Advent Devotional: Humble or Mighty?

A short post today as a result of a large stack of Christmas cards. Still a decent thought will hopefully emerge.

If we are to believe gospel authors Luke and Matthew (which I will do) Jesus' birth was at one time the most humble and the most amazing spectacle one could imagine. Think about it, Mary and Joseph had to ride on a donkey to take part in something as silly as census. And as a result of no money and a packed town, Mary would perform the first virgin birth in a barn. We can only presume that the first smells that Jesus encountered were not the most pleasant. It is almost comical to think of this scene. Are society makes jokes about giving birth on the way to the hospital. Places like cabs or elevators seem to work for our backdrops. But a barn? Complete with hay? And donkey's? There is humble, and there is camel poop. This almost seems a little excessive.

This though is not the end of our story. We have some shepherds sleeping with their sheep. Typical people, typical night. Right up until they see an angel and approbation hit the deck waiting to die (gotta love the response angels get). After the formality of being assured this is a good visit, the angel tells them that Savior has been born. We know all of this. The exciting part is what follows. They get to see the party in heaven. WHOA! They get to see the celebration the Father is throwing for the birth of His son (I am guessing there is no camel poop up there).

Those Christmas cards are calling me, so I will make this brief and direct. I am beginning to see that Advent is not as straight forward we would have it. Some churches are more simple in their celebration. Acoustic worship. Candlelight. After all, Jesus was so simple. Some churches sound the trumpet, bring out the choir or the bells, this is a time to celebrate! My conviction is neither response is wrong. Jesus deserves the best of our worship, the fullness of our love, all that we have to give. However, He also came to SHOW US HOW TO LIVE. He came into this world humbly. He lived the same way. We must be reminded of His humility this season and we must feel convicted of the lack of our own.

In short: Let's learn to hear trumpets and smell camel poop.