Christmas tends to distract the mind with heavy materialism a lot now, doesn’t it? It’s Christmas Eve and I remembered having a Christmas without the merry last year. A week before Christmas, Odette struck Visayas and Mindanao. Many areas still had no electricity and were still struggling during Christmas. No Christmas celebrations. If you Google “Christmas Day disasters”–you may find 25 devastating things that happened on Christmas Day. The idea that Christmas is that magical time when the world is at peace and love is foolish. The war between Russia and Ukraine is affecting innocent civilians from both sides. There’s a lot of crime during Christmas. The Ku Klux Klan was also founded during Christmas. So much for “Christmas magic” right?
I was reminded of John Piper’s December 26 devotional when he talked about a tsunami. It was all about “How to Contemplate Calamity”. It really had a powerful point when it said that even if Satan caused the great December 26 disaster–God was still ultimately in control. Every disaster that Satan caused needs God’s permission. Job couldn’t have been harassed by Satan if God didn’t give God permission to do so. It was a good thing that the situation started to stabilize in January. The mountains that were balded by Odette are green again. There’s also the mingling of judgment and mercy. It’s hard to think about it but God does mingle judgment and mercy.
The Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke both show a lot of danger. Mary got supernaturally pregnant. Joseph almost felt that Mary was unchaste. I bet there was a crowd willing to stone Mary to death. Later, we read that Mary had to make a dangerous journey with Joseph when the Roman Empire decided to have everyone return to their homes to be registered. It’s one dangerous journey. When the couple arrived in Bethlehem, they found there was no place in the inn. I bet there was no room thanks to the decree of Caesar Augustus. Later, Herod the Great sought to murder the child when Jesus was at least two years old. Several innocent infants got massacred all because of a madman’s being power-hungry. However, God was in control of all of these.
Jesus’ ministry was anything but glamorous either. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says that Jesus became poor for our sakes. One could think that the lineage of David was restored back to civilian status. David, who was once a shepherd, became a king. However, after the Curse of Jehoiachin in Jeremiah, the royal house ended. Isaiah 11 even refers to Jesse instead of David. Jesse was a shepherd guy. David went from being a commoner to a king. Joseph wasn’t crowned king even if he was a descendant of a king. Instead, we had the murderous Herod of the Great. Later, we had Herod Antipas during the ministry of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t going to become king yet during his earthly ministry.
A lot of bad stuff that happened to Jesus was already pre-ordained. Isaiah 51-53 already prophesied His rejection as a suffering Servant. The Second Person of the Trinity was born into the human world, in human form. Jesus took a form lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7). Jesus became man so He could accomplish the mission to completely live a perfect life as God the Father intended. Jesus would fulfill the law then He would die on the cross for sins He never committed. Crucifixion was a death reserved only for the worst criminals.
Christmas season tragedies really point to the greater tragedies of life. Christmas is already often too associated with festivities and materialism that people are blinded away from the gift of salvation. I felt that Christmas season tragedies are pretty much a warning call. The delusion is often sung in the song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Day of the Year” by the late Andy Williams. However, the song is nothing more than a delusion by people who refuse to face reality. That’s why the non-existent Santa Claus gets more popularity than Christ Himself, the reason for every season!
Jesus took every tragedy imaginable. Jesus’ rejection by a hardened crowd led to His crucifixion for the sins of others. The greater tragedy is that mankind fell into sin ever since Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). Adam disobeyed God, failed to rebuke Eve for his error, and we’ve been suffering for it because we too inherited the sinful nature from our common ancestors. Yet. all the tragedies that befell Jesus are all planned by God the Father. God the Father came with the perfect plan of salvation. Yet, mankind is so hardened in sin that the plan of salvation makes no sense to them.
The incarnation will also carry the bitter truth people hardly or nobody wants to hear. The horrible truth is that mankind isn’t basically good. Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. Today, we just want to hear of man’s basic goodness never mind that evidence suggests otherwise. Sin made it impossible to have a perfect Christmas. Fortunately, the perfect Savior from sin can be declared on Christmas in the midst of Christmas tragedies.
Reformed Baptist Christian Blogger 