Marilyn's Mussings

Have you ever watched someone with a baby? Oh, the faces, voices and sounds! The love that wells up in us for an innocent baby tends to make our response honest and vulnerable.  What then is our response to baby Jesus? God lovingly placed a star in the sky the night Jesus was born. Far away in the east, the Magi saw it.  Much of what they did involved the stars, so God put that star where they were looking. He meant for them to come. Scripture says they went straight to Jerusalem and asked where the baby was. It must have puzzled them that the religious leaders did not know about the birth of the new King. By now Jesus was no longer a newborn. The religious leaders knew the scripture but were unaware of the Savior.  With new information, the Magi headed to Bethlehem. As they began, that same star reappeared! They followed the star to the exact house in which Jesus lived. There, they bowed down and worshiped the Christ Child.  "Worship" in the ancient Orient, paints a...

I love nativity sets. I love each artist's depiction of Mary and Joseph with hearts to follow God, and the sweet baby they both look at adoringly. As we gaze with them, we are acutely aware of what Mary and Joseph knew then, and what the world did not yet know. This baby was the Son of God, Immanuel, Jesus the Christ. There was no fanfare in the city of Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph slipped in so unnoticed that there was not even a place for them to stay. Our Savior's first bed was a manger. It was a non-event for the city. People went about their everyday routine interrupted only by the activities of the day.  The fanfare happened in a nearby field with shepherds and sheep. It was unexpected and sudden. The shepherds found themselves standing in the midst of great light - the glory of the Lord, the manifest presence of God Himself. An angel appeared with a message. It was good news, the best of news, news of great joy for all people. "For Unto you is...

Have you ever thought that if God would just call you by name and tell you what to do, you would do it?  That’s what happened to Mary. She was a young, innocent teenage girl when God sent His angel Gabriel to her with a message. He called her name, eased her fear, and told her that God had chosen her to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah. She got important details. The pregnancy will be a work of the Holy Spirit. The baby will be the Son of God. His name will be Jesus. Mary's response was simple and full of peace. "I am God's servant. May it be as you have said." She got some personal information too. Her relative Elizabeth, who was way too old to have a baby, was six months pregnant. "Nothing is impossible with God." So Mary went to see Elizabeth. It was there, through Elizabeth, that God lovingly confirmed what He was doing in Mary. With the confirmation came more peace for Mary, so much so that it propelled her to song! God still speaks today. Not ...

Did you have plans? Then something unexpected happened? Joseph had plans. He was going to make Mary his wife and they would have a life like those around him. Yes, he was of the line of David, but so many others were as well. He surely had no idea how that detail would play into his future. And then he found out his anticipated bride was pregnant. In kindness he prepared to remove himself from her quietly, but before he could, an angel came to him in a dream and stopped him. The baby Mary carried was from the Holy Spirit. This was the sign Isaiah told us would come. Imagine the intimacy both Joseph and Mary felt when God revealed that long awaited sign to them personally. Oh, the hope that must have swelled in their hearts! And now that God-given hope would empower Joseph through the coming hurdles. With purposeful obedience amidst the hushed voices around him and the questions within him, he proceeded. He journeyed to Bethlehem with Mary, full term, and found there was no place to ...