Unexpected Partners

This week I've been reflecting on radical intersections in the Nativity story. There are miraculous coincidences of time and place, unlikely pairings, and unexpected participants, just to name a few.

One I had not focused on before sprung to mind as I was reading Hannah Brencher's Day 12 Advent devotional. I'll set up the scene: 

And while they were there [Bethlehem], the time came for her [Mary] to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7)

We all know how pristine and romanticized the stable/cave looks in picture books and nativity scenes, but if we put ourselves in Mary and Joseph's shoes, this was not the ideal place for a birth. The city of Bethlehem was bustling with people, but scripture doesn't indicate anyone was there with this young family experiencing the birth of a child for the first time. They were alone. Except for God. And He had been there from the very beginning.

Brencher says,

"At that moment, she [Mary] and God partnered to bring this baby into the weary world.

I have to burn this picture into my brain to remind myself that God uses the most unideal circumstances to accomplish his most significant purposes.

The whole story of Jesus' birth is entirely unassuming.

It's anonymous.

It wasn't the talk to the town.

It wasn't making the news.

It was a birth in a relatively obscure area— out of sight and tucked away— and it wasn't until the star appeared that the news spread, "Immanuel is here. He is finally, finally with us.'"

Other than the creation of the world, the Incarnation was the biggest thing God had ever done. We surmise from Genesis 1:26 that the whole Trinity was present when the world was sung into being. God wouldn't need a human for another creation, would He? And yet, He chose to partner with a young woman in order to bring His Son into the world. A very radical intersection, indeed.

What kind of hope does this give us?

Sometimes when we speak about prayer, we refer to the idea that we are partnering with God in order to make something happen. Prayer should be a dialogue, for sure. But it is God who does the partnering. We have no power to corral Him into joining us. Instead, adult Jesus taught His disciples to pray in a certain, humble way when they had requests of God; to make themselves available for God's good works.

We aren't privy to Mary and Joseph's prayers, either in the times before they encountered God's plan of Incarnation, nor when they are huddled together in a quiet, dirty corner of Bethlehem waiting for Mary's contractions to increase in speed. But they were fully aware of the immense weight/honor they carried, being the earthly parents of this Precious Son. If this child was to grow up and bring about miraculous salvation, surely God had His hands on every step of their (and His) journey--including the intimate and messy act of delivering a baby.

What messy things in our lives could benefit from a divine partner like Jesus? (The answer is all of them). We need not be embarrassed by a less than perfect setting or set of circumstances. God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--is always ready to join us in the mess. That is what it means for us to call Jesus, Emmanuel. God with us. God choosing us. God partnering with us. For His glory and our good.