared with all of us. When asked ‘what is greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Stories of love appear to be almost everywhere during this time of the year. Most of the stories that we seem to prefer are those in which love wins. The most moving stories are those in which love endures; when we remember that love “does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs,” (1 Corinthians 13:5). The birth of Christ is only the beginning of the lesson of love for each of us. At Christmas, we are reminded of the ways we are to love from the stories of the shepherds, the magi, the angels, Mary, Joseph and many, many more.
We are praying that your Christmas will abound with the Love of God throughout the day, the season and the rest of our lives.
In Christ,
Jon McCoy
