A Culture Healer from Birth

Christmas is just days away and most people who are celebrating are going to focus on the excitement of winter, the gifts, time with family, and the feel that they get when December 25th rolls around. Of course, you’ll have many church pastors who will be focused on preaching about the birth of Jesus, the wise men, and shepherds who showed up at the manger to worship him, and perhaps Mary and Joseph’s tough decision to hearken to the voice of God through the angelic visitations that they each had. As I have been sharing over the last few posts about us being culture healers, I could not miss this opportunity to share some insights into the early days of Jesus who is our model culture healer.

Think about Jesus in his early days. From the moment of his birth, he has been a catalyst for healing culture. It’s easy to say that he’s doing it during his earthy ministry at age thirty and beyond but carefully review the birth of Jesus. Around the time that he was met by the shepherds and wise men, he was restoring hope in the people. For the shepherds, Jesus was a symbol that men like them were not neglected. God saw fit to make them among the first to know that a king had been born.

He did not arrive in a palace to be admired by the royal elite but by people of low estate who like David was a forgotten part of the community. It’s interesting to note that these shepherds became the first news reporters and evangelists to announce the arrival of the promise that all of Israel had been praying for (Luke2:16-20).

Luke’s account of the early days of Jesus includes a story of two people who would prophesy over Jesus following his circumcision. First, Simeon’s prophecy came as a response to the realization that God’s promise of a savior coming had been fulfilled. That revelation gave Simeon the grace to make a proclamation. The very presence of Jesus brought hope, joy, and fullness. Simeon would prophesy Jesus’ destiny. Second, Anna also prophesied and became a voice championing Jesus’ arrival. Jesus’ arrival had renewed purpose for this widow who had remained in the temple following the death of her husband.

How amazing is it that Jesus’ very presence was a point of healing and restoration for these people? As culture healers, we too have the capacity for inspiring and giving hope in dark times. The days in which we live now are much like in Jesus’ time. While people may not have the same expectations for us at our birth, our lives are no less capable of igniting hope. We are glory carriers and when empowered by God, we can impact the places that we’ve been called to.

I encourage you to look more closely at the early days of Jesus to find more examples of his culture healing in action. From those examples, allow them to inspire you to be the gift that God sent you to be. Realize that you were born for such a time as this.