Trust

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  - Luke 1:26-28

As I read passages like this from one of the accounts of the birth of Jesus, I am grateful.  I’m grateful for Matthew and Luke (and theologically, John) for giving to us the story of Christmas.

But I am reminded, perhaps even chastened a bit. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to remember and commemorate Jesus’ birth.  In fact, the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthian 15 lays out simply what we are to remember: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….” (visit 1 Corinthians 15:3,4)

Paul, as far as I can recall, never mentions the birth of Jesus; indeed all of the letters that follow the gospels refer to Jesus’ life, teachings, death and resurrection.

And sometimes because of that, I think we go a bit overboard in what all we do for Christmas. Maybe; maybe not.

Yet, Luke in the passage above wants to remind us.  And I’m grateful for the reminder.  That even the pregnancy of Mary and the subsequent birth of Jesus were all a part of God’s great plan of redemption.  I have no doubt that Mary didn’t have a clear idea about what was going to happen to her child.  In fact, I’m willing to speculate that announcements like that given to her by the angel Gabriel might have served to set her at some unease.  She likely would have had some familiarity with the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, and perhaps understood a bit about what the Messiah would have to go through. Was the Messiah going to be this child that miraculously was in her womb?

Ultimately, she is told that the Lord is with her, and she accepts that blessing in the midst of uncertainty.  She trusts God in what is going on.  And what is to come.  That is ultimately the message of Paul to the Corinthians.  That trusting in what Jesus came to do…and did is what it is all about.  In Mary we are given a great example of pre-Jesus trust.  In Paul we are given a great example of post-Jesus trust.

Remembering both his birth, death and resurrection is all about trust.  Seems that’s been the message from God to his people through the ages.  It is of first importance.

What do you trust?