NEWBORN KING
Caesar Augustus as the emperor of Rome decreed that a census be held so that everyone in the empire could be taxed according to their property ownership and other possessions. They all had to go to their place of birth to be registered so Joseph who was of the house and lineage of King David had to take Mary to Bethlehem, to his family home. The Scriptures had prophesied that the true King of Peace would be born in Bethlehem at that very time, in a small village nearly five thousand miles distance from the palace of another king, Caesar Augustus in Rome. And we read the amazing prophecy of Micah, over seven hundred years earlier that declared that Bethlehem would be the place of the birth of Jesus.

Micah 5:2. O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past!” God will allow his people to become subject to their enemies until she who is to give birth has her son; then at last these fellow countrymen—the exile remnants of Israel—will rejoin their nation in their own land. And he (The Son) shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and his people shall remain there safely, for he will be greatly honoured all around the world. He will be our Peace.

Joseph and Mary were sent to the right place at the right time for the birth of Jesus, fulfilling the seven-hundred-year-old prophesy of his birthplace, and becoming the King of Peace.
Joseph walked beside the donkey that carried his wife. He was getting weary, and the journey was tiresome for Mary, and he knew he had to get his wife to the place of his family’s household and out of the cold, and the time was getting close for her to give birth. They finally arrived at the family home where they were warmly welcomed and invited inside. The dwelling complex was the usual cluster of rooms surrounding a central courtyard and it became clear to Joseph that the house was overcrowded, and that all the guestrooms were occupied. The word for guestroom in the Bible is kataluma, and this is the word for ‘Inn’, as in Luke 22:11 which states in the narrative that ‘There was no room at the Inn’. So we are not talking about two travellers trying to book into a local tavern that had already filled its quota in such a busy season, and they did not have to go and look for a stable in some paddock up the road. What the story is saying is that Joseph and his wife would have to stay in the stable of the family home, downstairs, in that warm place where the animals slept and fed.
Joseph saw the signs of the oncoming birth in the drawn face and the discomfort in Mary’s eyes and he settled her as quickly and gently as he could. Then Mary gave birth to her child and a baby cried its baby cry of shock as it entered the world. The smile upon Father’s face in heaven became a laugh of joy, which was echoed by Joseph in the earth, who would now adopt the role of the child’s earthly father.
On earth it was the natural and familiar scene of new birth. In the universe it was the most supernatural of any birth in history. It was also ordained that this birth would become the most celebrated event for all time, being celebrated annually by millions upon billions down through the ages, many of whom have scarce idea of what is really being celebrated.

Nearby, where shepherds were looking after their sheep upon the hills a huge shining star having reached its zenith was lighting up the entire night sky. The shepherds looked up in wonder at this light and suddenly the lights of shining angels dazzled them and they became terrified and ran and huddled together. The Angel Gabriel appeared above them, sent to tell them of the birth of Jesus. He told them not to be afraid, and that he had great and marvellous news for them, for all the world to hear. He told them that they would find a child, the Newborn King of the universe, God the Saviour, wrapped in simple clothing in a nearby stable. Suddenly Gabriel was joined by a multitude of angels as the brilliant night sky resounded with their voices singing, and they listened enraptured at the magnificent words. “The glory of God is being seen in the heavens, and his love and goodness is creating a new era of peace for all mankind.” The angelic song about this new creation in the world was the magnificent sequel to their song of the first creation of the world as we read in the book of Job after God challenges Job and says ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how its dimensions were determined, and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:4,7,8).

When the angels’ singing had stopped, the shepherds were guided to the place where this extraordinary event was taking place in the earth. These simple shepherds became the emissaries to the world of the birth of this king of kings, this child, and all who heard them were astounded and amazed.

A great light shone that night. The light shone upon a newborn child who would bring light into this world, to every person born into this world (John 1:9). And this light would be contested by darkness as always, but the conflict now rose to a new height. Time waited for the outcome, the verdict, the final encounter between light and darkness on a cross that would come one dark and stormy day. Time would wait until Father was ready, then this light would be able to overcome darkness in every single life.

God with us means more than just alongside us. It means he is within and through our being, and more than that, we are within and through his being. Jesus had declared this mystery of the human/ Divine intersection of life and being when he prayed to the Father in front of the disciples “I have given them the glory you gave me—the glorious unity of being one, as we are— I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one—so that the world will know you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me. (John 17:22)
This Divine intersection of our being with God is how we get to ‘know God’. The Holy Spirit speaks into our spirit the mind and words of Jesus, and we ‘see and know’ Jesus in this way. Faith lets us speak to him as a person, person to person.
1John 2:27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need to learn another person’s personal perception of God to know what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true.
This does not mean we disregard Scriptural teaching. This Scripture simply makes alive and real the personal and individual whisper of God into our spirit as the wisdom and understanding of the mind and heart of God that we need in any given situation and at any given time. That is what Jesus accomplished for us. That becomes the light to our path allowing us to express our unique and truest self in the best possible way. That is our faith.
Christmas waits to be truly celebrated within this understanding. Without Christmas there is no way we could ever have known God and become one with him. Amen