Forced to the Edge of Society

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. - Luke 2:4-7

Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. - Hebrews 13:12-13

Jesus began his life outside the safe and proper limits of society - born into a cow barn, laid in a feeding trough. Jesus ended his life outside the safe and proper limits of society - dying out near the trash heaps, nailed to a cross.

And the scripture has the audacity to say “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” (Heb 13:13). We are invited to join Jesus there, outside the safe and proper limits of society. Away from the privileges and power of those in the center of our culture. Out with the misfits, the polluted, and the outcasts. We should have seen this from the beginning - that Christmas is no cake walk, but instead that the incarnation is an invitation to downward mobility.

But it’s so much easier to look at the tinsel and the pretty lights and special deals on Amazon.

Ask Jesus to open your eyes today to see where he’s at work. Most likely it won’t be in the power plays of the rulers or the glitz of the marketers. Keep your eye out for him on the margins, and listen for the quiet and winsome voice of the Spirit calling you to join him there…