It probably seems a little strange to (re)post this in the middle of May, but the message is just as true today as at Christmas.
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December 24, 2013
Moab seems a strange place to start a Christmas story. But that’s where we find an Israelite woman named Naomi, who fled a famine in Israel with her family and now finds herself a widow, having lost both of her sons as well. She tells people to call her “Bitter” because it is obvious God has forsaken her. She encourages her daughters-in-law to return home to their families. They shouldn’t have to suffer her fate. One daughter-in-law returns home, but the other, named Ruth, stays with her and follows her back to a little town in Israel called Bethlehem. Things look bleak.
But God isn’t done yet.
There, Ruth is shown favor by a wealthy man named Boaz as she gleans in his field. And then they marry. And next thing you know, the seemingly-forsaken Naomi is holding a baby boy named Obed. This woman who thought God had abandoned her is known to us over 3000 years later.
But the story doesn’t end there. Obed has a son named Jesse. And Jesse has a number of sons. And one day, God tells a prophet named Samuel to go to a town named Bethlehem to see a man named Jesse to anoint a new king. When Samuel arrives, Jesse gathers all of his sons – except one – to come before the prophet. The new king wasn’t there. Eventually, little brother David who’s been out playing shepherd is brought in. And anointed as Israel’s second king.
But the story doesn’t end there. Fast forward a few years. This same David has been told that his kingdom would last forever. He’s been called a man after God’s own heart. But, now, he’s blown it. And now he’s pleading for the life of his newborn child. The prayer isn’t answered. The child dies. Things look bleak.
But God isn’t done yet.
God restores David. Another child is born. The line of David continues.
But the story doesn’t end there. Fast forward nearly a thousand years and a bunch of “begats.” The dynasty of David is nowhere to be found. Israel is in shambles, having been overrun by empire after empire, from the Babylonians to the Assyrians to the Persians to the Greeks. And now the mighty Roman Empire holds sway. And where is God? He has been silent for 400 years. Things look bleak.
But God isn’t done yet.
A census sends a young couple travelling to a town called Bethlehem. No room in the inn. A barn. A feeding trough. And into the silence of a night – and of centuries – breaks an infant’s cry. And in that moment, God steps into the pages of human history in the form of a baby. Incarnation. Emmanuel – God with us.
But the story doesn’t end there. Fast forward a few years. Two heartbroken travelers are returning home after the Passover. The week before, a triumphal entry had greeted a great man. More than just a great man. As they told a stranger who had joined them along the journey, “We had hoped he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” But now he was dead, executed on a cross. Things look bleak.
But God isn’t done yet.
The stranger tells them a story. He starts with Moses. Maybe he even tells them about some women named Naomi and Ruth. He certainly tells about Ruth’s grandson David. And eventually he tells about the life of a baby who was born in a manger.
And then that stranger, named Jesus, prays, breaks the bread and gives it to them.
And God isn’t done yet.
Christmas is a reminder that no matter how good things are – or how bleak they appear, God isn’t done yet.
So, wherever this Christmas finds you, whether a time of great joy or even a time that looks a little bleak, that God isn’t done yet.
Kevin Roe 