[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner parallax_bg_width=”110″ parallax_speed=”normal” bg_type=”theme_default” bg_grad=”background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #FBFBFB), color-stop(50%, #E3E3E3), color-stop(100%, #C2C2C2));background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -o-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_image_size=”cover” bg_img_attach=”fixed” parallax_sense=”30″ viewport_vdo=”viewport_play” enable_controls=”display_control” bg_override=”0″ class=”advent” el_id=”adventHeader”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][us_image image=”8122″ animate=”afb” animate_delay=”0.2″ size=”medium” link=””][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Advent Devotional” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:65|text_align:center|color:%23efefef” google_fonts=”font_family:Condiment%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” el_class=”adventTitle”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner parallax_bg_width=”110″ parallax_speed=”normal” bg_type=”theme_default” bg_grad=”background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, #FBFBFB), color-stop(50%, #E3E3E3), color-stop(100%, #C2C2C2));background: -moz-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -webkit-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -o-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: -ms-linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);background: linear-gradient(top,#FBFBFB 0%,#E3E3E3 50%,#C2C2C2 100%);” bg_color_value=”#eaeaea” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_image_size=”cover” bg_img_attach=”scroll” parallax_sense=”30″ viewport_vdo=”viewport_play” enable_controls=”display_control” bg_override=”0″ background=”primary”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][us_image image=”8246″ size=”full” link=””][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]

Family Drama

by Dan Elliott

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We’re getting ready for our annual red-eye Christmas flight followed by the whirl-wind family week that’ll put about 700 miles on some unsuspecting rental car! Usually I can’t wait to see everybody. This year…well, let’s just say there will probably be a healthy dose of family drama. It might be TMI if I go into too many details. In fact, it’d be TMI if I go into any details.   Just take my word for it.

Ahhh… the joys of Christmas.

This all got me thinking about the family drama that Jesus stepped into. Not that we have a ton of details. For starters can you imagine what it was like when Mary had to tell her mom and dad that she was “with child”? I’m sure you’ve tackled that one just like I have. “What did you just say? Who did this? Come again?”

Then there’s poor Joseph who sees his young bride sometime after three months into her pregnancy (Lk 1:56). The Bible does tell us he chose to do the merciful thing – rather than “disgrace her publicly, he decided to break the engagement quietly” (Mt 1:19). What a disappointing dilemma he was in. That is until an angel comes in a dream and straightens things out. Then he’s simply faced with a challenging dilemma…that he accepts – he takes his young pregnant fiancée as his bride. Now he joins her to face the outcast stares she’s been dealing with. And what about Mary’s mom and dad now? We can only imagine how they’re handling all this as the time for the birth gets closer.

“Let earth receive her King”… What about the struggles a family had to go through receiving one of their own as a King? Jesus’ coming to this world was a challenge for those closest to him. Like Simeon said to Mary – “and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” (Lk 2:35) These parents had to uproot their lives and run to Egypt to protect their young son (Mt 2:14). Later, I wonder if they were frustrated when they feared they lost him somewhere in all the Passover crowds…only to find him three days later talking with a group of teachers (Lk 2:45)!

Years later, Mary and her other sons came to see Jesus. They were concerned that he might have too little margin in his life. (That’s a nice way of saying: “He’s out of his mind!” Mk 3:21) There were too many folks crowded around him for them to get close. What were his words when he got the message that his family was there? …”Who are my mother and my brothers?” (Mk 3:33) How do you receive that word as a sibling? Close to the end of his ministry, Jesus secretly went to a major Jerusalem feast. As that was unfolding, we’re told the hard truth: “for his own brothers did not believe him” (Jn 7:5, 10).   At the cross, none of them showed up to mourn with their mom…or their step-brother.

Even with the advent of the King of Kings into our world, there was family drama. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my family has some drama, too. What gives me some hope with my drama is that Jesus’ family story didn’t end at the cross. In fact, take a look at what happened fifty days later. There’s a crowd of people waiting in an upstairs room. “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.” (Acts 1:14). A number of years after that, the Apostle Paul recounts the two people he visited on his first return visit to Jerusalem after his conversion. Peter was one of them. And the other…? In Paul’s own words: “The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.” (Gal 1:19)

If there was hope for Jesus’ family, I certainly know there’s hope for mine. I know there’s hope for yours, too. Ahhh….the joys of Advent.[/vc_column_text][us_separator height=”20px” size=”custom”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]