Talk about high expectations. Israel came to the Messiah with their expectations, and many of those expectations were understandable. “He will reign on David’s throne” and “The government will be on his shoulders.” This sounds like a governmental take over to me, which at the time of Jesus’ birth would have been welcomed by the Jewish people.

This section of scripture picks up right at the end of a story about King Herod. Quick recap: Herod was the ruler at the time when Jesus was born. He knew God was going to send a new King and he got super afraid of losing all his power. So, he found some scholars (magi, or the wise men) and sent them to find Jesus.

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.”

The world was about to experience the greatest thing to ever occur. It was not going to happen in a huge metropolis, there would be no brass bands, no media blitz.

Only a little, quiet, sleepy, unknown farming community. The only sounds were from lowing cattle. Then, Jesus was born.

There is a lot to unpack in these two short verses. They are essentially the ultimate RSVP as they give us the who, what, when and where of who Jesus is, and who he is to become!

Going forward through this year and into the years to come let us be like the Shepherds and go out into the community and spread the word of Jesus’s birth and what great things he has done in each of our lives.

Take time today to think about how you are spending time seeking Jesus. Are you seeking him with all your heart or taking your time in the fields?

It was January 1986. The news we had just received was devastating. The surgery was over, and the diagnosis was Cancer. As so very many of you know, hearing those scary words puts you in a very dark place. As my husband, Mike, was in recovery, I sat in the Lutheran Hospital Corridor trying to find a quiet spot, just to be alone.

The Gospel of Luke is one of my favorites. Not only does it bring us the story of Jesus’s birth, but it is the beginning of our hope and the promise of an everlasting life. It is a reminder that no matter who you are, God has promised you a savior, and we no longer have to worry about being lost and abandoned.

This year, I had an experience that reminded me of this scripture.Fall is my favorite season. One day, I had hopped on the mower and collected the moderate blanket of leaves covering the back yard. Now, as I relaxed in the glider chair on the patio, I observed yet another thin blanket of leaves slowly starting to cover the grass.

Luke was not the first gospel written to capture Jesus’ story; however, his version provides a unique perspective. Luke was a man of science. He was a physician. He was also a Gentile. But most importantly, he was the first historian of the early church.

It is often said that “patience is a virtue.”  I wonder if that is just said to those of us who are impatient to make us feel guilty and try to be more patient. In today’s world we have everything at our fingertips. Have a question…google it and get the answer in seconds. No need to spend hours in line to buy something… just go online order what you want and have it delivered to your house.

Whenever I read about Mary’s reaction to the news that she was pregnant with our Savior, I am so amazed. I remember when I found out I was pregnant for the first time. We had been trying for over a year, so to say I was elated is putting it mildly. Unfortunately, my husband was deployed in a combat zone, and I had no way of telling him.

Mary had just been told by an angel she would become pregnant through the Holy Spirit. She also was told by the angel that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant, even though Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing age and thought to be barren.

Waiting is hard. Especially during the holiday season. In todays society we are used to getting things instantly. Maybe you are waiting for gifts to be delivered or for a website to load. No matter what you’re waiting for, good or bad, big or small, it can get frustrating fast.

Jesus came into this world in a way that was deemed as sinful; he wasn’t born into a perfect family or situation. Mary was looked down upon because society had placed a stigma on her for being with child before marriage.

I spend a lot of my time waiting lately. Waiting in doctors’ offices. Waiting for test results. Waiting to get treatments done. I have actually gotten very good at waiting. I have several games on my phone that I play while I am waiting hoping to make the time go faster. I have acquired the ability to talk to other people who are also waiting and learn their stories. If I take my iPad I can read or check Facebook. All of these things I do in order to distract myself and make the time pass more quickly. The longest I have had to wait was probably two hours. Imagine waiting over 700 years!

This scripture always hits me “right in the feels” when I read it. I remember getting pregnant with our second child very soon after the birth of our first. I had no idea how we would do it, I just knew that we were going to do it! We were just figuring out how to be parents, and now we had to try to do it with two of them! It was overwhelming to say the least

Whenever I read this passage, my first impulse is to ask why God had muted Zechariah, and what purpose it could have served. Was it strictly a punishment? A way to convince the other priests that he had really experienced God’s power? An opportunity to make him a better husband and give his pregnant wife a listening ear? We can’t know for sure.

When I read this scripture in Luke, it always reminds me that prayer truly is so powerful. I have a prayer journal that I write in. Every few months I go back and read old entries. It’s so interesting to see how God has answered many of my prayers in ways that I never would have anticipated (and sometimes in ways I don’t want, too).