a devotional written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Matthew 1: 18 Now
the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When
his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they
lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy
Spirit.[1][1]
The
first Christmas has a lot of elements. It was a time of
fear, perhaps distrust. Mary was pregnant out of wedlock.
Joseph was certain he was not the father. They were
engaged, but had not had relations with each other. Perhaps
Joseph wondered if Mary had cheated on him. Did he wonder,
“Who was the other guy? What it someone from her past? Did
she love him more than Joseph? When did it happen? Should
he report her and have her stoned to death?” An angel
appeared to both Mary and Joseph to give them reassurance
that what was happening was all part of a bigger plan from
God, but it was still a wild and crazy time for the young
couple. For Mary and Joseph it was a time of wonder and a
time of joy. It was a time of uncertainty, a time of fear,
but also a time of loneliness.
The
young couple was lonely because they had no one to share
their burden. They were going though the time of their life
together, but had no one to share it with! They struggled
to make sense of what was happening to the two of them, but
had no one they could talk it out and get feedback. There
was no cell phone. No way to text, email or skype. They
could not remain in their home city because of the scrutiny
placed on them with the out of wedlock pregnancy. They
would not be able to remain for long in Bethlehem because of
the wrath of Herod. They could not go home. They could not
stay in Bethlehem. There was no one they could turn to, so
following the direction of the angels of God, they made
their way to Egypt.
Perhaps you know someone who is lonely this Christmas.
Loneliness is real. I think of the song the Emotions sang
entitled, “What do the lonely do at Christmas?” Listen to
the words –
‘Tis the season to be jolly
But how can I be when I have nobody
The yuletide carol doesn’t make it better
Knowing that we won’t be together
A silent night
I know it’s gonna be
Joy to the world
But it’s gonna be sad for me
What do the lonely do
At Christmas
Oh, oh, what do the lonely do
At Christmas time
The children can play with their new toys
While their little hearts burst open with joy
And lovers can kiss beneath the mistletoes
The choirs can sing those glorious songs of old
What do the lonely do
At Christmas
Oh, oh, what do the lonely do
At Christmas time
Perhaps you know someone or perhaps even yourself who is
lonely at Christmas. I encourage you to remind them that
they are not the first to have to go through Christmas
alone. Remind them that while Mary and Joseph may have
begun their Christmas lonely, by the time the angels, Wise
Men and Shepherds got through with them, they were so full
of company and activity they had no time to feel sorry for
themselves. If open ourselves in prayer, God will do the
same thing that was done for Mary and Joseph – God will help
you to deal with whatever it is that is making you sad and
lonely at Christmas. My suggestion is that if you are
lonely at Christmas; find someone to share the holiday.
When my children were young and full of the bustling energy
and enthusiasm of youth, there were several childless adults
who would stop by our home on Christmas eve to watch us read
the Christmas story to our kids. What I noticed in our
visitors was a vicarious joy they received from being around
the children. One of the lessons I learned from this is
that we can either allow loneliness to overwhelm us, or we
can acknowledge it for what it is and aggressively confront
it and establish positive relationships. In the process,
what you will find is that if you let him, the Lord will
meet you, greet you and transform your loneliness to genuine
joy.
Nick
Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
[1][1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version.
1989 (Mt 1:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.