Monday, November 30

Matthew 1:18-19 

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 

Every married couple that has been blessed with a baby knows that the arrival of a child changes everything! One of the things I was not quite prepared for when our first child was born was how quickly those changes would happen – and how soon that little newborn would force us to make decisions. 

Like most new parents we tended to respond to every cry and whimper of our little “bundle of joy.” The result, of course, was that he quickly trained us to get him anything he wanted at any time of day or night. Within a few months we were getting up several times each night in response to his cries for attention. Since he couldn’t yet talk we had to guess at his needs. Sometimes he wanted milk; sometimes he wanted juice; sometimes he just wanted to be picked up and held. But when he cried out we would always get up and get him whatever he needed to quiet down and go back to sleep. After several months of this - he was quite happy and we were quite exhausted! 

After consulting our pediatrician and a few trusted friends, we learned that in order to preserve our sleep - not to mention our sanity – we were going to have to learn a different way of responding. We decided that when our little guy cried out – we would check to make sure he had a clean diaper – and that he was well fed – but other than that we would not get him extra juice or pick him up. Essentially, we would let him cry it out and go back to sleep. At least that was the plan! 

The plan didn’t go so well! To put it mildly, our son was not a happy camper! Beginning on the first night of our experiment and continuing for what seemed like weeks (although it was only a matter of a few days) he demonstrated a phenomenal ability to cry with increasing strength and outrage for over an hour at a time – while we lay in bed taking turns keeping each other from running to his crib. On about the third night, we listened as he ratcheted up his angry cries to soul-splitting levels, when suddenly there was a loud thump – followed by eerie silence. Frightened by the strange sequence of sounds, I bolted out of bed and ran to his room. Peering through the darkness I saw my 6 or 7 month old son sitting in the middle of the floor. He had become so agitated that he flung himself up over the railing of his crib and onto the floor – the thump I heard was his little body hitting the floor. The silence that followed was probably because the rough landing on his backside had so startled him that, momentarily anyway, he forgot to cry! 

The coming of a child really does change everything! Over the first few months of life a child will change your sleep patterns for the worse; your energy level – also for the worse; your finances – you guessed it; and, eventually, even your capacity to love – which grows beyond your wildest dreams! 

In short, one could describe the arrival of a child as a great interruption! 

The word interruption comes to us from two Latin words – intero – which means into – and rupere – which means to break. So to interrupt means to break into. And that’s what happens when a child is born! A baby breaks intoyour world and changes everything! 

So it is with the great story we celebrate again during the Advent season! Look again at Matthew’s simple description of how this child broke into the world: 

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 

Have you ever thought about this story from the perspective of an interruption? Think about it: Mary and Joseph are engaged to be married – “betrothed” in the ancient Jewish way. Everyone is looking forward to the great celebration that will be their wedding feast. Joseph is looking forward to bringing his bride into his home and eventually starting a family. Everything is perfect. Then - WHAM! - everything changes with the discovery that before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 

Talk about an interruption! We’re talking interrupted engagement, interrupted plans, interrupted expectations and a completely interrupted life! Joseph had to be thinking, “I didn’t sign up for this!” And with everything in him he probably wished this painful interruption had never happened. 

Yet, from the perspective of 2000 years, we can see that this particular interruption, difficult as it was for Joseph to comprehend at the time, was actually God himself breaking into human history! 

The Bible tells us, 

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…(Galatians 4:4)

What Joseph had to see as the interruption of all his plans was actually a sovereign and divine interruption that brought salvation into the world.

As you begin this Advent season, notice all the ways that Christmas interrupts everyday routines! Ask God to use these interruptions to remind you of his own great interruption into history – and into your life. Ask him to break into your heart once more with his presence and love!

Pastor Brian Coffey