In December. Despite the time of Christmas, there might be people who cannot feel happy even listening to the jingle bells. They may be facing great difficulties, Covid-19, or fate that cannot be resolved or controlled. They may feel their lives are dictated by those things and overwhelmed by hopelessness.
Christmas in more than 2000 years ago, Joseph and Mary also faced great difficulties. At the time, the first Roman emperor, Augustus conquered the world after many years of war, yet economy was in chaotic state. Augustus decided to collect taxes from all the citizen to uplift its economy. So, he issued an edict for the citizen to return to their home town, and be registered. This way, he could create the list of citizens, and make them pay taxes. This was a reasonable policy for any national leader, but it was annoying for Joseph and Mary. Because Mary was already into the 9th month of her pregnancy, yet they were forced to travel 300 km on the back of a donkey. It was a dangerous and life-threatening journey, yet they could not reject the edict. They wondered if they could leave Nazareth and returned to their home town, Bethlehem safely. It was a risky trip, yet she gave a birth when the time came. That baby is the Jesus Christ, our savior. It was prophesized by Micah more than 600 years before his birth. He prophesized that the savior will be born in Bethlehem. Despite such difficult situation, God protected her and the prophecy came true. God even used Augustus’ dictation as His tool.
What I wish to tell you is this. You may feel there is an Augustus-like situation in your life. But, please do not worry. God will use your Augustus as a tool to bring you a wonderful salvation.
May God bless you during this special time of Christmas.
Senior Pastor Masao Nakanishi
