It's so hard, I don't want to read too much into the Scriptures. But the part that most intrigues me is just Joseph's willingness to go along with this plan. He's engaged to this woman who ends up being pregnant and he doesn't want to shame her, he doesn't want to bring shame to her or to his family or her family. He plans to divorce her quietly. But then just having an angelic visitation come to him and say, "No, this is from the Lord." And just sort of striking him that way. It's always intrigued me how something so incredible could happen. And the Lord actually reaching down through an angel and touching this man's heart and really speaking to him, it's really powerful.
And I try to remain open. It's not that I will ever get a visitation or anything like that, but it reminds me, in a sense, to just remain open to the Lord's plans, even when things aren't making sense to me or when things aren't going my way, there is a divine plan that I'm a part of, and trusting the author of my story.
So the hymn that stands out to me the most is “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” Part of it is because that's one of the songs I've been singing as long as I can remember, even from a little kid, playing it on the record player. I remember being very young and going into a nursing home with people from my Grandma's church, and we would sing over the loudspeaker, and go into each of the rooms as little carolers. It's one of those hymns that, it gets stuck in your head, and you're walking through the mall in November, December, and you just hear it playing over the loudspeakers, and it's like you're hearing the gospel just in the background noise, it's pretty awesome.
I'd say my favorite verse from that song is, "Yea, Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning. Jesus, to thee all glory given. Word of the Father now in flesh appearing. Oh come, let us adore him."
It's such a simple song. I mean, children learn it. Like I said, I've been singing it since I was very little. But there's a lot of truth just packed into those three or four verses; it's pretty awesome.
I don't know if there's one moment or experience that made the incarnation more real to me, but just over time understanding more about it, more of the theology behind it, the purpose behind it, and realizing that it's God's Word made flesh. That's what happened when we celebrate Christmas.
