The "Holy" Family

Yesterday was the deadline for the December newsletter.  Here's a preview of what I'll be writing to the congregation:

The “Holy” Family

Matthew 1:18 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

“What a way to start a marriage.” If it were not for the fact that this is beginning of the familiar Christmas story from Matthew, that might be our reply upon hearing of a young girl, engaged to an older man, who has found herself to be pregnant by—according to her—the Holy Spirit. Yet, that’s the truth and we behold this truth as beautiful and honorable and even holy because of the rest of the story as we know it. We know that this is the story of our Lord and Savior Jesus and just the beginning of his trek to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. Because of the outcome, the unsavory has been made beautiful. The less-than-ideal has been made “holy” in our memories. (Take a minute to read verses 19 through 25 to hear how Joseph responded to this “unfortunate” news. It’s especially inspiring for husbands and fathers)

On the other hand, it’s interesting how some of the other traditions surrounding Christmas have been transformed away from the scriptures which inspire them. We’ve removed the smell from the stable, the itch from the hay, the spiders from the hay mow, the flies from the manure and replaced them with haloed parents visited by guests who glow in pristinely washed and beautifully adorned clothing. We forget that shepherds were dirty, unsavory fellows who could get no other work and that the “Three Kings” were travelers in a time when traveling was also a dirty, messy affair. Yet, as unkempt the guests, as unsanitary the crib, as irregular the situation, this family was indeed Holy because of God’s presence and choice of sending them his Son.

Each of us is found in some sort of a family. Whether that family is headed by a single parent or two parents, whether it has five kids or no kids, a full nest or an empty nest, or even if we find ourselves alone after many years together with another, we are part of a family somewhere, somehow; either the family we come from, the family we started, or the family of believers we have in the Church.

However, all families are comprised of people who sin. Thus, families are full of sin as well and we can’t help it but to have rough patches from time to time and not every person in that family will always fit the mold or be in line with the rest of the clan. The Christmas season is one in which many families try to gloss over that sinful nature with pretty bows and packages, rich food and drink, fancy clothes and festive decorations. We try to do for our own families what Christians have done to the Holy Family in the Christmas story for years because we only want to experience the joy of the season and ignore the reality we live in.

But the ultimate reality in which we can all find joy is that God didn’t just bless Mary and Joseph on that Holy Night. When he sent his only son to be born of a girl who was engaged to another man, he began the process of redeeming all families and making them holy once again. Adam and Eve were the only humans who know what it was like to live in that holy state of one man and one woman, made for each other, for eternity. When they sinned we lost that knowledge and experience.

The Good News is that through Christ, we may experience what a holy family is again one day when we are raised on the last day to a new heaven and a new earth and live the life we were created for. But, until that time, we have Christ and his bride the church. As part of this holy union, we have a family which, though still containing sin, has been forgiven and lives in the grace of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ—warts and all.

This Christmas, as you find yourself stressing out over making the proper decorations, buying the perfect gift, baking the perfect dessert or roasting the perfect turkey, don’t be afraid if the decorations sag, the gift is returned, the dessert flops and the turkey is as dry as the Sahara. Christmas isn’t about perfection or hiding the rough edges. It’s about the one who came to make we, who are inherently imperfect, perfect in the eyes of the one who made us. Revel and bask in the glow of HIS holiness this Christmas, just like the shepherds, and angels, and kings.

A Blessed Christmas to all,

Pastor Sukstorf
Assoc. Minister of Family Life.