Matthew 1:18-21: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to marry Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."

Each Christmas Eve, it is my custom to send to friends via e-mail the story of the Holy Nativity as told in the gospel of Luke (KJV).  This year, I included a short meditation I wrote. The wonderful story of Christmas is “good”  all year around, so I repeat it here for the Lenten Devotions.

Every once in awhile, God provides a “teaching moment”, an opportunity for us to step back and look at things in a new and different way.   About a week before Christmas last year, I was in our local supermarket.  There is always a sale table, I look over the merchandise but seldom buy anything.  That day, amidst the usual glittery Christmas decorations and ornaments, I spotted a small statue about 10 inches high, of the holy family, done in pastels.  The expressions on the faces were perfect – the loving mother, the caring father, the innocent baby.  Joseph had one arm protectively around Mary, the other gurarding the baby Jesus.  I decided it would be my Christmas treat to myself.  As the young clerk began to wrap the figures in tissue paper to put in a box, she noticed that one of the fingers on Joseph’s left hand, the one shielding the child, was damaged at the first joint. 

“Oh,” she said.  “It’s broken”.  Without missing a beat, I replied, “Joseph was a carpenter”.  She looked at me with a puzzled expression.  “Every carpenter I know has injured a finger or two during his career.” I continued.  She smiled and agreed with me. So the Joseph with the broken finger came home with me. 

And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?  God sent a flawless person to heal a damaged world.  We all are broken in some way, physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, living in a broken world. This precious babe of Bethlehem was the only perfect human being, The holy infant, who came into this world exactly like every other mortal – tiny, helpless, and homeless – is God’s promise of wholeness and perfection.

In a world where so many are seeking to destroy our most holy season, let us take Christmas out of the malls and secular venues and put it back where it belongs – in our hearts and in our churches. O come, let us adore him!

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior who came this night as a perfect child to give healing and wholeness to a broken people in a broken world. AMEN

NOTE:  IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT MARCH 19 IS ACTUALLY ST. JOSEPH’S DAY IN THE CALENDAR OF SAINTS?????

Rosemary Sinniger