THE LOWLY

One theme that has resonated with me this Christmas season is how God chooses the lowly of this world. If we reflect upon it, it seems like everyone involved in the events of Jesus’ birth and ministry beginnings was considered lowly in the worldly view.  I think there is a message and encouragement in that for us too.

 

It all begins with thinking of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  –Luke 1:26-28  (NIV)

Mary, a young girl living a chaste life, had no worldly status, fame, or notoriety, yet God chose her to be highly favored. She was empowered by the Holy Spirit to conceive and carry Jesus, the Savior of the world. Mary, a lowly woman, said yes to God, being open to whatever the future would hold for her.

 

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”  –Luke 1:46-49  (NIV)

The angel Gabriel had foretold Zechariah, the husband of Mary’s elderly and barren cousin, Elizabeth, that they would miraculously conceive a child. This Scripture is the beginning of a beautiful proclamation Mary shares with Elizabeth. She admits she is a lowly, humble servant, yet her soul glorifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God. She recognizes that God has done great things through and with her and that He is holy.

 

The place where the Annunciation is believed to have taken place

What about Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father?

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  –Matthew 1:18-21  (NIV)

Scripture doesn’t tell us much about Joseph, and there are no Scripture recordings of him saying anything. We can conclude that he was not a man of high status in worldly terms because we know he was a carpenter by trade. Joseph was a righteous and caring man, as he did not want to publicly disgrace Mary if he divorced her. He, too, listened to the angel and said yes, taking on the responsibility to be Jesus’ earthly father.

 

Photo courtesy of Lawrence OP under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.

And the child (John the Baptist) grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.  –Luke 1:80  (ESV)

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.   –Matthew 3:1-6  (ESV)

John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was the miracle son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest in the division of Abijah in Judea. John did not follow in his father’s footsteps. We know John grew up in the Judean Desert and was called by God to preach repentance as he traversed the vast Judean Desert when he was thirty years old. The desert is east of Jerusalem in the West Bank and descends to the Dead Sea. We learn that John was not royalty but rather more lowly by the world’s standards. His clothing was made from camel‘s hair, and he ate what he could find, which was locusts and honey, while walking in the desert.

 

The Judean Desert where John the Baptist preached repentance

 

 The shepherds in the fields.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  –Luke 2:8-12  (NIV)

Isn’t it fascinating to see how God’s plan was for the lowly shepherds to be some of the first ones to find out about the birth of Jesus and its good news? Just ordinary, simple people tending their flocks at night were God’s chosen ones to announce the birth of Jesus.

 

Depiction of the angel announcing Jesus’ birth to the shepherds

 

Jesus Himself.

 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her 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 2:4-7  (ESV)

Are you in awe considering the lowly manner in which the Savior of the world came to earth? Jesus entered this world in humble circumstances. The trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where they were required to go to register for the census, was a three-day trip. With so many people arriving in Bethlehem, they could not find any place to stay as the time came for Jesus to be born. Therefore, Jesus was born in a stable, and His manger was a feeding trough for the animals.

 

Depiction of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem

 

We recently celebrated the greatest event in all of history—the birth of Jesus, our Lord and the Savior of the world. It amazes me that God chose the lowly ones in this world to bring about the biggest event of salvation for all who will believe.

Does that fill you with hope?

This week be encouraged knowing that God uses every one of us, including the lowly of the world, if…

…we are open to saying yes to God.

…our actions follow God’s will.

…we let God lead us.

…we announce the good news to the world.

…we remember that God is with us in every circumstance.

 

REFLECTION:

Which of the lowly people do you relate to most in the reflection?

 

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  –1 Corinthians 1:28-29  (NIV)