Episode #285 – The Divine Gift I am your host Damon Socha. Before I get started today I wanted to note that I have a book for sale that provides the podcasts in book form. The book is titled, Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar – Living as a Disciple of Christ. The first 109 podcasts will be available to buy through Amazon in the next couple of days. The next 110 podcasts will follow shortly. I have broken them up do to the length of the book. I do hope that you will buy this book. Not because I want it to be on the best seller list but because I believe that it will be valuable to those who do not listen to podcasts but still need help.
Today I hope you will forgive me. I am going to illiterate the scriptures a little beyond what they read. It is my hope with this that we can see why the Savior had to be born as he was and how that applies to us.
The story of his birth starts long before Nazereth with angels and revelations but today we are going to start in the tiny town of Nazereth. We don’t know much about the time between the announcement of his beginning in mortality to his birth. We do know that when it came time for the Savior to be born the Lord allowed a mortal king to issue a declaration that would take the young mother and father on a journey south to Bethlehem. He did not have angels sent to tell them they need to go. In fact, we know of no impetus for the journey except for a declaration from a mortal king. Interesting that the Lord allowed for a mortal king to be the motivator for the birth of the Savior. OF course, we know that even without this declaration, Joseph would have been sent with Mary to Bethlehem. The Savior was to be born in the City of David and that had been declared so it would be fulfilled.
We don’t know much about the rugged journey that they took in April timeframe. It was early spring so no doubt some night could have been cold. There is no doubt that Lucifer made this journey as difficult as it could be. He knew very well what the scriptures had prophesied. And yet the young couple found shelter even with the winds of anger blowing from the mouth of the great deceiver. It was not much more than a cave as Bethlehem was full of them. Bethlehem for many hundreds of years had been and still is a place of shepherds where sheep are kept grazing in the mountains that surround it. This land of the lambs was one of the main locations where lambs were grown for the sacrifices in the temple. One of the beauties of the story is that the Savior was born among those lambs that would be sacrificed as a memorial to his future atonement.
We know nothing of the birth and no doubt it was like any other birth. Were angels present? We are not told but I have no doubt that many individuals from beyond the vail were present for that birth and no doubt they provided protection at the moment when the Savior was most vulnerable.
After the birth, how long we do not know. Angels did appear to some shepherds abiding in the field. These shepherds were not just watching the sheep but watching for predators and protecting the sheep as they ate and slept. They were the caretakers of the lambs that would be sent for sacrifice so it was only natural that these same shepherds would be sent to see the Lamb of God who would like their lambs be sent to the sacrifice. These protectors watching over the most important lamb. We are not told much about their visit, but I am sure it was sweet to Mary and Joseph to hear of angels declaring the birth and seeing these strangers worship the baby now in her arms. What must they have thought at that moment? We are not told. We know that they likely spread it abroad throughout Bethlehem that they had seen the Christ. If others came we are not told but I assume it likely. Angels had not appeared unto any except the priest Zachariah who was John’s father. So the idea that angels had appeared again was no novel thing. It was as rare as the birth itself.
Now after the shepherds we hear nothing until the noblemen arrive asking where the Christ child had been born. This naturally alarmed Kind Heriod who had killed a great deal of people to stay in power. In his cunning and craftiness he said that he too wanted to worship the babe. But that was not to be. King Heriod will never see Christ until his judgement day. The nobles followed the star to Bethlehem and we really don’t know that this start was the star of David or if it was angels showing them the way. Stars sometimes represent angels when we talk about the gospel. Either way they found their way to the Christ child. Now because of Heriods edict to killed the children around Bethlehem two years and younger it is believed that the nobles arrived much later than the shepherds and we don’t know what happened during those two years and why Joseph and Mary decided to stay. We don’t know those circumstances but what we do know is that the nobles presented expensive gifts to the Savior and then after their visit left another way.
What occurs next is no doubt frightening to the young mother Mary and the father Joseph. Heriod issues and edict to kill all of the children two years and younger. Joseph and Mary were no doubt of humble means and being able to flee the tyranny of King Heriod would have posed as significant burden financially upon them. However, it appears that the gifts of the nobles seem to provide a pathway to Egypt where as refugees the Christ child and his parents would live and wait for the time to return. It was eight years before they could return and they decided that Bethlehem was not safe so they returned to their home of Nazareth. It is here where our story somewhat ends until we hear of him in the temple. But something we do know is that he suffered the pains of every man and so he likely suffered the pains of various illnesses as a child and young adult. No doubt this included teasing and hazing and all sorts of things Lucifer could invent to torture the Christ child.
So what do we learn from all of this that makes us consider our own circumstances and illnesses. Christ was born as a helpless babe, stripped of all his powers and gifts that would eventually come. He was subject to illness, disease, distress and all sorts of difficulties when he is young. He grew up in his younger years as a refugee in Egypt and moved regularly to avoid being killed by those who wanted his power. He suffered and learned. His life was no different than ours except for his perfection. He knows us because he was once one of us. Everything he suffered and learned was for his benefit in life and in the eternities. He had to come to earth to learn as we do and to suffer as we do. His path is really our path even in our mental illness. He has walked the path of suffering that brings learning and mercy. And he has asked all of us to walk the same path.
I often wonder why I can’t be healed and then I think of all those things that I have learned and I wonder if I ever will be healed. The furnace of affliction causes deep and abiding learning. We are not learning facts and figures but character and integrity and those take time and the heat of the world to cause the purification process to run deep in our souls. Our illness is a divine gift and blessing in disguise. It is to teach us the deeper doctrines of Christ and to purify our souls. I hope that this Christmas season you can see your illness as the Lord’s divine gift of teaching. May he continue to shower his love upon you. Until next week do your part so that he can do his.
