By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
A e whanau ia he tama, me hua e koe tona ingoa ko IHU: no te mea mana e whakaora tona iwi i o ratou hara.
...and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21
Mary knows a horrible year. She wears the stigma and shame of her pregnancy. The sideways looks, the pity, the growing distance between friends, conversations cut short.
Joseph knows a horrible year. The disappointment, the shame and stigma.
The Magi know a horrible year. They travel the difficult, months-long journey to a promise under a star. They leave Jerusalem, and its murderous overlord Herod, deeply disturbed. They've put their own safety at risk and the journey home is longer and harder.
As family with a new baby, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus know a horrible year. They flee to safety in Egyptian-controlled territory.
Parents across Bethlehem know the horrific heart of a horrible year as they mourn the massacre of children at the hand of Herod.
I am reminded that almost every year in the ancient world would, in many ways, have been a horrible year.
Thinking more deeply, I realise that the uncertainty, the despondency, the poverty, and the fragility of a horrible year is almost the norm throughout history.
As leaders, we too know what it is to face upheaval, uncertainty, and exhaustion.
A year of challenges, stresses, and strains. A year of financial pressure, economic, and political uncertainty. A year of ministry, family, and work changes.
But there is hope. The one born of Mary is conceived of by the Spirit of God. He is God.
Here is our hope, he is human, and can stand in our place.
Here is our hope, the one in the cradle will go to the cross. He is the Messiah.
Here is our hope, the one in the trough will hang on a tree. He will save his people from their sins.
Here is our hope, through his death and resurrection, he saves us from a horrible day, a day when all the horribleness of our hearts and history will be dealt with.
Here is our hope, he reigns in history and across history.
