Being a new parent makes one thing immediately clear: You’re life is not your own. Everything in your life is reorientated to accommodate the needs of the new, largely helpless, child you are charged to care for. One cannot simply carry on with life as usual. Instead, what is demanded is a full time commitment to the responsibilities of this new relationship.
It should not be too quickly overlooked that Jesus chose to enter into humanity as just such a helpless child. What is further significant is that Jesus was Lord in that humble state. His Lordship was not something He grew into, but something fully part of His identity, even in the manger. This is no coincidence, but rather a fundamental statement about the nature of the kind of Lord He was and what kind of kingdom He was inaugurating.
When Mary and Joseph began to tend to the immediate needs of baby Jesus, it was most certainly they did as the expected obligation that their relationship to Him demanded. Yet I think we can also assume that, above all, they were motivated by love. They served and cared for Him because they loved Him. Their duty to Him, while defined by a formal role and relationship, was fueled by something far greater than duty: affectionate and passionate love.
In the same way, Jesus calls us to submit to His Lordship. His role and relationship over us is clear and unquestionable, yet we follow Him- not primarily as duty- because we love Him. King Jesus rules a kingdom fueled by the affectionate and passionate love of a bond far deeper than political, religious or even familial allegiance.
Christ is born!
Rejoice!
