I
got a special "Christmas Surprise" just a couple days before Christmas
this year - month-long renovations in my office were just wrapping up,
when water pipes in the ceiling burst, drenching the freshly laid
carpet, the ceiling, my co-workers, and much of our
communications equipment. Months of planning, thousands of dollars of
equipment and weeks of work - all washed away in seconds by a massive
burst of water from "on high".
As
we poured water out of printers, dried off networking gear, ripped up
sodden carpet, and pulled down soggy ceiling tiles, it occurred to me
that a guy named Joe experienced a somewhat similar Christmas surprise a
couple thousand years ago. In case you don't know this particular
story, Joe was a carpenter, plying his trade in Nazareth. He was
engaged - to a lovely young lady named Mary. I'm sure he and his family
had spent months of planning, and thousands of shekels (?) for his
upcoming marriage. Dates were planned, the reception hall booked, the
caterers hired (OK, permit me a bit of creative license here, OK?) When
all of the sudden... unexpectedly... from on high, he got a rather shocking message.
In Joe's case, it wasn't a gush of water, but rather, a heavenly visit
from on high. His fiance... pregnant! The baby? A Messiah! Talk
about a dramatic change of plans! The news must have hit him... well, a
little like a burst of highly pressurized water from a fire sprinkler
main.
It
can be a little hard to feel the Christmas spirit while ripping your
newly renovated office apart. No doubt Joseph found it hard to stay the
course when angelic messengers dropped a messianic bombshell his lap.
But that's the wonder of Christmas. In the midst of the chaos of
Bethlehem at census time; ensconced in the squalor of a stable; sought
after by shepherds and wise men from far away, the Prince of Peace was born.
May
you and your families experience the peace of Christmas this season -
whatever your circumstances, and wherever you happen to be calling home
this year.
