Text: 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
In the whole Christmas account, how easy it is to forget this group of ladies – the weeping mothers of Bethlehem.
Death was present in the land! Innocent children had died on the instructions of a mad man! Mothers were in mourning.
What a messy scenario for the Christmas story. The giver of life, Life Himself being surrounded by death. The one Who was the subject of the Angelic song of JOY, being found in a time of sorrow, grief and mourning.
Friends, this Christmas, we cannot ignore the fact that there were some pretty messy situations surrounding that first Christmas. The imperfect family tree of Christ; The perplexity and hopelessness of Joseph; The deep hurt and weeping of the mothers of Bethlehem.
Because that’s the brokenness into which Christ was given.
That’s a reminder this Christmas, that it’s to our broken and imperfect world that Jesus is given. He was the answer to the messiness of the world that first Christmas. He remains the answer to the messiness of our world, and the messiness of our lives and situations, this Christmas.
God has come near. His name is Immanuel – “God with us”!
Pause and reflect:
· Can you identify with what these mothers were experiencing?
· Are you struggling to sing songs of joy and hope?
· Will you commit those to the lord right now?
PRAYER:
Lord, you know my struggles, my strain
Of my heartache you are fully aware;
Please lift the burden I give to you now
Let me feel your love; your care.
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