Come Home for Christmas!

Come Home for Christmas!
John R. Petrilli

At Christmas time we enjoy singing many of the familiar songs of the season. Some songs talk about the religious aspects of the holiday, while others deal with seasonal traditions like sleigh rides, caroling, roasting chestnuts, and trimming trees. One well known song is titled, “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays”. It brings to mind all the warmth and joy of celebrating the holiday together with loved ones. While being at home during the holidays may seem like the ideal way to celebrate Christmas, we may be surprised to find out that the very first Christmas was NOT celebrated at home.

A close look at the original Christmas story reveals a number of similarities between where some of us find ourselves this holiday season, and where Jesus’ family found themselves when they celebrated the very first Christmas.

JOSEPH AND MARY WERE SEPARATED FROM THE FAMILIAR PLACES THEY KNEW BACK HOME. Luke 2: 1-4

“About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the entire Roman Empire. Everyone had to travel to the town of their ancestors. So Joseph went from the town of Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem, King David’s town for the census because he was a descendant of King David.”

Bethlehem was about 60 miles from their hometown of Nazareth, so this couple found themselves a long way from home. Not only were they far from home, but the town they came to was very unfamiliar to them. So the first Christmas found two people separated far from their home and landing in a place with surroundings they weren’t used to and probably quite uncomfortable with.

JOSEPH AND MARY WERE SEPARATED FROM THE PEOPLE THEY LOVED BACK HOME. Luke 2:5

“Joseph went to Bethlehem to register WITH MARY, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.”

In order for Mary and Joseph to get to Bethlehem they had to leave all their families and friends behind back in Nazareth. Imagine leaving a town where everyone knew you to go to a place where nobody knew you. This is what it was like for this young couple. And to top it all off, it was at a time when Mary was expecting a child and needed the support of her family more than ever. I would imagine Mary and Joseph felt very out of place and missed everyone back home.
They didn’t have anyone to turn to for help or support. They probably felt very lonely, isolated and forgotten.

JOSEPH AND MARY WERE SEPARATED FROM THE COMFORTS THEY ENJOYED BACK HOME. Luke 2:7b

“While they were there, the time came for Mary to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her
firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room in the inn.”

If ever there was a difficult pregnancy, it would have to be Mary’s. While there were no physical complications with the pregnancy itself, she had to endure many hardships in reaching her goal of delivering her baby. First there was that very long and tiring journey on the back of a camel. Most women today enjoy the relative comfort convenience of being driven by car to the place of birthing, but Mary endured all the bumps and roughness that go along with camel travel. Already low on stamina due to her carrying an unborn baby, such a long trip would
have drained most of her energy. Then, instead of a brightly lit, spanking clean maternity ward, Mary had to settle for a dark, damp, dirty, smelly animal barn. Instead of enjoying the comfort afforded her by family and friends during her birth she has to settle for the company of some goats and oxen. How her heart must have longed to give birth back home instead of in that lonely place where hardships were many and comforts were few.

ALTHOUGH MANY MILES SEPARATED MARY AND JOSEPH FROM THEIR HOME AND FAMILES, GOD PROVIDED THEM WITH NEW FRIENDS TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WITH.

God sent new friends in the form of Shepherds to join Mary and Joseph in celebrating Jesus’ birth. How appropriate that the Good, Great and Chief Shepherd of our souls should be welcomed on earth by men of like trade. God also sent along a new friend in the person of a senior citizen named Simeon. The elderly saint took the baby Jesus up in his arms and gave Mary and Joseph the priceless gift of a special blessing upon the newborn infant. In addition to Simeon and the shepherds, God also added a widower named Anna to the invitation list for Jesus’ birthday. God finished off the guest list with an entourage from a far away land who gave Jesus His very first birthday gifts. They laid out before the family expensive and precious gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. Together all these wonderful people made the couple feel more at home as they Shared in the joy of the Savior’s birth.

WHEN WE CAN’T BE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, IT’S POSSIBLE FOR US TO CELEBRATE THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS WHEREVER WE ARE!

It’s been said that home is where the heart is. I don’t think that saying could ever be truer than at Christmas time. On that very first Christmas Eve Mary and Joseph were far from their physical home, yet, by welcoming Jesus into their hearts and lives, they had found a spiritual home away from home. And isn’t THAT what Christmas is all about? It’s about making room in our hearts for Jesus. Hear Jesus’ own words: “I stand at the door of your heart and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, O will enter your life and we will enjoy wonderful fellowship together.”

Sometimes we may have to celebrate Christmas away from our physical home, but nobody has to celebrate Christmas away from their spiritual home … EVER. So if you long for home this Christmas, remember that because Jesus died for your sins, you can make your heart His home today, and then you’ll truly be “Home for Christmas”!