Matt.
2:1-3 Now hafter Jesus was born in iBethlehem of Judea jin the days of
Herod the king, behold, wise men1 from kthe east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born lking of the
Jews? For we saw mhis
star when it rose2
and have come to nworship
him.”
Transitions are a studied part of literature, movies, articles and all forms of communicating. Well crafted by an author they appear at precisely the right spot in the story and lead on to the next part. Two or more authors writing about the same incident or topic may have different points of transition as they present the details of the narrative. In the Bible the inspired writers did just that. So it is in the story of Jesus’ life. Our recent celebration of Christ’s birth took us to the heights of awe and wonder and left us wishing that we could sing more Christmas Carols, enjoy the decorations longer, hold on to the feeling of comfortable peace that is so much a part of that holiday.
But move on we must. There is work to be done, projects to complete before the end of the calendar year, school resumes and there is much cleaning to be done.
Moving on with “the rest of THE STORY” is usually determined by the emphasis that God wanted as he had human authors assume his place in the process of divine revelation. If you read only the Gospel of Luke you will miss out on some very important details about the life of Christ. So also if you read only from the Gospel of Matthew your perspective is again different and limited. The Gospel of John clearly adds another story line and brings out the eternal plan of God and clearly speaks of Jesus’ identity. Mark picks up the story line with the work of Jesus and emphasizes his Gospel ministry and the training of the disciples.
Bound as it were to the Lunar calendar there is little time on a Sunday-to-Sunday basis to get it all in. So we choose to have Mary and Joseph’s actions lead us to the following section of the gospel of Luke:
But nMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.21 And pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:19-21
It would appear that after their presentation of the firstborn to the Lord, the holy family returned to Bethlehem to finish the business of registration for taxation and to allow both baby and mother to gain in strength and grow. Joseph may have even used his carpentry skills to provide a meager existence making an occasional bench or table or yoke. We do not know.
We keep in mind that Jesus, in the perfections of His divine nature there could be no increase. But as Son of Man, in His human nature, His body increased and He grew in all the endowments of a human soul. Christ accommodated Himself as Son of God, to His state of humiliation in human flesh.
As the leading star brought the Magi to the end of their journey, we pick up the story once again. This time the infant is older and already he feels the weight of rejection from a terribly wicked world. A world that was and is badly in need of healing and peace.
We
do well to pause and to focus on the transition from the infancy flight to
human sanctuary, as Joseph was directed to tak
e Mary and her child to Egypt, to
the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. It is especially important because
in a very personal way we are drawn into the narrative as it becomes clear that
the Almighty God intended that his only-begotten Son be the Savior of all
people, including you and me.
In the weeks of Epiphany we want to retain the warmth of God’s love we felt at Christmas and make our way through the cold winter to the promised springtime of Jesus Christ as He fulfills his role of the beloved Savior he had come to be.
Ash Wednesday is February 13th, 2013.
May God be with all of us as we make the journey!
Happy New Year!
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