The Perfect Bed

Luke 2:6-7

“6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

Have you ever traveled a long distance and arrived at your hotel tired and worn out only to find out that they had not held your reservation or that there was some mix-up and you received a smoking room with no view or balcony? Now, imagine that you had walked or ridden a camel for 90 miles, 20 miles a day for four and a half days and you were pregnant, and this happened.

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, they were probably very tired and in need of a room.  Yet, because of the influx of crowds of people who were in Bethlehem for the census, there were no rooms to be had. So they were relegated to staying either in a stable or a room where animals were kept. 

When Mary gave birth, she laid the savior of the world in a manger.  

The manger bed, normally the symbol of Mary and Joseph’s poverty, actually symbolizes God’s plan for the redemption of all of humanity.  Christ was not born in a palace.  He was not laid in a bed of gold.  He did not have servants attending His every need.  

Christ was born into the world so that all could be saved.  The manger represents the plan of salvation for all humankind.

And there was never a more perfect bed for such a savior.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Caught in the Wind of God’s Will

Luke 2:1-5

“1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.”

Emperor Augustus was Julius Caesar’s great nephew.   He  was also Rome’s first, and some say, greatest Emperor.  His reign was marked by great expansion of the Roman Empire and the building of great buildings and monuments in the city of Rome.

In order to support all of this, the Romans needed to know how many people were available who could pay the taxes that they would use to supply their armies, build new cities, etc.  Each person in the Roman Empire was required to travel back to the town of their birth to be registered (so that they could be taxed).  

Joseph and Mary had to travel approximately 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  If they were able to travel 20 miles per day by foot or by camel, it would have taken them four and a half days of constant travel.   This would have been a difficult journey for anyone.  It would have been especially difficult for Mary.

Is it any wonder that Mary gave birth in Bethlehem?

God’s plan was that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.   He used the needs and worldly ambitions of Rome, the ego of Augustus, the willingness of the Palestinian officials to comply with the edicts of Rome, and the strength and endurance of two very ordinary people (Joseph and Mary) to accomplish His will.

On the surface, Joseph and Mary appear to be helpless feathers caught in the winds of worldly powers.  But in reality, it was God that was working, it was God that was acting, it was God that was the moving force…

and it was Rome and the rulers of Palestine that were the feathers caught in the winds of God’s will.

“for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God With Us

John 6:38

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”

Christ was born into the world to do the will of God.  It was God’s will that Christ be born; God’s will that Christ live among us; and God’s will that Christ be crucified.  This was God’s perfect plan for the redemption of the world.

Christ came so that others might have eternal life.  It was God’s will that all of humanity be saved through the sacrifice of Christ.  But before that sacrifice, Christ had to be born, and come into this world as a child, live in the world, and come to know, first hand, the sufferings and temptations of humanity.

Christ knows our hearts.  He was born as we are born, lived as we live, suffer as we suffer.

And that is why we call Him Emanuel.

God with us.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Son of God

John 1: 18

“18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

Christ is the Son.  We, the children of God, know God through the Son; through the life of Christ on earth we know the creator of the universe.

Not only can we know Him, we can have a living relationship with Him.  God will speak to us, guide us, and lead us through His Holy Spirit that dwells in every believer.

God has been made known through His Son, who was born into this world to bring the light of God.

Know Christ.  Know the Son.

And you will know God.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Love of God

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Christ was born into this world because of love.  

First, there was the love of God for the world.  God’s love for His creation was so great that he sent His son into the world.  

Then there was the love and trust of Joseph and Mary for God.  The news of Mary’s pregnancy must have been shocking to both of them, yet they trusted God’s message to them to be the truth because of their love of God.

Mary and Joseph allowed themselves to be led by this truth, despite their doubts or the hardships that they knew they would face.

God’s love is born into the world because of ordinary people.  People like you and me. 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Children of God

John 1:9-14

“9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.”

The light of God came into the world.  Most people who saw the light rejected it.  Some, such as Herod, tried to put out the light, but the light shone through the darkness.  

Those who saw the light and believed became children of God, born of God through faith and the Holy Spirit.

It is the children of God who now shine the light of Christ into the world.  It is through our example of love that this light shines forth.  

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Light

John. 1:4-5

“4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The light of heavenly bodies and of angels served to guide people to the Christ child and when they saw Him, they saw the light of God in Him.

The light of God is life. The light of God shone in the life of Christ on earth, and this light was offered to all of humankind.

This light shone a light into the darkness of the human heart.  Many people came to faith,  others plotted to kill the light.

But the light shone forth.

And it shines even today.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)