Time 2

Luke 2:4-7

Thinking back on all the many Christmas celebrations of my life I can’t recall more than one or two special gifts that I received over the years. While I know that the presents I received were all very nice, with time they have faded from my memory. What I remember most from all the years of celebrations are the times I was together with family and friends during the holiday.

That seems to be the greatest gifts I ever received – the time I spent with people I cared about and people who cared for me.

Christmas is the celebration of the tremendous gift of Jesus Christ. It is a time to honor and remember the fact that God gave of Himself, giving all of us the gift of His love.

This passage from Luke is at the core of the Christmas story. Where did Joseph take his wife? Why did he go? What happened there?

The story of Joseph and Mary may show us the first gift of Christmas. The gift Joseph gave was the journey he and Mary had to make to fulfill Scripture. He needed to go to Bethlehem for tax reasons – he was of the house and line of David and so had to go to David’s city. But he was also living out the prophecy of the expected Messiah. Bethlehem was to be the place where the Savior would be born.

And we can allow our imagination to work with the story we are given. This newlywed couple have left their home n Nazareth and gone to a different place. And in this different place their baby boy is born.

What did they do there? They likely spent a few months together as a small family, drawing close together in a gathering of love – two parents and a child sharing the first few weeks of a life together.

Since Joseph had his heritage in Bethlehem it is also possible that this small family was surrounded by a larger family. They may have been staying with relatives – aunts and uncles and cousins. The larger family would have gathered to celebrate with the young couple and surround them with love.

Now, just as it was then, Christmas is a time of family. It is a time to gather together and share a very precious gift – not a present that can be purchased at a store or wrapped in shiny paper. The gift we can all share is our time together, sharing love for each other and reflecting the love that God has for each of us.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Who will you spend time with this holiday?