Sunday, December 16, 2001
Sunday, December 16, 2001
Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not likely. Taking a census in ancient times always meant a tax increase. Caesar was
considering a reclassification and reevaluation of real estate, in effect, and he needed
to know how many potential tax payers there were out there. And so, in those days, just
as a carpenter named Joseph and a maiden named Mary were trying to get their
marriage plans straightened out, "...a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be enrolled."
Strange that right at the time Caesar issued his decree, God decided that decrees
weren't very effective. In earlier times, God had depended on decrees to reach his
people. Through the law He had commanded and through the prophets He had
exhorted. But when people still did not really know Him or love Him, God abandoned
decrees and sent a baby to be part of a family, and later, to create a new fellowship of
his own--a community, a family of God, a church. From decree to dialogue, from
command to community.
(Ephesians 6:23
NRSV)
If you like to give decrees, it helps to be named Caesar, because kings issue decrees
most effectively. And this is the way the story of Christmas begins. "Now, in those days
a decree went out from Caesar Augustus..." (Luke 2:1). What was the nature of this
decree? That all the world should be enrolled, i.e. counted. Caesar wanted a census
taken. Was this to satisfy his natural curiosity? Did Caesar one day idly think, "I wonder
how many people are in the Empire?"
Loving God, thank you for inviting me to be a part of the great community of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
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