Reading: Luke 2:1-7
We have seen the hand of the Lord in the announcement and birth of John. We have seen his hand in choosing Mary to be the mother of the Redeemer. And now we see his hand in the history of men.
Luke provides accurate historical data. Augustus Caesar, the most powerful man of those days orders a census. This is one more way of exercising his power and control over all the territory dominated by the Roman Empire. What he ignores is that in this way he is fulfilling what the Lord had announced: that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.
The facts that Luke narrates in this case are not astonishing, they are ordinary.
A law-abiding family, a pregnant woman, a baby being born, swaddling clothes, a humble place to sleep.
A stark contrast to the display of Rome’s power.
But behind all that ordinariness, we know that this child born is the King of Kings.
God became man. That is the miracle of the Gospel. In what appears to be common and ordinary, God shows us his glory.
MEDITATE: Do we admire the wonder of a God who shows us his glory by being born in ordinary circumstances? Do we recognize the hand of the Lord in our daily walk?
