It was about this time last year that I posted a “Goodnight 2007” photo that showed a glorious sunset that had lit up the evening sky with the richest of golds, and now history is repeating itself once again. Yesterday was a beautifully fine, warm and sunny, summer’s day and as it drew to a close, the softest of rain began to fall. It was barely there, the faint goose-prickling touch of wetness that cooled the skin after the heat of the sun had abated. Then came the golden evening.

This year has had it ups and downs, just like most years do. There were highpoints and lowpoints, none quite as low as the previous year and the highs were definitely higher. I guess that makes for a reasonable year.

Often Christmas is not such a happy time when families are divided, conflicted, troubled, and the sentiments of the Season are all about “Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards Men” which can sound hollow and unreal. Sometimes the joy escapes, ungrasped through a barrier of difficulties. The global economy appears to be circling the drain, the Pope calling for solidarity rather than selfishness to prevent a demise down the gurgler. Fighting has broken out again between Israel and Palestine. Mugabe has trashed and squandered the foodbowl of Africa, people suffering beyond belief. Everywhere there is pain, disease and death. BBC’s Channel 4 did a dastardly thing in having the President of Iran deliver the alternative Christmas message, he not a Christian and his Islamic version of Jesus just that of the (fictitious) Prophet ‘Isa. Beams and motes come to mind with his message to the Wicked West. Our domestic violence rates have moved up to an all-time high, and relative poverty levels are sinking lower and lower. How does one grab hold of JOY when the peace and goodwill are so hard to find?

I’m not so sure that they are so hard to find. It certainly isn’t there in some places, but it depends where one looks for it.

The roads gleamed with moisture, reflecting a vivid amber-gold as the sky turned colour above, and everything glistened around me. I stood out on the road, drinking it in.

An interesting comment someone made recently left me thinking.

The very first Christmas was not perfect. Well, not for a young expectant mother who had to leave home and ride donkey when 9 months pregnant, who went from house to house and could not find a proper bed, not a room anywhere. She ended up giving birth in a barn with the farm animals. Most mothers don’t dream of such circumstances in which to have their firstborns. And yet the baby was born, and Mary brought forth her son, Jesus. It was those unenviable circumstances that made the hope and beauty of the miracle even more evident.

The psalmist wrote “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1) We catch glimpses of beauty when it shouts at us like these sunsets do, but so much of that which can give joy escapes our senses, passing under the radar of normal perception. Jesus once told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) It takes this spiritual rebirth to have one’s eyes opened to the things that are of God’s kingdom. It is when spiritual eyes are opened that these blessings become known to us… joy, the peace that passes all understanding, hope instead of despair, faith instead of doubt, and the certain knowledge that God is Sovereign in a world where there are no maverick molecules and He is our provider and sustainer, right into eternity.

No matter how 2008 was for you, my prayer is that 2009 will keep you walking close with God, partaking of all the blessings that He provides in abundance to those reborn as His adopted children, in the name of Jesus, the baby born in those circumstances far from ideal but sufficient none-the-less.

An email has just popped into my Inbox, sent from a retail business chain, and here is what it says:

Christmas is always a frantic time of year – work commitments, parties, presents, cooking, shopping, sending cards and arranging holidays. Christmas can become a chore.

But Christmas can also give you and your loved ones a precious gift every year – the gift of celebration.

At Christmas time we can stop and celebrate Christmases past, present and to come with family and friends and take some time to re-connect. At Christmas we can reflect on all those things and people around us that we can be thankful for, and ready ourselves for the year ahead.

So amidst the activity and chaos of the season, may we encourage you to celebrate the joy and treasure of living life and creating memories with those we love.

We wish you and your loved ones a joyous blessed and memorable Christmas.

But wait… what is this about? Are we talking Christmas, or is this about being thankful, or just having a family occasion? Yes, it certainly mentions Christmas, but in true postmodern style that leaves out content to focus on process, how utterly obtuse can you get to merely celebrate living life and the creation of memories? One doesn’t actually need Christmas for doing just that.

Well, what did I expect? Christianity is wrongly considered these days not to be for those who can think rationally, who value scientific discovery, and who know better than to imagine even for one silly moment that a virgin can possibly give birth to a baby, or that the baby can be God Incarnate. Whatever next! Therefore it must be right to denigrate Christianity and milk whatever can possibly be milked out of this culturally inherited occasion, sensitively avoiding any risk of giving offence to adherents of other religious and secular traditions. Any offence given to Christians by the appropriation of their celebration of the birth of Christ, and its hijacking in the name of commercialism and woolly sentiment, is nothing more than deserved. Christians are merely fools to believe the stuff they do.

On top of all that, it is easy to hate Christmas when all the perceived extra duties and expectations threaten to become overwhelming, when more shopping and partying is required, or when the aggravations of unresolved conflicts threaten to erupt over this time of supposed Peace and Goodwill. What joy is there in celebrating… er, mere celebration itself?

For Christians the celebration goes well beyond “celebrating the joy and treasure of living life and creating memories with those we love” to focus on the amazing grace of God and the love He has shown in redeeming us, restoring us to a relationship with Him that is more precious than life itself. It is foolishness to natural man, meaningful only to those in this restored relationship with Him. It is no surprise that the world has appropriated Christmas for its own less worthy purposes, and no surprise that many will consider Christians irrational and foolish for believing what Christians know to be the Truth. The world may celebrate “celebration” but without the truth content of Christmas, that celebration remains bereft of the real Joy and Peace given only by the grace of our Sovereign God.

Why should it matter whether Mary and Joseph were married or not? What difference does it make? Jesus was born anyway…

Two reasons come to mind. There may well be others.

Firstly, I think it is important that we tell the story according to how it is told in Scripture, and that any paraphrasing of it must be faithful to that particular reality. It must not add any bias or distortion from our own culture. The truth matters! It is like the game of Chinese Whispers. As the story goes around, subtle changes become less and less subtle until the message heard at the other end is something quite different from the message as it started out. Making an effort to get it right helps minimize that effect. Rather than say “His parents were unmarried” it is more truthful to say “Mary was betrothed to Joseph” or “though Joseph had taken Mary as his wife, their marriage was not yet consummated”. It may sound a little pedantic, but it is accurate. And that brings me to the second reason…

If the parents of Jesus are described as unmarried (no further clarification given) it is an easy step to take to suppose that having a child out of wedlock is an OK situation… after all, it might be said, Mary and Joseph did it! Nope, their situation does not condone such a thing. The circumstances were utterly unique, having never happened before, and not ever again since. No amount of identification with Mary will condone a breaking of God’s moral law. Mary did not break God’s moral law, but anyone who conceives a child outside of marriage has indeed done so. The newspaper account had it that their traditional society viewed that fact as shameful. Yes, that is so. However, the truth in this instance is far from embarrasing or shameful. It would indeed be shameful for any other woman to be pregnant prior to marriage, especially back in those times when “society” did not sanction such a thing, but it is very important to be quite clear that the truth of Mary’s circumstances is a reason for rejoicing. Great rejoicing! And far from being caught up in shame, Mary herself rejoiced, proclaiming those lovely words known as the Magnificat…

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

(Luke 1:46-55, KJV)

A local newspaper recently published a brief account of the Christmas story, and the writer explained that the parents of Jesus were unmarried, and their traditional society viewed that fact as shameful.

The situation concerning engagement and marriage was a little different in Jewish culture back then than it is in our society today.

What we do know is that Mary was betrothed, or espoused, to Joseph. They had not “come together” (or “known” each other, the Biblical way of referring to sexual intercourse) but Mary was already pregnant. When Joseph learnt about this, he was quite perturbed and got to thinking how he would handle this situation. In Jewish law of the time, a woman found in such circumstances was to be brought before the civil magistrate in order to be punished according to the law which requires her to be taken out to the gate of the city and stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23). Or if the marriage had already taken place, and the pregnancy more advanced than the date of marriage would allow for legitimacy, then she was to be divorced and publicly shamed. But Joseph was compassionate as well as righteous, and he was loath to take either course of action, whichever was apllicable. According to his deliberations, as we are informed, it was looking like the latter (to divorce her quietly - Matthew 1:19).

The Gospel according to Matthew tells it like this:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” - which means, “God with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
(Matthew 1:18-25, NIV)

From John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible comes the following commentary on this situation:

Verse 24: …and rising up from his bed or place where he was, [Joseph] immediately and without any delay, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him; firmly believing that it was a messenger of God that was sent to him, and that this matter was of the Lord. Wherefore he took unto him his wife, that is, he publicly married her, whom he had before espoused, took her to his house, or continued her there, lived with her as his wife, and owned her to be such, and henceforwards had no more thoughts of putting her away.

Verse 25: “And knew her not”…. or “but he knew her not,” that is, had carnal knowledge of her, or copulation with her, though his wife. The words are an euphemism, or a modest way of expressing the conjugal act, and is a very ancient one, and what has been used in nations and languages.

The other record of these events is to be found in Luke’s Gospel where it is briefly said of Mary that she was “pledged to be married to him [Joseph] and was expecting a child” (Luke 2:5). However, John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible has this to say:

Verse 5: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife…. Whom also he had married, though he had not known her in a carnal way; she came along with him to be taxed and enrolled also, because she was of the same family of David, and belonged to the same city:

Betrothal was, in Jewish law, valid marriage. If Joseph was to “give Mary up” or “put her away” he would have had to take legal steps to effect the separation. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

Smith’s Bible Dictionary discusses espousal and betrothal as follows:

The selection of the bride was followed by the espousal, which was a formal proceeding undertaken by a friend or legal representative on the part of the bridegroom and by the parents on the part of the bride; it was confirmed by oaths, and accompanied with presents to the bride. The act of betrothal was celebrated by a feast, and among the more modern Jews it is the custom in some parts for the bride. groom to place a ring on the bride’s finger. The ring was regarded among the Hebrews as a token of fidelity and of adoption into a family. Between the betrothal and the marriage so interval elapsed, varying from a few days in the patriarchal age, to a full year for virgins and a month for widows in later times. During this period the bride-elect lived with her friends, and all communication between herself and her future husband was carried on through the medium of a friend deputed for the purpose, termed the “friend of the bridegroom.” She was now virtually regarded as the wife of her future husband; hence faithlessness on her part was punishable with death, the husband having, however, the option of “putting her away.” The essence of the marriage ceremony consisted in the removal of the bride from her father’s house to that of the bridegroom or his father.
(Smith’s Bible Dictionary)

So although their marriage was not consummated prior to the birth of Jesus, the parents of Jesus were legally committed to each other by a prenuptial agreement which could be broken only by a formal process of divorce.

I’ve heard it said so often, but I doubt much thought has been given the idea. It is said too glibly, confidentally, to persuade me otherwise.

Did the one who spoke really know what he is up against? Does he truly know the charges? Does he think he’ll be acquitted? It is spoken as though that is the case. But the thought of this quite terrifies me. I’m sure I’d not be wanting to stand there on my own.

Yes, the Judge is very fair. His justice is the ultimate of just. The hearing will leave the one who spoke in no doubt that everything has been taken into consideration. But even if there are “extenuating circumstances” can he be so sure that it will work out OK for him? After all, he knows he is far from perfect and indeed did break the law. Not just once, but daily… and many, many, many times per day. He is flawed, and always has been flawed.

To be strictly honest, I’m not sure it is justice that I want. No, not even from the most just judge. I know that I am guilty, and even with “extenuating circumstances” I know there will be “just desserts” that ought to be delivered. And multiplied exponentially throughout an entire lifetime, those “just desserts” are not looking very comforting. In fact, the whole idea of justice absolutely terrifies me.

To be strictly honest, it is not justice that I want but mercy. I want to be rescued from the justice I know that I deserve, even from the most just judge, and for that I need a rescuer. I need an advocate, a mediator, someone on my side, and someone where there is a bounty to be paid will pay that bounty which I can never pay. I need to be saved from the justice I deserve, and granted mercy and forgiveness. So it scares me when I hear it said by others that they will depend on God’s justice for whatever comes hereafter. Yes, God is the most just judge that one can ever have, but unless they have a rescuer - a Saviour and Redeemer - the sentence is unlikely to be worth the risk they’re taking when they come to meet their Maker.