Shauna Letellier

Rest & Relief for Ragged Souls

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How to Read the Christmas Story as if for the First Time

By shauna Leave a Comment

 

Barbara Robinson’s classic novel, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, has been read and performed in classrooms, Sunday school rooms, homes, and community theaters.  For 45 years readers have giggled, wondered, and maybe even cried with narrator Beth Bradley as she introduced us to the Herdman children–“the worst kids in the history of the world.” All six of them smoked, stole, and fought. And “Since none of the Herdmans had ever gone to church or Sunday school or read the Bible or anything, they didn’t know how things were supposed to be.”

Then, rehearsal after rehearsal, we watch the Herdman children hijack the traditional church Christmas program.

One reason this story clings to the Christmas season is because it provides fresh perspective for those of us who are dangerously overfamiliar with the biblical Christmas story. Through the unfiltered outbursts of the motley Herdman children we get to observe the story of Jesus’ birth as though we’d never heard it before.

For most of us, overfamiliarity causes us to yawn through the angel’s song and saunter up to the manger unsurprised to find a baby in a feed bucket. Perhaps this year we can take a cue from the unpolished Herdmans and un-familiarize ourselves with the Christmas story. Not in order to forget it, but in order to read it again as if for the first time. Perhaps a slow and imaginative Bible reading will return the wonder of God’s extraordinary plan as we take a fresh look at the familiar.

Here are 5 tips for reading the familiar Christmas story as if for the first time.

1. Zoom in: Start with one verse and observe the fine details. Take Matthew 1:28 for instance. “Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” (NIV) Zoom in on Joseph and put yourself in his sandals. He was a carpenter, and when his fiancé was “found to be with child,” there’s a good possibility he was distracted when he went to his woodworking that day. See his knuckles whitening around the hammer? Hear the lumber thrown in a pile? Watch him leave his workshop before sunset to see to the Jewish logistics of a quiet divorce. Because he was a righteous man, observe how he sought to follow God’s law even in the wake of a devastating announcement.

2. Confine yourself to a limited perspective: Remind yourself that Joseph and Mary did not know the rest of the story as we do. Joseph did not have a trip to Bethlehem planned. From his limited perspective, he was staring down a future of disgrace, embarrassment, and—if he ever hoped to be married–another long engagement period in the distant future.

3. Ask their questions: List some questions Joseph might have asked. Didn’t I choose the right girl? Is this punishment? What does obedience look like now? Is my anger righteous? Will my family be ashamed? Is there anyone else in this small town who will marry me? What will happen to Mary? What will happen to the baby?

4. Pray their prayers: How would a righteous Old Testament man have prayed the night before he went to the synagogue to write a “certificate of divorce” (Matthew 5:31)? If he was at a loss for words, would he employ the prayer of the Psalmist? “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.” (Psalm 13:2-3)

Or would he have acknowledged God’s sovereignty with words of worship borrowed from King Hezekiah “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth…” Help. (Isaiah 37:16)

5. Retell the story: After your sanctified imagination, governed by the parameters of history and scripture, has walked a day Joseph’s sandals, return to the passage and read it again. Feel the devastating weight. Then move to the next few verses and experience the holy exhilaration of a divine assignment. Retell the story to yourself or a friend.

You can repeat this exercise with any character you find in the Christmas narratives–Zechariah or Elizabeth, Anna or Simeon, or maybe the first shepherd who “hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby” (Luke 2:16). Take the challenge offered by Dr. Howard Hendricks to pray as you read, “Lord, clothe the facts with fascination.”

A word of caution though. Use these tips as tools for taking a fresh look at the familiar, not a basis for building a doctrine. It’s a method of placing yourself in the position of a real person in history and to glimpse what it meant for them to trust and obey God.

When you step back into your ordinary modern-day life you’ll be filled with fresh wonder at what God can do with ordinary humans who are willing participate in his extraordinary plan.

5 tips to read the Christmas story as if for the first time #RemarkableAdvent Click To Tweet

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HI THERE!

I’m Shauna, and I help worn-out Christians find permanent rest and relief by retelling gospel stories that highlight Jesus’ kindness toward ordinary people like us.

In my books and on this blog, I weave history, theology, and fictional detail into a fresh retelling of familiar Bible stories. I started writing them because I needed them. When I shared my stories, people said they made the Bible come to life.

If you could use some permanent rest and relief, download my free Bible story devotional.

 

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A first-century tale of disaster, despair and unexpected deliverance.

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My friend Emily Allen, founder of Kindred Mom, is My friend Emily Allen, founder of Kindred Mom, is my guest on the blog today! Whether you're caring for kiddos, elderly parents, or a neighbor in need, Emily shares encouragement to propel you forward.
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On a Sunday night two millennia ago, two disciples On a Sunday night two millennia ago, two disciples walked away from everything they had hoped for. ⠀⠀
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In “Remarkable Hope: When Jesus Revived Hope in Disappointed People,” I imagined what it might have been like for two downcast disciples on the road to Emmaus to finally realize their guest was not a stranger but their Savior. (For context read Luke 24:13-34. For clarity, I called the unnamed disciple Isaac.)⠀⠀
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“[Their Guest] smiled, lifted the bread from the plate, turned his face heavenward, and began to thank God. He prayed as though conversing with a friend or a father. The prayer was familiar, but different. With the “Amen,” he tore the loaf. Crumbs scattered on the table like manna sprinkled on the desert floor. Reaching across the table, he served steaming pieces to Isaac and Cleopas. Cleopas slid the bread from his hand as if pulling a drawer. He froze. In their guest’s palm, tender skin, freshly scarred, formed an almond shape, as if it had been pierced. Cleopas gasped. Isaac leaned forward. They stole a glance at one another, groping for words. ⠀⠀
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The kitchen fire snapped. Isaac’s father gulped wine. A loaf of bread thumped as it dropped and rattled a plate. He was gone. Cleopas scrambled to his feet. The table jostled as Isaac pushed himself away. His mother stood in the doorway holding a plate of meat at an angle, broth running onto the floor. A goblet rolled in circles on the floor as Isaac’s father stammered questions he couldn’t finish. ⠀⠀
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“It was him,” Isaac whispered.⠀⠀
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{Excerpted from “Remarkable Hope” by Shauna Letellier Copyright © 2019 pp. 178-179 FaithWords} Available at your favorite online retailer.
What we remember on Good Friday and celebrate on E What we remember on Good Friday and celebrate on Easter is the radical demonstration that Jesus has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He lived a life you and I are not capable of. He laid in a tomb that should have been ours. And when God raised him to life on what we now call Easter, all the riches of Christ’s perfect life and death were made available to unremarkable people. People like you and me: ⠀ ⠀⠀
People who hold on to things we ought to let go. ⠀⠀
People who worry their worship is a disappointment. ⠀⠀
People whose frantic service can never deserve God’s love. ⠀⠀
People with a life chock-full of rugged rebellion. ⠀⠀
And people who can’t yet bring themselves to publicly declare their allegiance to Christ. ⠀⠀
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Jesus died for people like you and me, and he was raised so we don't have to stay that way.⠀⠀
~Remembering Holy Week⠀⠀
Get your copy at the link in bio.⠀⠀
#holyweek #holyweek2021 #bibfic
The thief on the cross is the perfect example of a The thief on the cross is the perfect example of a dependent sinner. This man, perhaps more than any of us, understood that spending eternity with God comes by believing Jesus and accepting undeserved favor. He had no other choice. ⠀⠀
That kind of unabashed dependence on Jesus is the essence of faith—the link that binds our desperate need with his unlimited grace. Dependence on Christ is our only option. It is also the greatest gift. ⠀⠀
~ Remembering Holy Week ⠀⠀
Free Holy Week devotional here: https://buff.ly/3cuKeJU
Sometimes Jesus miraculously changes circumstances Sometimes Jesus miraculously changes circumstances, as he did for Simon and Lazarus. Sometimes he miraculously changes hearts and minds, as he did for Martha. Either way, we can’t categorically forget the past. Though we have been liberated from striving and sin, we can still remember how we used to operate. ⠀ ⠀⠀
Holy forgetfulness allows those memories to become a memorial to the sacred starting point of Christ’s work in our lives. The contrast of then and now points to the transformation Christ initiated, and we are glad to give him the credit. Whether we honor him with a banquet, a song, or quiet gratitude, a life undeniably transformed by Jesus naturally overflows with love and honor for him.⠀⠀
~ Remembering Holy Week⠀⠀
Get yours at the link in my bio.⠀
#holyweek #holyweek2021 #bibfic
Jesus gladly accepts our feeble attempts to honor Jesus gladly accepts our feeble attempts to honor him, no matter how weak or flawed our worship might seem to us. That kind of acceptance frees us to worship him without reserve. ⠀ ⠀⠀
We might be disappointed with our own attempts. Maybe your efforts were misunderstood. Maybe you missed a note. Maybe the words didn’t come out right. But when it comes to worship and a genuine desire to honor Jesus, he is not grading your performance. He is accepting your love—no matter how embarrassed you might be about what you have to offer.⠀⠀
~ Remembering Holy Week⠀⠀
Get your free devotional at the link in my bio.⠀
#holyweek #holyweek2021 #bibfic
“When we relinquish the wild things to Jesus, we “When we relinquish the wild things to Jesus, we can rest beneath his smile, and we can glimpse what he meant by an easy yoke and a light burden. The end result will be unbridled worship for The One who initiated the exchange." ~ Remembering Holy Week.⠀
Get your free copy at the link in my bio. ⠀
#holyweek2021 #holyweek #bibfic
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