Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, December 25, 2019
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Jesus experienced the fullness of humanity from a lowly state to an exalted one; from suffering to joy.
Israel had been waiting for someone to save them from oppression from Rome. They would wait no longer—a child has been born!
From the moment of his birth (conception, really), Jesus lived the experience of some of the most marginalized people. He was conceived out of wedlock. He was born to a migrant family—they had a home, but left it behind and were technically homeless. His father, although skilled, was at the time of his birth unemployed. Shortly after his birth, his family fled to Egypt to escape the decree to slaughter infants ordered by Herod—they were fugitives living primarily on the proceeds from a few valuable gifts— frankincense, gold, and myrrh.
This was not the first time they believed a god walked the earth—Greek and Roman gods often posed as humans. Zeus regularly came to earth and fathered many demigods (half god, half human) like Athena, Apollo, and Dionysus. (Accordingly, Jesus was not the first demigod, either.) But none of these experienced the fullness of humanity the way Jesus did. These other gods maintained their connection with the gods’ world through their supernatural powers. Jesus, on the other hand, was very much human, wholly dependent on human to survive. Rarely were gods of Rome born into as lowly a state as Jesus.
Why does this matter? Other gods represented select groups of people. Some were gods of warriors; others of harvest; others of reproduction. Only Jesus was God that came for everyone—from the homeless migrants to the High Priests; women and men; Jews and Gentiles; poor and rich. By being born into a lowly human state, Jesus experienced the fullness of humanity. Jesus knows what it is to suffer. Jesus also knows what it is to have hope and joy. This tiny child would know the best and the worst of what it means to be human. For now, he would know nurture, food, snuggles, tears, trust, and love.
An
Exceptional
People
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