By now most of us are ready for the days to come.  We've decorated our homes, put up the tree, done most of the shopping and maybe scheduled some days off.  Some of us have sent out cards and even baked cookies.  Have you noticed, though, that more and more people are sending their Christmas cards and letters later?  We now get at least two Christmas letters in January and last year we even got one around Valentine's Day.  It's not always easy getting everything ready on time.  This year I have decided to read every Christmas letter, no matter how self-congratulating it is.  And the best Christmas letters are the short ones!

          Our house is always clean, but when we get company, Carol does a whirlwind cleaning and makes the place spotless.  Some folks make it a point to invite company every few months so they have reason to clean house.  Other folks, however, don't bother.  Their motto is, "Who says dust isn't a protective covering?"  It's all part of the holiday preparations.

          If you think about it, all our holiday preparation and travel started with the Holy Family.  Before Mary and Joseph embarked on their week-long journey to Bethlehem, they'd already done plenty of preparing.  Joseph had to close up his shop, rent out their home, collect any outstanding money due him and pay the bills.  Mary had to prepare food for the long trip, pack the essentials and maybe gather letters to be delivered to Bethlehem relatives.

          They put their necessities into bags, just like our suitcases.  Though we may not connect this with Christmas, undergarments and a change of clothes are necessary no matter what century you live in.  Mary may have even gotten some final advice on childbirth in case it should happen along the way.  They had to decide on a route and find people to travel with, because people didn't travel alone back then.  About the only thing they didn't have to worry about was their donkey.  Those tough critters only needed a little water and grass and they'd keep walking till they dropped.

          They probably made the trip late in October or early November before shepherds brought in their flocks before the rainy season.  We know they went before Herod's death in early 4 BC, and Bethlehem shepherds usually penned up their flocks before the weather turned cold and wet in late November.  Jesus was born in the fall - how about that!!  It's doubtful the first Christmas was a white one, but snow often does fall there in late December or January.  The weather in Jerusalem is about the same as Atlanta.

          So they were prepared for the expected.  It was only when Mary went into rapid labor that their preparations failed them.  They felt sure there would be a place for them, either at the Inn or among relatives, and you get the feeling in reading Luke's account that the overcrowded Inn was a complete surprise.  But God had it all planned anyway.  St. Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4-5, "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."  In other words, when God had it all timed out, the date, place and location, only then was baby born.

          The prophets had written where the Messiah would be born and that a great prophet would first come to get the people ready for His message.  The angel Gabriel told Zechariah, Mary and Joseph the news at just the right time.  The Pax Romana was in place, giving the empire a time of peace and prosperity.  The roads were good, travel was generally safe, and the economy strong.  Even the Roman census of Caesar Augustus was in God's plans, for it took the Nazarene couple to the place they needed to be, the little town of Bethlehem.  And there the baby was born, as God had planned.

          The Gospel of Luke was primarily written for the benefit of Theophilus, an important Greek man to whom Luke wanted to tell the real story.  All the details Luke gives were perhaps to convince Theophilus of Christ's true humanity.  It wasn't hard to convince people of His deity;  His miracles and parables and personal charisma were almost enough for that.  And only later after His resurrection, and with the Spirit's persuasive help, were the disciples convinced this man was the Son of God who gives eternal life.  And then they were ready to tell everyone the story of who He was and why they needed to believe in Him.

          But only Luke tells us about Zechariah and Elizabeth and the shepherds.  And only Luke tells us the details of those early days.  Only Luke recounts the parables and miracles found in no other Gospel.  But how could he, since he'd never met Jesus in person or heard Him speak?  It had to be from Mary.  Only she could have known of those events so well and Luke must have learned them from her.  Perhaps he was her doctor and she told him what she could remember during his home visits.  We know she pondered many things in her heart, so here we read what she remembered.  God was preparing the First Century people for Christ through Luke's writings, and God was preparing us Twenty-First Century people through the same man.

          The four Sundays of Advent each have a word to describe them.  So far we've heard about "Watch!"  Then was "Prepare!"  Last Sunday it was "Rejoice!"  And today's Advent word is "Behold."  But as I re-read again that first chapter of Luke, I wanted all of us to ponder once again how God gets things ready, all in place.  And when everything's just right, only then does He send the world His Son, born of a Virgin, born in a stable, born to be our Lord.

          It's hard these days to be vocal about all this.  People in our PC world think everyone's idea of God is okay, that no one is absolutely right, that truth is only relative.  This year I've heard fewer and fewer people saying "Merry Christmas" in public.  "Happy Holidays" is okay but "Merry Christmas" is now deemed offensive.  Notice our "Happy Holiday" church door mats?  You can't even find one that says, "Merry Christmas."  Back in my home state of Minnesota, some public places have banned poinsettias, because somehow they've become a religious symbol.  Rarely do you hear religious music in schools.  People are trying to remove all traces of Christ from His own birthday.

          Well, friends, let them try, because it won't happen!  His birth started it all, and His death and resurrection keep it all going.  Long after enlightened teachers of tolerance are dead and their ideas are tossed onto the trash pile, the birth of Christ will still be celebrated.  God always outlasts humanity's fickle trends!  The host of a radio program this week asked the question, "Do you think Christmas is on its last legs?"  The people I heard all responded, "No way!"  Of course some of their reasons why were pretty lame, but one said it right, "Because we're dealing with God here, not just an idea."  The Christmas story is not an invention of Madison Avenue, but of God Himself.  And no human being -- or anti-Christian religion -- will ever remove what God puts in place!

          I love the certainty of the Christian faith.  It always gives you solid food in a world that feasts on mush.  Every year in December news magazines run stories about whether or not the Bible is true.  It's the same year after year.  They bring up new findings that cast doubt, but they never succeed.  They foretell the demise of the Church, but the church remains.  The Sunday School teacher is wiser than the Harvard professor, and the little child in his first Sunday School program is wiser than the politician or journalist.  Human ideas pour forth in our daily papers and are gone the next day.  But the truth of God comes out of the mouths of babes in Christmas pageants all over the world:  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

          God still gets the world ready for His Son even if the world doesn't want to accept Him.  Jesus lived the life we couldn't, died the death we deserved, and rose again to bring all us straying lambs back to the fold.  People may think they're wiser than God, but they'll never be.  The Good News is that God loves us anyway.  No matter what kind of academic drivel we think is great, the truth of God will always be greater.  No matter if we push God away, He won't stay away.  Like the Hound of Heaven, He'll keep coming back, loving us, forgiving us, and offering to be our Lord by faith.

          One more thing -- no matter what new idea of tolerance comes along, God will never tolerate sin.  It's too destructive and too costly.  His Son died because of sin, and so God must forgive it.  He will never overlook sin, but He will always love us in spite of it.  Like the Good Shepherd, God will always seek and save the lost.  Like the Father of the Prodigal Son, He will always run to meet every straying son or daughter who comes back.  Praise be to God for that!

          God got everything ready for the First Coming of His Son.  I pray this Christmas that you all are ready for His Second Coming.  It's nearer than we think!  Meanwhile, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)   Amen!

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.