If you are accustomed to hearing the Christmas story you are used to it starting out something like this: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” But what we often forget is that there are 17 verses that come before that familiar start to the the account of Christ’s birth. Granted they aren’t very exciting for us. But Jewish readers and rabbis at the time regarded the first 17 verses of the Christmas account as a miracle on the same level as the parting of the Red Sea. We are in our Advent series leading up to Christmas called “Missing Home,” because many of us miss home during the holidays if we are away. But also because with the rush and busyness of the holidays, it’s easy to miss what Christmas says about our true home; it’s easy to miss what Christmas tries to slow us down to hear in the month to come. And it’s easy to miss all of the hope and fulfillment that are hidden in the first 17 verses of Matthew’s account of the Christmas narrative. So, let’s read it together and see how the Christmas story really begins.
