From Uprooting to Belonging: How the Birth of a Savior Changes Everything.

An angel appeared. A virgin conceived. Thousands of miles away a ruler declared a census. Like a drum roll of Sovereign timing and unstoppable happenings, the wheels of prophecy turned. With purpose. Sudden. Dramatic. And uprooting.

The virgin, blessed and chosen was destined for a sword to pierce her soul. The King of Christmas was the Christ of feeding troughs and heavenly mansions. And Joseph, well everything turned upside down for him. His soon-to-be-bride, Mary, carried a child. 

Within the warm and cozy telling of Christ’s birth, a lot of uprooting occurred. The worn paths of routine, the warmth of familiar and the ordinary were charged with expectation and anticipation. Roads uncomfortable and unexpected, became twisted and muddied.Within the warm and cozy telling of Christ’s birth, a lot of uprooting occurred. Share on X

I lived in the same house all my life until I married my jungle boy. He was a missionary kid who grew up in Ecuador and lived what I considered an exotic and uprooted life.

There is an uprootedness of soul that stirs everyone at times, a tension between life and death, both physical and spiritual. And, we see it in the story of Christ’s coming. We feel in ourselves a searching for station and a wandering of spirit. At times we find ourselves out of place in this feeding trough of life and yearn for home and belonging.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11 NKJV)

How was it possible that within the curve of Joseph’s arms lay the Almighty? Did Mary comprehend that she nurtured The Word against the warmth of her body? And the old man Simeon, could he really stretch out his arms for the Child to nestle there, the Longed for Consolation of Israel?

“There is born to you this day…a Savior.” The angelic announcement didn’t say that someday Jesus would become a Savior. He is the Savior. This declaration of Deity, God complete, divine, swaddled with the flesh of a child halts my  imaginings.

For Christ’s Deity uproots. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Son of God, Son of Man. Not just a sweet image or a porcelain figure, God in flesh, Savior of the World, explodes with uprooting.The angelic announcement didn’t say that someday Jesus would become a Savior. He is the Savior. Share on X

It claims so much more than a chain of events. It claims our souls. Bigger than our understanding, more powerful than words, the God of the Universe born in a lowly stable and clothed in flesh demands a reckoning. 

Sometimes I’m foolish enough to feel like “Christmas” can’t come until I’m ready, until I’ve made a home for it. You know how it goes. I need all the decorations up, the cookies baked, and the gifts bought and wrapped. Then I am finally “home” for the holidays. 

When Jesus was eight days old, Joseph and Mary took Him to the temple to fulfill the requirements of Mosaic law.

And coming in that instant, Anna arrived at that exact time when Mary and Joseph passed through with baby Jesus. She gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. (Luke 2:38 NKJV)

Anna’s name means “grace.” She lived in the temple, looking and waiting for the promised Messiah. Robes against stone floors, marble columns, prayers and temple music filled her existence.

Most everything we know about Anna is written in three short verses. (Luke 2:36-38) She was the daughter of an unknown Phanuel, whose name means “the face of God.” But it was Anna who was privileged to gaze on the face of God.

Anna’s roots dug deep into God. Now there was one, Anna…who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (Luke 2:36, 37 NKJV)

Her world had been turned upside down, and when that happens, it draws us either to or away from God. Widowed, for about 84 years, time ticked past. Her end grew closer than her beginning. As it does for some of us.

Jesus our Savior came to uproot sin’s stamp on the hearts of humankind, and offer Immanuel. God with us. Home. Not just for now, but all eternity.

The story of Christ’s birth invites our own uprooting. We see deep love of God as He went through nine months in His mother’s womb, experienced birth, and humanity, with a mission to give His life for our sins. Jesus’ coming invites open hearts for the Savior’s home.   

“A Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” Jesus came. And nothing would ever, could ever, be the same as before.

The Lord Most High. A Savior. A Baby.

Let’s gaze into the face of the Savior this Christmas season. Let’s pronounce Him Immanuel, God With Us, in our celebrations. And, may we embrace the uprooting of our own souls, so that we know our true belonging.

*Photos by Philip Schroeder