Christmas Was An Invasion

We have at least 5 different nativity scenes set up in our home. Some purchased because we thought they looked cool. One from a kid's book where we move the star each day and they have to find it. One little hand-made one we got while in Ecuador a few years ago. 

While they all are very unique, they all have something in common: It is a very peaceful scene. It's possible that that night really was silent, after days of travel, the pain and chaos of childbirth, etc.

But the peaceful decorations and carols can easily lull me into forgetting what was actually happening in that moment. In the spiritual realm it was anything but peaceful. Check out this often forgotten version of the Christmas story found in Revelation:

"Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth.

Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.

She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days."

Revelation 12: 1-6 (You can read the whole thing here!)

I remember reading this to my kids a couple of years ago. "A Dragon was waiting to devour baby Jesus?!" 

"Yeah buddy. Sure was."

Jesus was a threat. The Evil one knew it and was furious. Why?

The easily forgotten truth is that we are in a larger story, and in that story there is an Evil that walked the earth. And still does. Thrown down from heaven, his goal is the marring of the glory of God found in you and me. He wars against us.

Jesus was the Messiah. The Savior. Messiahs and saviors are for people who need saving. For people who are oppressed, trapped, outnumbered and out-gunned. For people who need rescue. (That's me and you.)

Oh Holy Night is one of my favorite all-time Christmas carols. Read some of the lyrics:

"A thrill of hope! The weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!"

and

"Truly, He taught us to love one another.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name all oppression shall cease."

Oh Holy Night is a song for the rescued. Joy to the World is a song of Victory. Go Tell It On The Mountain starts to feel like the lighting of ancient fiery beacons of hope. 

 The birth of Jesus was the greatest miracle the world has seen- not because of the virgin birth, but because the Creator God came as a creation to be with us. In so doing, he was parachuting in behind enemy lines.

Christmas was an invasion. An invasion of Joy into the bitterness. Of Peace into the chaos. Of Hope for the hopeless. Of Light into the darkness. A rescue mission in the silent night.

Friends. Brothers. Christmas is not about time with family. It is not about buying gifts, eating ginger snaps or drinking egg nog, though all of those are glorious things. Christmas was the ultimate invasion of God, in the midst of a long a bloody war, to rescue his people.

Do you also forget that we are at war? How might we sing Christmas carols differently today?

Merry Christmas!

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Cody Buriff, Director of Resource Initiatives