Advent Devotional, December 18

No one did any reconnaissance for Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem. There was no security detail showing up days ahead of him to scope things out and “establish a perimeter.” 
And when Jesus did arrive, it was not in the company of an impressive
entourage. The only people he had with him were the two people who had brought him, and they weren’t armed with anything. 
The angels were sidelined, relegated to the job of alerting shepherds to what was happening. 
Everyone comes into the world naked, but this was something else. 
And yet, somehow, a mother and a father were sufficient and God was pleased with their sufficiency. 
Have you ever met someone who had a security detail? It’s ironic because having bodyguards is a clear indication of insecurity, a fear of violence that the object of that guarding is not strong enough to handle on his own. But we’re conditioned to think that only the powerful and those with authority enjoy this measure of protection. In Washington among government officials, being assigned a security detail, regardless of whether or not you are threatened, is a coveted sign of your “arrival,” an indication that you are a real big deal. 
And, truthfully, if any of us were in a crowd experiencing an emergency we would all look to the guy with a security detail for leadership and defer to his orders for no better reason than the fact that he was flanked by two big galoots with serious expressions. 
And our Savior, when he made his appearance, had for a “security detail” an exhausted woman and a beleaguered man, neither of whom were proficient in jiu jitsu. 

Revelation 5:12

Prayer: Help me, Jesus, to have sanctified expectations. I know you’re not like other lords. You’re apt to be alone when I find you, or, as with the disciples in Samaria when they had left you alone at a well, in the company of unexpected people. So be it. You be you. Just help me to keep up.

Song: The Brilliance’s version of Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is perfect with its stripped down arrangement and emphasis on vocal harmonies. It doesn’t always work, but one classroom management technique that teachers sometimes use, when their classroom has gotten competitively loud, is to stop shouting and to whisper. There is a hush that rings loud for having quieted us. 

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