An Unexpected Christmas

A Series on Advent
The hymns of Luke’s birth narrative: Gloria in Excelsis Deo by Angelic chorus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 2:1-21 

[In Luke’s Gospel, there are four songs attributed to different individuals that were involved in the story of Christ’s birth. In this series, we will look at the meaning of those songs, how the person(s) or angels were involved in the birth story and what it means for us today.]

  

Christmas traditions are wonderful! Decorating is a popular tradition. My wife goes all out. She decorates the whole house using every available space.

 

When you enter our home, the first thing you see is a snowman scene. In the living room, a nativity scene adorns the mantel. Across from it, on top of our piano, are myriad angels with lights gracefully wrapped around them. Finally, in front of the French doors, is our Christmas tree with an angel on the top glowing brightly.

 

Normally, Bethlehem was a sleepy little town a few miles outside of Jerusalem. However, because of the census that Caesar Augustus had decreed, it was bustling. This was the town where David was born. Therefore, anyone who was in David’s lineage had to come to Bethlehem for the census, including Joseph and Mary.

 

Despite Mary being nine months pregnant, this teenage couple had traveled 70 miles from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Most likely, they had planned to stay with relatives of Joseph. But because it was so crowded and because Mary was about to have her baby, they stayed in a stable.

 

That same night, in the outlying rugged Judean hills where David had watched his father Jesse’s sheep, were shepherds watching their flocks. Like Mary’s baby, these sheep were unblemished so that they could be used as sacrificial lambs at the temple in Jerusalem for the sins of the people.

 

Suddenly an angel appeared among the shepherds “with the blazing glory of God”. At first the shepherds were terrified, but the angel told them, “Do not be afraid”. Then he gave them this good news.

 

¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.                         NIV

 

The angel told them to look for a sign: “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”. But then something even more remarkable happened!

 

¹³ Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”    GNT

 

This angelic choir filled the heavens and earth with the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, or “Glory to God in the Highest”. Following this, the shepherds decided to go into Bethlehem to see if they could find the child. They did!

 

Christmas traditions are great! They can help to give it meaning. But they can also make it routine so that we don’t expect the unexpected. And everything about Jesus’ birth was unexpected.

 

From the supernatural appearance of angels to the miraculous virgin birth. From the king of the Jews being born in a stable, to the praise of the angelic choir. From angels announcing the birth of the king to lowly shepherds, to a common couple parenting the Son of God. It was an unexpected Christmas.

But this is how God works. His values, his priorities and his kingdom turn our world upside down. For this, we give “Glory to God in the Highest” and he gives us a savior who brings “peace on earth”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Routine or Upside Down?

A Series on Advent
The candle of peace – the shepherds
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 2:1-20 

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

  

Life can feel upside down at times.

 

Since I retired, I’ve developed a pattern in life that has a certain ebb and flow to it. It includes working on this devotional blog, practicing piano, picking up my granddaughter on Tuesdays, meeting with friends for breakfast or lunch and going to choir practice. It’s pretty routine.

 

The shepherds probably had a routine to their life also. Most likely this included feeding the sheep and giving them water. Or if one got lost or caught in a bush or wandered from the herd, a shepherd would search and bring them back to safety. For the most part it was fairly mundane.

 

The only time there would have been any real excitement is when a predator would try to attack one of the sheep. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize a shepherd jumping to his feet with adrenaline rushing and doing whatever it took to protect his sheep.

 

The night the angel appeared to the shepherds was no doubt just like any other night... routine. However, they were totally unaware of the life-changing drama that had taken place in Bethlehem. They didn’t know anything about the couple who had come into town in the ninth month of her pregnancy, only to give birth in a stable to a son.

 

But then the angel appeared to them and told them this news. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

 

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”         ESV

 

This is the news that the shepherds brought to Joseph and Mary. It was a message about peace. Not outward peace, but inward.

 

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.              Isaiah 9:6 NIV

 

Christmas is often routine. We sing the same carols; put up a tree with the same ornaments; listen to the same Christmas story. But for the shepherds, it was anything but routine. In fact, their lives were turned upside down.

 

So… where are you in the Christmas spectrum? Are you settling for the routine? Or embracing the Prince of Peace with the risk of turning your world upside down?

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

The Shepherds: Unexpected Servants

Christmas Character Series

Luke 2:1-21

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202%3A1-21&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Many years ago, we went to a Christmas program called Journey to Bethlehem. It was a series of scenes leading up to the birth of Christ. The manger scene was in the

sanctuary where there was a young couple playing Mary and Joseph. What made it especially touching was that their newborn baby was with them as Jesus.

 

As we walked into the sanctuary, the baby began crying, as babies will do. Just like that, the theatrical scene suddenly became a real-life scene. It took me back two thousand years to the real baby Jesus crying in his mother’s arms.

 

For over sixty years, I’ve celebrated Christmas with outdoor decorations, a Christmas tree with lots of presents, a big Christmas meal with family and a special Christmas Eve service. Despite all of that, it only took a little baby seconds to make Christmas real. It was unexpected, just like it was for the shepherds.

 

On that very first Christmas, the Shepherds were in the fields minding their own business. They weren’t aware of Caesar Augustus and his big plans for expanding the Roman Empire. They’d never heard of Joseph and Mary, and had no idea of what had been happening in their lives.

 

All they knew was to watch their sheep. That was their world. That is, before it was turned upside down when suddenly an angel appeared to them. Surprise!

 

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”    NLT

 

Once the angels left, the shepherds decided to go into Bethlehem to find the baby. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, except for the hint given them by the angel. Look for the sign. After all, how many new born babies would be lying in a feeding trough?

 

The crying baby was an unexpected sign for me. The angels were unexpected for the shepherds, as well as the baby in a manger. Are you ready for what God has for you that is unexpected?