The first person to ever hear the good news about Jesus was a low-income teenage girl from a Podunk town. She had the most common name for a Jewish woman of her time and place. She was just another Mary. But then, an angel appeared to her. Now when we think of angels, we tend to think of the fairy on top of the Christmas tree only much bigger. But angels in the Bible are terrifying messengers of God who almost always need to tell the humans they encounter, “Do not be afraid.” Mary was no exception. The angel said to her, “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
This news was extraordinary. The Jews had been living under foreign rule for centuries, kicked around by empire after empire like a soccer ball. But God had promised that one day He would send His Everlasting King to rescue them. And the angels’ message to Mary is this, “The King is Coming, He will be your Son, His name is Jesus.” Mary had a reasonable question. “How will this be since I am a virgin?” She was engaged to a guy named Joseph, but they weren’t yet married, and she assumed that he would be the dad.
But then the angel drops another bombshell: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.” This news was outrageous. Stories were told of Greek and Roman so-called gods impregnating human women, but the God of the Bible was nothing like those pagan deities. He was utterly transcendent, the One Creator God of all the universe, the One who simply is. And yet He chose to take on flesh and grow in Mary’s womb.
When Jesus was born, we might have thought that God’s long promised King would live in luxury. But instead, He was laid in an animal feeding trough. We might have thought He would be received by royalty, but instead the Roman-sanctioned King of the Jews tried to get Him killed in infancy. We might have thought the promised King of all the world had come to be served, but Jesus said He had come to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Mary was there at the beginning when she first heard that Jesus would be God’s promised King. She was also there at the end when Jesus was nailed to a Roman cross with a sign above His head that read, “Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews.” The Son whose cries she had soothed with her milk, crying out to His Father in agony. The Son whose infant body she had wrapped up in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger now taken down from the cross and wrapped in burial clothes and laid in a tomb.
What a devastating end to all her hopes and dreams. What a mockery of everything the angel had promised. But then on the third day, another Mary went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. And as she stood there weeping, Jesus came to her and said her name, “Mary.” And when she heard it, she recognized who He was, Jesus of Nazareth, risen form the dead, reborn from the tomb just as He had once been born from that first Mary’s womb.
But why? Why would the God of all the universe become a Man? Why would He live in poverty and die in agony? Why would the everlasting King of all the world come not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many? Why? Because of love. Because of love for you and me.
You see, we’ve turned our backs on God and come under God’s judgment for our sin, but Jesus came to die to take that judgment for sin on Himself. The Son of God was born to die so you and I could live as sons and daughters of God wrapped up more tightly in His love than He was once wrapped up in those swaddling clothes.
Mary of Nazareth was a no-name girl from a Podunk town until she welcomed Jesus. If you feel insignificant today, unknown, and unloved, open yourself to Jesus and know that to God you are worth the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. The King of all the universe is reaching out in love to you. And His Name is Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Dear friends, we pray that this advent season finds you celebrating the first coming of our great Savior and anticipating His second coming. Our family continues to enjoy the blessings of our loving Father. We enjoy mercies that are new every morning and love which frees us from fear and anxiety. While the circumstances of life have been overwhelming, His grace is greater still. How blessed we are!
I must apologize to the few who receive Christmas cards from us. This year you will not get one. My neuropathy makes it difficult to write. When I address just one card my hands don’t want to open back up. Maria says I look like a Lego man when that happens.
(The following pictures are the ones the girls sent to me.)
Please pray for Rebekah and Tim, who live in a beautiful (and very expensive) place, New Jersey. They love and serve the great people of that region shining the light of their Savior for all to see. It is a blessing for them to be close to Tim’s family. They are active in a wonderful church fellowship and are loving their new apartment which has a little more room for their two cats.
Also pray for Victoria and Noah, who are very busy with their vocations and their involvement in a terrific local congregation. Victoria is done with her semester teaching in Conway Arkansas, and Noah is doing well in the IT department of a Little Rock law firm. They travel many miles each day and are contemplating finding a new place to live.
And don’t forget to pray for Maria as she faces the challenges of teaching a class of kindergarteners and coming home to live with her parents. (I don’t know which is harder.) She is at times our handywoman and chauffer, as I can’t drive or do much around the house anymore. She also is very much a part of our little church family in Appleton, Arkansas, and even participates in the annual Appleton Comedy Show. (Maria far left with her fellow teachers/carolers.)
And if you have any spare time and brainpower, please continue to pray for Leah and myself. While we have a few physical challenges, our house is filled with laughter and joy. I am so thankful she is my best friend and constant companion.
Leah continues to struggle with diabetes, IBS, kidney issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, and emotional issues. Will you please lift my bride before the throne of grace and pray for her complete healing in the name of Jesus?
My neurologist added some medication and I am still getting help for my eyes. My eye issues have been going on since July. I am so thankful to Victoria and to James Scheible, who both took me to various surgeries, and who also both drove me to Conway so I could see my retina specialist. They were an incredible help and blessing!
How can I pray for you? Please let me know. We love and appreciate you!
Brian Heinen 802 E 23rd Street Russellville, AR 72802 (479) 886-0765
bheinen.com brheinen1@gmail.com
Behold, the Lamb of God! 