Bethlehem

From Bethlehem to Calvary

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And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NKJV

I love singing Silent Night! To me it is both one of the sweetest and most worshipful of all the carols. Looking back over the years, I cannot count the times when I have sung this on Christmas Eve, often while holding a candle or during communion. But as sweet and awesome is the experience of that celebration of the birth of Jesus, we must never allow ourselves to forget that Jesus came with a purpose. He came to save us from our sins. It is built right into HIs name: Jesus, which means “Jehovah saves” And how did he save us? It was on a darkened cold hilltop, nailed to the beams of a cross. How amazing it is that Jesus began life gently laid in a crude wooden manger, closing His eyes to sleep and ended it nailed to a crude wooden cross when He closed His eyes in death. And all through that journey from Bethlehem to Calvary, every time Jesus heard His name spoken, He was reminded of why He came and where His journey would lead. And He did it all for you and me! What an amazing love. What a wonderful Savior. What a reason we have to bow in worship at the manger and kneel in repentance at the cross.

Joseph’s Pause

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He had trudged on for days
Through the cold and the heat
Till the dust of long roads
Was caked hard on his feet 
And behind on the donkey
Mary followed as best
As she could though she ached 
And she wished they could rest
Then she touched Joseph’s shoulder
And he turned with a smile
Their eyes knowingly met 
So, he paused for a while

Then he looked to the village 
At the crest of the hill
And remembered God’s promise
Was to be there fulfilled
And he picked up the reins 
Then pressed on one more mile
Trusting this was God's place
For the birth of His child

Joseph's Pause by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2021 all rights reserved

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. Luke 2:4-5 KJV

The Longest Christmas Journey – Part One

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But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law         Galatians 4:4 ESV

As Christmas approaches, we think of the journeys that ended on the night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shepherds walked down from the hills where they had been watching their flocks. Joseph and Mary had wearily journeyed ninety miles on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We often suppose that the ones who came the farthest were the wise men who had traveled over a thousand miles. But of all who were in Bethlehem that night, no one had come further than the newborn baby they had come to worship.

The shepherds came when they heard the angels. The wise men journeyed because they saw His star appear. Mary and Joseph arrived when the time was right for the birth of the child. Today’s verse tells us that Jesus also was sent on a journey, but He left from farther than the farthest star, to come to Bethlehem. What could it have been like for Jesus to close His eyes while in the presence of angels and open them nine months later in a stable where mice rustled in the hay? When God had decided that it was the perfect day for Jesus to come, He couldn’t wait even one minute longer. Yet when Jesus was born and opened His eyes His journey had only just begun!