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Maggie bowed her head, and she assumed that sitting next to her, Levi also did.
“Father God in heaven, thank You for another Christmas season when we commemorate Your birth as a perfect, sinless human, the Lamb of sacrifice who would, thirty-three years later, carry the sins of the world to the cross. Remind us this Christmas what You have done for us, and may we never take for granted the reason for the season: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. In Your holy name, I pray. Amen.”
“Amen,” Levi and Maggie said simultaneously, along with the rest of the congregation.
“Turn with me to Matthew 1:21.” Pastor Kim opened his own Bible.
Maggie was happy that Levi had brought a printed Bible and did not open his phone app instead. She found herself comparing Levi with Alden. She had seen Alden in Sunday school, flipping between his Bible app and text messages on his phone. Perhaps Alden had been able to split his focus in the Bible study, but small things like that would be a turn-off for Maggie.
Levi glanced her way and smiled.
Maggie turned her attention to her own Bible and the sermon booming into her ears. Something must be wrong with the sound this morning. Perhaps the usual sound guy was out of town, and the backup sound guy had technical difficulties calibrating the decibels.
“Where are you heading in life?” Pastor Kim asked. “Are you precisely where you need to be? Are you getting there? Or are you never going to get there?”
The screen behind the pastor displayed Matthew 1:18-23.
“Let’s all stand for the reading of God’s Word,” Pastor Kim said.
Maggie held her Bible, her notebook, and her pen in her hands and stood up. Levi dropped his pen, but Maggie couldn’t help him with it because her hands were full.
After they had read the passage aloud, Pastor Kim prayed, and the congregation sat down.
“In this sermon, we’re going to break down this passage, and then you can go home and have a real merry Christmas, being at peace with God and yourself.” Pastor Kim put a finger on his open Bible. “Let’s begin with Matthew 1:18.”
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
“Point number one: Get on the right road. Matthew 1:18 says that Joseph and Mary were engaged to each other. They were preparing for their wedding. After the wedding they would have kids. Mary did not expect to be pregnant before her wedding day. The events were out of order. It seemed like she and Joseph had gotten on the wrong road. What now?”
Maggie underlined the phrase “right road” in her notebook. What was God saying to her? Had she been on what she thought was a wrong road? Staying in Atlanta, for example. What was so wrong about that? Why did she have to leave if she loved this place, this church, and her work so much?
“We have a number of engaged couples in our church. They’re looking forward to a life together as husband and wife, who will eventually start new families. Everyone that my wife, Lydia, and I have talked to about their wedding day told us that they want everything to go smoothly. They don’t want anything to go wrong. But what if something does go wrong? Be carefulabout this question. Is the road you think is wrong really wrong?”
If Maggie moved to Lakeside, would she be heading in the right direction? Was that lakeside town where she needed to be? Would God have sent her there just as He had sent the Fitzpatrick family and Malachi, and now Mom and Dad?
Maggie looked over at Levi, who was also taking notes. His handwriting was better than hers. Her heart warmed. This was all she wanted on Christmas Eve. Go to church with Levi. Sit in church and listen to a good sermon. Spend time with God and with each other.
“Point number two: Stay the course that God has set for you.” Pastor Kim surveyed the sanctuary. “Even though the Bible says that Mary was carrying a special baby who was given to them by the Holy Spirit, Joseph still thought there was something wrong with the situation. Matthew 1:19 was his human solution.”
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
“Joseph planned to send Mary away and hide her so that nobody would know about the out-of-wedlock baby. He wanted to take a U-turn back to the beginning where he could have a do-over. Reboot the situation. Reset the clock. With Mary out of sight, it was like everything was fine.”
Pastor Kim’s words made Maggie think. Relocating to Lakeside would look like she was starting over and rebooting her life, but she could never get rid of the pain in her heart. Thankfully, she was on the other side of this pain now since her love for Levi was no longer unrequited, but she still had this whole unresolved situation before her: she was moving next week to Lakeside, away from Levi.
“So far we have seen that Mary and Joseph had an unexpected situation they felt that they had to solve on their own. Joseph was about to take matters into his own hands with his own human solution,” Pastor Kim said. “Let’s see how God corrected Joseph’s perspective in Matthew 1:20.”
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“Point number three: Focus on God’s calling for your life. Joseph’s calling is to be the head of his household as the husband to Mary and the earthly father to the holy child of God. God has placed Joseph there for such a time as that.” Pastor Kim lifted his Bible in the air. “Each of us has a calling. Find out what your calling is and follow God’s lead. Whatever God calls you to do, stick to it—assuming you do know what your calling is. Even if you don’t see the end of it, stick to it. God has a plan that He may not reveal to you right now.”
Maggie wondered how she was going to stay in the calling of God when she started work in January at Lakeside Resort. The company might be owned by a Christian family, but that was all. For many years now, Maggie had been sure that she was meant to work in a church and do ministry work in a church setting. Had she heard it wrong?
She could always work or volunteer at Lakeside Chapel, where her brother was. However, as far as she was concerned, she hadn’t heard a clear call from God for her to find work at Lakeside Chapel. She planned to be a member of that church, yes, but when she moved to Lakeside, her day job would be at the resort. She would spend all her time promoting the resort and its many amenities. She would assist Colette in making thedaily administrative work efficient and productive so that the company would make a profit every year. Was this her new calling?
Pastor Kim walked back and forth on the platform. “To Joseph’s benefit, the angel revealed God’s plan to him. He got the preview, so to speak. Read Matthew 1:21 with me.”
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
