Christmas Eve at a Truck Stop
Peter Mason
What many of us love so much about Christmas is what causes us to miss it; the sentimentality and myth that surround it. The “story” of Christmas oftentimes is just that: a story. One that lives in a part of our childhood is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It is the story that Linus recites in his tender soft voice with his light blue blanket. The magic and nostalgia of Christmas that we love so much, can be the thing that distances us from the reality of the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom in Jesus’ birth.
Luke, the Gospel writer, is a researched historian and he wants us to clearly realize that this story is not a myth, but history. It involves real people in a real place at a real time in the past. It is about real, ordinary people like you and me with families, a history, dreams, and hopes for the future. The story takes place in Bethlehem, an armpit of the Roman empire, not the ancient metropolis of Alexandria or Rome itself. In modern terms: a backwater town in rural Iowa, not the glamour of L.A. or the prestige of New York.
Also, the announcement of Jesus’ birth does not come to wealthy celebrities or high-ranking politicians on TV. Instead, lowly shepherds are the ones who hear the local news first. Many of us have adopted cute images of shepherds — children wearing wash cloths on their heads held on with rubber bands. However, shepherds were dirty and rough blue-collar workers who kept to themselves. Think of a group of burly men at a truck stop in the middle of rural Iowa around midnight.
When the angel appears — we are shocked to hear that these tough men, whose job is to protect sheep from predators, are filled with terror and fear. However, deep down many of us can sympathize with this ordinary response. These men get to experience a question that every human deep down asks themselves, “How is God going to appear to me in my life?” Most of us deep down are afraid of what God will say to us because He knows about us. We are afraid of the judgment, rejection, and condemnation that will come when we have been exposed. We are afraid that God is coming to deliver us bad news.
Instead, the angel corrects them, “Fear not” (Luke 2:10). You do not need to fear the announcement of God. In fact, I have Good News for you, not bad news. Luke 2:11 continues, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The Good News is not that we have been given someone who can help us along, or be an example or partner with us. The Good News is that we have been given a Savior.
The joy of Christmas for real, ordinary people like you and me is that someone has come to save us, and His name is Jesus. Therefore, underneath the sentimentality of Christmas, wherever your real life takes place, hear the Good News today, “Fear not.”
Peter Mason
What many of us love so much about Christmas is what causes us to miss it; the sentimentality and myth that surround it. The “story” of Christmas oftentimes is just that: a story. One that lives in a part of our childhood is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It is the story that Linus recites in his tender soft voice with his light blue blanket. The magic and nostalgia of Christmas that we love so much, can be the thing that distances us from the reality of the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom in Jesus’ birth.
Luke, the Gospel writer, is a researched historian and he wants us to clearly realize that this story is not a myth, but history. It involves real people in a real place at a real time in the past. It is about real, ordinary people like you and me with families, a history, dreams, and hopes for the future. The story takes place in Bethlehem, an armpit of the Roman empire, not the ancient metropolis of Alexandria or Rome itself. In modern terms: a backwater town in rural Iowa, not the glamour of L.A. or the prestige of New York.
Also, the announcement of Jesus’ birth does not come to wealthy celebrities or high-ranking politicians on TV. Instead, lowly shepherds are the ones who hear the local news first. Many of us have adopted cute images of shepherds — children wearing wash cloths on their heads held on with rubber bands. However, shepherds were dirty and rough blue-collar workers who kept to themselves. Think of a group of burly men at a truck stop in the middle of rural Iowa around midnight.
When the angel appears — we are shocked to hear that these tough men, whose job is to protect sheep from predators, are filled with terror and fear. However, deep down many of us can sympathize with this ordinary response. These men get to experience a question that every human deep down asks themselves, “How is God going to appear to me in my life?” Most of us deep down are afraid of what God will say to us because He knows about us. We are afraid of the judgment, rejection, and condemnation that will come when we have been exposed. We are afraid that God is coming to deliver us bad news.
Instead, the angel corrects them, “Fear not” (Luke 2:10). You do not need to fear the announcement of God. In fact, I have Good News for you, not bad news. Luke 2:11 continues, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The Good News is not that we have been given someone who can help us along, or be an example or partner with us. The Good News is that we have been given a Savior.
The joy of Christmas for real, ordinary people like you and me is that someone has come to save us, and His name is Jesus. Therefore, underneath the sentimentality of Christmas, wherever your real life takes place, hear the Good News today, “Fear not.”
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