Introduction: [“12 Crazy Days of Christmas” video from Sermonspice.com]
Holiday frustration. I think that little clip sums it up pretty well. The time of year when we focus on peace, we often find very little of it. The season that is supposed to celebrate the birth of the “Prince of Pease” is more often a season of agrevation and frustration. This little video highlights “The Dark Side of Christmas” for many people in our society today.
But frustration surrounding the birth of the Messiah isn’t new and it isn’t limited to our current cultural context. As the actual events surrounding the birth of Jesus unfolded, there was more than enough frustration to go around.
Let me show you.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7 (NIV)
That sounds pretty frustrating to me. Taking your VERY pregnant wife/betrothed on a long journey (let me tell you this isn’t always fun…you can end up stuck in Oklahoma for 6 weeks). Finding no place to stay when you arrive there. Dealing with the government and taxes. Dealing with crowds and the like. The first Christmas was shrouded in frustration.
This week, as we continue exploring “The Dark Side of Christmas” I want to look at how God will take our frustrations and out of them bring us peace…real peace.
Movement 1:
The Census
Joseph and his very pregnant bride are required to make a trip to Bethlehem to register in the Roman Census.
It was not uncommon for Rome to take censuses for a number of reasons. The primary reason however, was to get an accurate count of the number of citizens in their empire (this was good when it came to manning an army) and for taxation purposes.
Augustus Caesar was also concerned with the birthrate of the Roman people. It was very common for men to have many mistresses and their children were not legitimate. Augustus wanted to fill Rome with legitimate Roman men, so he took a great interest in making certain that Roman men had children through their wives. One way to check the progress of this was to order a census.
In a census every man had to go to his hometown and register. There he would declare himself, his wife/wives any children, any livestock, any slaves, any land and any property he owned. This allowed Roman officials to count the people of Rome and it allowed them to place a value on all of the property held within the empire and then charge a tax to each individual based on what they owned.
This event in and of itself must have been frustrating. It meant that Joseph had to stop working for a while. It meant that he had to make a long trip. It meant that he had to leave his father’s house. It severely disrupted life. And for anyone that I know, that is a source of frustration.
The Journey
Joseph and Mary would have had to make the trip to Bethlehem from Nazareth on foot or by using a beast of burden. We don’t know how they made that trip. The Bible doesn’t tell us. We have all these images of Mary riding on a donkey as Joseph leads her through the night to Bethlehem. But that is just the imagery we have given to the story through the years. The Bible says nothing about it. Most likely they DIDN’T travel at night...no sane individual traveled the roads at night for a host of obvious reasons. And we don’t know if there as a donkey, a horse, a camel or just plain ole’ feet that were involved. It’s a heartwarming idea to have Joseph leading the donkey that his pregnant wife is riding on, but the Bible doesn’t paint that picture for us…the bible doesn’t paint any picture for us.
However, we do know that it was a long journey. It is approximately 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem and it’s an uphill climb. Mary and Joseph would have traveled on foot (possibly with a donkey…but again we don’t know) and it would have probably taken them about a week to make that journey. Imagine the frustration and aggrevation of traveling with a woman who was nearly nine months pregnant on an uphill journey, seventy miles on foot.
After such a long, difficult, journey I imagine they were looking forward to finding a place to stay and rest as Joseph went about the business of registering his new family with the Romans. However, upon arriving in Bethlehem, the frustration continued.
Unable to find a suitable place for Mary to give birth the ended up in the caves just outside of Bethlehem where shepherds and travelers would shelter and feed their animals. Here Mary gives birth and lays her newborn son in a feeding trough.
I could be wrong, but I’m going to guess that this event didn’t live up to the young couple’s dreams and plans for the birth of their first child. I’m going to guess that frustration as a dominant emotion as they endured everything that we celebrate about that first Christmas.
But…God used their frustration to bring about peace.
Movement 2:
Peace
In the midst of Mary and Joseph’s frustration…actually as a result of their frustration, he brought peace. Just as he didn’t send hope into their desperation, but brought hope OUT OF their desperation, and just has he didn’t send joy into their shame, but brought joy OUT OF their shame, so God takes their frustration and with it he provides for them Peace. He doesn’t’ send them peace, but he brings it OUT OF their frustrating circumstances.
To understand this fully, we need to have a better picture of how the word “peace” was used and understood by those in the Bible.
The Jewish understanding of “Peace” was different than our current understanding. When Christ was born the world was experiencing the Pax Romana…the great ROMAN PEACE. There was, largely, an absence of international strife and turmoil. Rome had conquered the Mediterrainian world and most of the known world at this point. Augustus Caesar was a dictator, but he was, for the most part, a benevolent dictator. There was very little in the way of war or conflict in the known world at this point.
However, the lack of war doesn’t necessarily mean that there is true peace. The Pax Romana was much like the peace experienced in eastern Europe (i.e. Yugoslavia, Romania, & Czechoslovakia) under the rule of the U.S.S.R. in the last half of the Twentieth Century. There was relative peace in these nations. Due to the heavy hand of the Soviets, war and conflict were held at bay, but he people would not say that they felt at peace; rather, they felt dominated and subdued.
So it was for the Jewish people in the First Century under Roman rule. There was no conflict or war but the people felt dominated and subdued, not at peace. They hated their Roman oppressors. Though the Romans maintained a relative peace throughout the world and though the presence of the Roman military was a stabilizing influence, the Jews would not have seen this as peace but rather as occupation.
The Jewish understanding of peace had less to do with an absence of conflict and more to do with the idea of security and well-being in the midst of conflict and strife. It was being at rest with God and with your neighbor more than it was not being at war
The prophet, Isaiah, had foretold that the Messiah…the CHRIST…would be known as the “Prince of Peace.”
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)
The birth of the Messiah, JESUS, brought the inauguration of God’s PEACE on earth.
The angels’ announcement on the night that Christ, the Prince of Peace was born, was an announcement declaring security and wholeness to those who find favor with God. It was not an announcement that pertaining to an absence of war or conflict.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, didn’t come to end conflict and war - although that will be the natural outcome if we all chose to follow his life and teachings – rather he came to bring us peace in the midst of conflict.
Mary and Joseph were able to experience peace (a sense of well-being and security) in the midst of a frustrating and conflict laden situation. God used their frustration to bring about peace.
Mary spent the first three months of her pregnancy at her relative, Elizabeth’s house. This would have hidden those tell-tale signs of morning sickness etc. It was only after she returned to Nazareth that Mary did the decent thing and told Joseph about the pregnancy. We have already seen that Joseph had already decided to keep the divorce proceedings private so the pregnancy may not have been common knowledge at this time. It may have been possible that wearing the voluminous clothes of the day, the pregnancy may never have come to light. This would have been fine, but the birth of a full term child after just six months of married life would immediately give the game away. When the strict northern provincial community learnt about the supposed unchaste behavior of Mary and Joseph, they would not have been kind to them. It would have been easier on them if they could legitimately leave Nazareth a little while before the child was born. They might be able to return several months, preferably years later, and the community might never know that the child was conceived three months before the marriage was consummated. If such thoughts ever crossed the minds of Mary and Joseph, we do not know, but circumstances were taken out of their hands.
Amazingly an imperial decree was issued through Governor Quirinius which demanded that Joseph return to his home town of Bethlehem for registration. This meant that the child would have been born while he was away. After realizing the apparent unchaste behavior, what might the community have done to Mary and the child while Joseph was away? This could explain why Joseph decided that he must take the heavily pregnant Mary on his journey to Bethlehem. If the community had not yet found out about Mary’s early pregnancy, the perfect opportunity had arisen to make sure they never did.
This explains why it is that a heavily pregnant Mary made such a difficult journey, and it also explains why Mary and Joseph would not wish to return to Nazareth for a few years. This explains why they were still in Bethlehem a couple of years later when the Magi visited them. ( Rev. Phil Greetham. © Copyright 1996. This Version, 2004. (http://www.btinternet.com/~prgreetham/Wisemen/ana1.html))
Mary and Joseph’s frustration…the trip to Bethlehem …the lack of housing…the need to flee to Egypt…all were used by God to bring about peace (security, well-being and rest) for them in the midst of a situation that could have torn them apart.
God used, I believe, a frustrating situation…one that most of us would not consider peaceful…to shelter Mary and Joseph and to provide them with just a glimpse of the peace he would offer the world through his Son.
But, as we have seen for the past couple of weeks, God’s amazing work of bringing joy, and hope and peace didn’t stop with Mary, Joseph or any of the other players in the first Christmas. God’s grace and love and mercy keep him working. He wants to bring peace to our frustrating lives and situations.
Movement 3:
My Frustration…God’s Peace
How well do you handle frustration? Me, not so well. Frustration, for most of us, tends to build when we are stuck in a tough situation that we can’t control. Our lack of control forces us to realize that we are finite, humble humans and that is a frustrating thought to most people.
There’s a wonderful story recorded in the Gospels of Luke and Mark that shows Jesus taking great frustration and returning peace in its place.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
Luke 8:42-48 (NIV)
Here is a woman who has been dealing with a costly and embarrassing illness for years. I’m sure that her frustration level was maxed out. Yet upon brining it to Jesus, he not only heals her, but he gives her peace…rest, wholeness, security in the middle of a culture that offered nothing to her.
God took her frustration and gave her peace…He’ll do the same for you and for me. Once again, the Christmas story becomes personal. My frustration, my struggle with control, my head-ache in the midst of circumstances that are bigger than me…all of it…He will take it and use it to bring me peace.
God doesn’t always calm storm around us. And Peace doesn’t require that he calm it. Rather, he will calm me in the middle of the storm. He will give me peace in the midst of whatever this life throws at me. I know that trouble, pain, and frustration are a part of this life, but I also know that Jesus becomes our peace in the midst of the storm.
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NLT)
So What?
“What do I do with this, Pastor?” “How do I live this out?”
Begin by letting God work in your frustration. Don’t deny that you’re frustrated. Don’t try to pretend that you aren’t frustrated and that you have everything under control. You don’t’ have everything under control…that’s the beauty.
GOD, OUR FATHER, Does have everything under his control. You DON’T HAVE TO be in control. I don’t have to be in control. And I don’t have to have my frustrating situation removed. I have to trust God to work in the situation to bring me peace.
Mary and Joseph’s situation didn’t go away as they were frustrated. But in the midst of their situation, God used it to bring them peace and security that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
In the situation with the woman who was bleeding, God DID grant peace through changing the circumstances.
I don’t know how God will work in your life.
I don’t know what frustrations you need to lay down before him.
But I DO KNOW that he will take whatever frustration you have and…if you’ll surrender to HIS control and quit trying to control things yourself…he’ll bring you peace.
Surrender and let the PRINCE OF PEACE reign in your life…in your circumstances today.
