Waiting is hard for us humans. But then again, so are surprises. Sometimes Your plan falls upon us suddenly, without warning, leaving us breathless, shaken, astounded. That is how You called Moses from the burning bush. And how You came to Mary. They were both yearning for Israel’s deliverance. They were longing to see Your salvation. But they never suspected You were waiting for them.
Once You spoke, then the waiting began. Moses pressed through the plagues and Pharaoh’s hardness. He endured the doubts of his own people before He saw Your deliverance.
Mary waited for Joseph’s answer. For the pregnancy. For Her Son to be revealed.
I wonder what she thought of Your timing concerning her labor, Lord? How did she perceive the demand for a census near the end of her gestation? Did she see it as the conniving of the Enemy, drawing her from home just when she needed the help of her family? Did she assume You would delay her labor until she could return? Or did she have some inkling that her Son would be born in the City of David?
I have always imagined that Mary’s labor came rather unexpectedly. I picture Joseph almost frantic to find a place for Mary to rest – hoping to calm her body and avoid delivery in a strange town without the comfort of home. But that was not Your plan.
You were happy to lay Your Son, Your Very Own Heart, in a trough where animals fed He for was to become the Bread of Life You were pleased to reveal Him to shepherds, for He was the Good Shepherd who would lead us home to You. You insisted that He be born in Bethlehem, for He was the eternal heir of David’s throne. You needed Him near Jerusalem for presentation for that was the law. And moreover, You were eager to show Him to Your long-suffering prophets, Anna and Simeon.
Still there was another reason Your Son was born in Bethlehem. That is where the magi sought him after consulting the scribes in Jerusalem. I find this story from Matthew profoundly moving. Wealthy men, rulers, students of God Most High, undertake a risky journey to find the King of Israel. Israel was more of a memory than a nation at the time. She had citizens, but no king. Herod was a puppet ruler under Rome. When they arrive in Jerusalem, they announce the good news which Israel’s teachers had failed to notice – Israel’s Messiah has been born for the blessing of the whole world! These foreigners preach the gospel in Your Holy City. And when they find the baby boy in His humble surroundings, they prostrate themselves in worship - without doubt, without pride, without hesitation.
The magi’s visit served Your plan in ways both practical and prophetic. These pilgrims left gifts which would fund another unexpected journey for the Holy Family - their flight to Egypt. Once again Your timing fell upon simple people without warning or waiting. Joseph was awakened by an angel in the middle of the night. “Flee, now,” the angel said. Mary and Joseph obeyed quickly, unlike Lot of old, and slipped away quietly before the wrath of Herod fell.
Your timing, Lord, is perfect, but it is rarely easy. Those You count as friends You entrust with suffering. You allow them to share the cost of Your plan. You invite them to participate in the sacrifice of Your Love. And You reward them with everlasting glory!
I am writing today from Waco, holding my beautiful granddaughter in my left arm. She was born on Dec. 21 after a long and grueling labor. My daughter would have preferred her birth to come at least a week earlier. She would have preferred a shorter labor. But as it happened, her daughter was born on the morning of the Christmas star of 2020 – a rare alignment of Jupiter and Saturn. The date was a sweet confirmation of the name they had chosen months before - Celestine, meaning “celestial” or “heavenly.” I do not presume, Father, that the date holds more than this personal meaning. Your ways are not our ways; but of this I am confident -
“Our times are in Your hand,” Psalm 31:15
“Your works are perfect and all Your ways are just.” Deut. 32:4