(Matthew 19-23 NIV)

When you were younger, did you ever play that game that is sort of a mash-up of Hide and Seek and tag? Some may even know it by the name “Manhunt.” If not, let me teach you how this game works! Before everyone goes to hide, the players determine what is “safe,” typically a room or piece of furniture or a certain tree. Then the person who is “it” starts counting while the players hide. When the person who is “it” is done counting, it is up to the players to make it back to the safe spot without being tagged by whoever is “it.”  

Some kids find this game really difficult because there is a lot of waiting. Waiting until the footsteps of the tagger fade away. Running to a different spot and waiting there to make sure the coast is clear. Waiting for the perfect moment to make a run for the safe spot.

The world that Jesus was born into was not a very safe one. In fact, for a baby boy, it was as dangerous as it could be. There were search parties out looking for this king who would supposedly become King of the Jews - why would King Herod want to be dethroned? But that’s when Joseph steps in. He keeps his family hidden until he knows for certain it is absolutely safe for them to return. Even when they do return, it is not to Bethlehem (In terms of the game Manhunt, they had to move between a few different safe spots!). Instead, they make a new home at the safest place they could: Nazareth. 

When we played this game as kids, we weren’t expecting help from angels. Then again, there wasn’t too much at stake besides bragging rights. Yet for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, even the whole world, everything was at stake. So the Lord provided angels to guide Joseph, and he had to pay attention to their instructions for when to stay somewhere longer, for when the coast was clear, and for how long to wait.

We must do that this Christmas season, too. If we rush all the way to Christmas, we are going to miss all the beauty of the Lord speaking to us throughout the season of Advent. It is so easy for us to get caught up in all the things that the Christmas holiday entails; however, we can’t let that pull our focus away from the real blessing behind Christmas: a Savior in the midst of a messy world, a person who makes us safe in the midst of our crazy holiday running, and in every other time of the year. 

Lord, help us as we begin this season of Advent to wait. Let us wait for you to make moves in our lives. May we sit and wait in anticipation for the greatest blessing ever offered to humanity. Help us to not get so caught up in the season that we forget the reason we are celebrating at all. We wait with bated breath for your Son. In your name, Amen.