On my way to work last week, I encountered something unexpected: snow flurries! Now friends of mine who live in Colorado and New Hampshire have already had snow this season, but here in the Ohio River Valley, it’s unusual to have snow flurries before December 1. Not unheard of, just unusual. Combine those flurries with the frigid temperatures, and there was no doubt that December was coming.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am a big fan of winter and the idea of being snowed in with a roaring fire and Christmas music makes me smile. But as I said, in Southeastern Ohio, we usually ease into winter. And yes, I joined in the chorus of complaining, “It’s too cold! Too early for this!”
Looking back, it’s silly to be surprised by the arrival of winter, right? I mean, we have calendars. We have the Weather Channel. We even have alerts on our smartphones to remind us of changes in temperature or weather patterns. I get an alert every time rain or snow falls in my vicinity. Yet here we are, still complaining about how wintery weather just snuck right in on us.
We’ll probably comment similarly when it comes to Christmas. “I can’t believe it’s Christmas already!” But seriously, what did we expect? It’s not like Christmas changes dates? Easter, now that I understand getting confused about it, with it shifting every year. But Christmas? It’s been celebrated on December 25 for millennia. It didn’t sneak up on anyone.
But then I think back to that first Christmas. It certainly took many people by surprise. Perhaps no one was more surprised than Mary. When the angel Gabriel told her that she had found favor with God and would bear His Son, she was certainly confused.
“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?'”
It would have been one thing had Gabriel announced a birth to a married couple, that God had chosen them to birth a King who would lead a national revolution and free the Jews from the yoke of oppression. That would seem at least much more likely than a virgin girl being told she’s going to have a Son. That’s a bit much already. But what’s more: this will be no ordinary son, but the Son of God!
Joseph was surprised. When he found out Mary was pregnant, he was going to divorce Mary (in 1st Century Judaism, an engagement could only be broken by a divorce). It took a message from God for him to stay with her.
The innkeeper was certainly surprised by Christmas. If he had known that the Messiah was to be born, I’m sure he would have had a room set aside, or surely a bed. Something besides a stable and manger scene. The shepherds had obviously forgotten to put an angelic army concert into their calendars. And even the scribes of King Herod couldn’t remember what the prophet Micah had said about Bethlehem being the birthplace of the Messiah.
God orchestrated this whole affair at the right time. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law”. God had everything planned out, down to the day in which Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
I wonder what surprises God has in store for us this Christmas. Oh, I know we will all face challenges between now and the end of the Christmas Season. But what incredible blessings await us if we just slow down and take some time to consider that the very God who made you, came to earth in the form of a baby. He would grow up and live among us, and then willingly choose to die for our sins. This is the real surprise of Christmas: God’s amazing love.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the gift of each day. Help me to slow down and enjoy your blessings. Forgive me for being too busy to notice what you’re orchestrating in my life. Help me to see the wonders not just of this season, but of Jesus. And may I share this joy with others. Amen
Adam Will 