A blue (collar) Christmas
It was my father who first called my attention to the visitors in the Christmas story. “Look how the wealthy and highly educated wise men had to travel hundreds of miles, guided only by a star in order to greet the Son of God. And yet, the poor shepherds just doing their jobs were visited by millions of angels and only had to walk down the street.” It was always clear to my dad that the Lord had a special affection for the working class, while he was not all that impressed with the well-spoken “elites.”
“How is it that our Lord would reveal Himself most clearly to the unenlightened “working stiffs” of his day?”
And when the Son of God was sent into this world, he was not born to a politician nor a priest, but to someone like my father-in-law: “just a little ole carpenter!” Jesus pursued no formal education, neither did he write any books. His first disciples were not meticulous scholars, but hard-working fishermen. And the man commended for the greatest faith of all was an active duty soldier.
Now this is surprising. How is it that our Lord would reveal Himself most clearly to the unenlightened “working stiffs” of his day? Perhaps because Jesus came to earth on a distinctively blue-collar mission. That is, He did not come to talk, but to work!
"I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me…and to accomplish His work. (John 6:38; 4:34)
And ponder with me for a moment the nature of such work. It was not “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” It was much more like “Dirty Jobs.” It was…
Service – “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28)
Sanitation – “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Demolition – “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
Construction – “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18)
Rescue & Recovery – “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Caretaking & Hospitality – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
We could go on and mention some of his other works in education (John 13:13), law & justice (1 John 2:1, 2 Tim. 4:1), engineering and design (John 1:3), medicine (Mark 2:17), shipping and receiving (Col. 1:13), and even sales (Rev. 3:18)…
Yes indeed, Jesus Christ came into this world to do every job worth doing…and to do it all for us and our eternal salvation! With this in mind, it is my prayer that all of us will not only find some rest from our labors this season, but even more, that we may rejoice in our Great Savior Jesus Christ, who was born to work.
Michael John is the pastor of Market Street Baptist Church in Amesbury, MA. This article was originally published in The Newburyport Daily News.