A Very Covid Christmas to You – Part Two
We hear from friends around the world about changes various governments impose in their attempt to mitigate the effect of the corona virus. The widely divergent policies seem to have very little effect on the spread of infection, as the virus ebbs and flows despite our best efforts. The last four weeks (and continuing until January 8 … at least) the province of British Columbia ordered all churches to stop meeting. Movie theaters are still open. AA meetings may continue (even in churches). Other group meetings are also allowed, but churches are singled out.
Some churches in the province are fighting the order by disobedience. The police issued tickets with fines in some instances and a news story on Dec 13 reported that the RCMP in Chilliwack, BC are recommending filing charges against three unidentified churches. According to another report, a church in Ontario is suing its governments over the restrictions. The outcome remains uncertain.
In the face of this, our small church in Victoria, BC, doesn’t have the resources to fight the order. We also don’t believe we have the same constitutional protections as American churches, so we are doubtful of the outcome. Our legal system sits under much more liberal judges than those in the American system.
Consequently, we are once again trying to make the best of a difficult situation. Every year for at least the month of December, we pause our regular preaching schedule and turn to a mini-series on some theme related to Christmas. I wrote about our practices back in 2016, you can find the article here. This year our theme is “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Amazing to me, I’ve never preached this theme before.
In the Bible, there is very little material about Bethlehem, and it really is just a location. There isn’t much theology that one can glean from the references to the village. Nevertheless, several significant events of the redemption story occurred in or around Bethlehem. Our services these weeks have been pre-recorded YouTube videos, but I have to say, Bethlehem still speaks to us.
Surprisingly, the first stories of Bethlehem have to do with pain, sorrow, death, apostasy, and moral degeneracy. The first is the death of Rachel in Genesis 35, the next two are those last two dismal stories of Judges. In the first one, the grandson of Moses becomes the leader of an idolatrous cult in the tribe of Dan. Where did he come from? Bethlehem. In the second story, another Levite takes a concubine from Bethlehem who ends up horribly murdered, launching a civil war in Israel. Not a very auspicious beginning for a Christmas story, but that is exactly where the Christmas story is set in human history. There never has been a time when our world isn’t filled with pain, sorrow, death, apostasy, and moral degeneracy. The sin nature of man is on full and constant display.
The next message brings hope as we turn to the story of Ruth and the kinsman redeemer. That beautiful story is likewise played out on the backdrop of the Judges period with all its chaos. Yet in the story we see the hope that faithfulness before God offers, and it gives hope for the future of ultimate redemption.
Next we find David, tending the sheep just outside of Bethlehem. Samuel comes to anoint him as the next king, in the midst of the chaos of a failing monarchy (and failing people who begged for a king at the end of the Judges period). David is not the perfect king, but he is God’s man and becomes the focal point of our promised redemption in that Perfect King who would come.
Micah announces that coming in yet another passage tinged with the chaos of sin. Micah 5.1-4 speaks first of the final days of the Judean kingdom, where the king, the son of David, fails in his mandate. He refuses the advice of the prophets of his day, chooses his own way, and finds nothing but failure and misery. It seems, in him, the dream of the perfect Davidic king is over. However, God announces through Micah the coming of a king to a certain location: Bethlehem. “As for you, Bethlehem…” In the prophecy we see that the ultimate benefit of the coming King was the kingdom he would ultimately establish on the earth. But he must come first through Bethlehem. (This was our most recent message.)
Finally, we come to the New Testament, and we hear the invitation of the shepherds, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem” — Luke 2.15. Let us indeed go to Bethlehem and see the wonderful thing the Lord brought to pass.
Though we are all living amid chaos, the chaos caused by human sin, the thread that runs through Bethlehem tells the story of our marvelous redemption in Jesus Christ. That is enough to set aside our fears and give us hope.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Ed. Note: This is the second of a brief series meant to encourage and edify. If you have creative plans of ministry in your church this year, would you be willing to share it with us? We think we can encourage one another in this way. Please send submissions to .