We don’t know much about the Christs…
Not the Christ but the ChristS, you know… Plural. The Smiths, the Neills, the Blacks… The Christs…we don’t know much about them. I don’t even really know their last name… hence Mary and Joseph Christ. You know… Jesus Christ’s parents…Mary and Joesph Christ. Of the Nazereth Christs. Or maybe back then the culture was to go around with one name… like Cher… or Madonna.
Regardless the bible doesn’t tell us much about them. Sure it tells us they’re Jewish… Very Jewish… Bloodlines back to Adam… but … so am I. It tells us that Joseph was a little chagrinned at the Holy Spirit for getting to his wife before he did. Possibly 9 months of chagrin. The bible doesn’t tell us of Mary’s gravitation towards blue clothing, or tell us when both Mary and Joseph developed the golden saucer type light that encircled their heads. Mathew doesn’t write down the astonishment of two very Jewish, Middle Eastern parents at the delivery of a blue eyed baby. There is a lot we don’t know about the Christ family.
We just know that for a good amount of time they were in charge of Jesus. He was their little baby boy. And since before he was born this kid was steeped in controversy. #1 you can’t imagine what effort it takes to convince your entire synagogue that you’re still virgin. Zechariah, Mary’s cousin’s husband, the high priest could have vouched for her that God was up to something however he had been struck mute by the very angel that Mary had seen.
And wouldn’t you know… Its Tax Season. Joseph, with the nine months under his belt of married chagrin, has to up an move to Bethlehem for the census. Now this isn’t really the baby’s fault… its more his bloodline’s fault as a descendant of David, and possibly the prophets fault for needing something to be fulfilled. But regardless lugging a very pregnant mother across country is probably not the honeymoon Mary and Joseph Christ were dreaming of.
It was as if a wake of chaos was following this baby. The Owner of the stable outside the very popular Bethlehem Inn had to pay for chiropractic work on some of his prize “lowing” cattle, due to them not having a feeding trough for several weeks. And once the Christ Family actually found a house in Bethlehem, well here come 3 kings from a place in the Orient called Ahr. They were a nice group, don’t get me wrong, they threw Mary a shower. She might have been a little pissed at Baltizaar for giving the Myrrh instead of the diaper Genie that she had registered for. But sure enough, Joseph’s dream of settling down in the City of David, was interrupted by a warning to get out of town. Turns out these Ahrians were the catalysts to starting a mass genocide killing spree on all of Bethlehem’s children two years and younger. So “for the sake of the baby” the Christ Family fled to Egypt.
I’m sure it wasn’t easy to raise “God Incarnate.” Joseph and Mary must have been looking over their shoulders as they did that “new parent thing.” I’m sure they realized the gravity of the situation. But I can’t imagine they realized the gravity of the situation. There he was, the savior of the world. The Fabled king… the Messiah. And there they were two parents trying their hardest to raise a baby who they loved.
Two weeks ago I got to meet the newest edition to my family. Little Kathleen Alexandra Liddell. My family was together for Thanksgiving and I finally got to see my sister, my brother in law and their four month baby girl (they live in San Diego). It was fun to see them. Little Katy was totally cute, and was the age that she kind of was like a stuffed animal with eyes. She sat quietly in the chair, swing, or being held by someone just taking it all in. Her eyes seemed to have magical powers. When they focused on somebody, that person would somehow turn into a fool. Either making a face, or talking in a strange cartoon type tone. Normal conversations about politics would be interrupted with an over emphasized “THAT’S RIGHT…THAT’S RIGHT” a weird face and a farting noise, and then resumed as if nothing had happened. My sister and brother in law were proud. You could tell they loved their baby very much. They would do anything for her.
There were some others that came to thanksgiving too. Galen was my roommate in college. He and I had a great time starting our fraternity. We hung out in Ireland this last August. My mom calls him her favorite Asian son, and Galen seems to have special powers as well. Whenever Galen is around somehow people tend to line up and tell him that they have problems with their knee, or arthritis in their hands, or that they can only bend their elbow this far. He patiently listens to our dehabilitations and calmly tells us what exercises to do, or what “the real problem” is. You see, Galen is a Physical Therapist. And this was his first time meeting baby Katy as well.
It was interesting watching them size up each other; Katy, being the first born daughter of the Liddell’s, and Galen being a physical therapist. Galen seemed unaffected when the baby cried. When Katy was in my arms and she began to fuss, I immediately outstretched her towards my sister with a look on my face as if I had broken the child. Galen didn’t act the same as everybody in the house. We all seemed to be enchanted by Katy, but Galen seemed to study her. Not coldly like an experiment, but warmly like his job asks. His PT specialty is in Pediatrics. So even though he is equipped to deal with my family’s ailments, his job is to work with kids.
As the night progressed, I witnessed a light bulb go off in Galen’s head. He cooed at Katy as she was playing on the matt with the dangleys above her. He picked her up and put her back down, face down… not in a malicious way. But more as if he needed to see something. As if he was a scientist who just poured chemical a and b into test tube c. She seemed a little shocked, but not by the flip, just that someone would have the audacity to put her on her stomach. Within 30 seconds she began to cry. Not a cry of “I’m in pain” or “help me mother” but more a cry of “this really pissed me off.” Galen allowed her to stay there and cry for another 20 seconds before picking her up. Where he gently said, “I know… I know… you didn’t like that at all… That really pissed you off… I know.” But he made no movements to give her back to my sister. It was as if he was superman and Baby Katy’s bullets simply bounced off and lodged into the pottery on the shelf.
I don’t know what it was about this moment that seemed so poignant. Life has all of its twists and turns and experiments but this seemed larger then most of them. I knew what he was doing. He was giving Katy tummy time; which helps with development.
As I studied it: Having babies sleep on their backs has successfully reduced the rate of SIDS, but has also been accompanied by reports of an increase in the number of babies diagnosed with flattening of the back of the head. Katy, because of her life of laying around, swinging, and laying on the mat, gave her a propensity to look to the right which was beginning to do some “flattening of the head” on the right side.
The most common time to see head flattening according to University of Auckland Brigham Young University was age 4 months. No new cases began after 8 months of age. Overall, about 90 percent of the head shape problems disappeared on their own by age 2. The more hours that babies spent flat on their backs, the more likely they were to have head flattening. Even 5 minutes a day of tummy time had a protective effect. The back is great for sleeping, but other positions are wonderful for when babies are awake. One Doctor prefers at least 30 minutes total of tummy time each day once the cord has fallen off.
Now I know what you’re thinking… Geoff, we’re in church… this is not Babies 101. I know you think you’re niece is cute but, please, spare us. No.
I feel this very simple action of flipping the baby is extremely important. My sister and Brother in law love my niece very much. They would do anything for her. Yet their love of the very thing they would do anything for blinded them to the things they need to do. Their baby needs to adapt. It needs to grow. It needs to be flipped. Their baby needs to live within the tension of living life. And as parents, it’s their job to do one of the hardest things a parent can do. Facilitate the growth of their child.
And you’re saying to yourself… Geoff… I don’t have a four month old, Geoff I don’t have kids… or Geoff what does this have to do with anything? Before you simply think that my sister is an unfit mother, think to yourself what you’ve done to facilitate the growth of your baby. We all have them. It’s the very thing that drives you. It was the motivation that was behind Mary and Joseph moving to Egypt. Sure they wanted to preserve the life of their child. But it was something more beautiful than that; something that was mapped into their DNA that allowed them to protect that kid with their life; something that allowed them to weather the stream of chaos that came with having their particular child.
What are your hopes? What are your dreams? What are your loves? What gets you up in the morning? What is your baby? It’s right there in front of you, and some of you are so happy with the idea of your baby that you are blind to the fact that it’s getting flat. Is there something that you love, about yourself, or someone else, or a dream you have that in long overdue to be flipped over. Is your love of that baby co-dependence? Meaning you are so wrapped up in the crying and struggle that happens when we grow, that you would easily forsake it for a flathead.
God asks us to flip the baby. Is your life filled with fires, and when you have a moment to breathe, you just do nothing, and as a result you never get to the place you want. FLIP THE BABY, and prioritize the things that you want to do and stick to them. Are you repeating the same actions over and over and expecting different results. FLIP THE BABY, and take another route. Are you teetering on the edge of faith and afraid to move any closer because you don’t want to be one of “them.” FLIP THE BABY and know that God wants you to be more you than you can be without Him.
In your life you are going to be asked to flip the baby. The thing you love most will cry and be uncomfortable and you have to be the cause. My sister and Brother in law have two choices, give the kid tummy-time or get surgery on a flat head. God places us in opportunities where we have the choice to grow or stay flat. The growth causes crying, pain, and adaptation. Not easy… but necessary. God at one point even asked it of His son Jesus.
I still marvel at the balls Joseph and Mary had at the possibility of giving God incarnate “Tummy-time.” As Mary’s hands shook as she flipped the baby, she might have expected a bolt of lighting, or possibly an odd harp music playing as Jesus floated back onto his back. But more than likely all she saw was Jesus struggling to get upright, and eventually get pissed off and cry. Jesus himself had to grow, learn to crawl, learn to talk, learn to finally love and flip the baby himself. One night in Gethsemane, Jesus knew what was ahead of him. The Cross. And three times he asked to have his destiny removed. Only to hear a silent response. Knowing his love of God and his love for humanity he saw what needed to be flipped in order for growth to happen. Himself. “God, Thy will be done.” And three days later, after oceans of pain, days of crying, and thoughts of hopelessness. Christ emerged in glory. He flipped the baby to reconcile humanity to God, He flipped the baby to underline the fact of a loving God for us, He flipped the baby to give us inspiration for our own growth and struggle with life.
God wants you to know that you are loved today. So much that there was a huge struggle in order to bring you close. He came that we may live, love and be in him, As you go out today, ask yourself, what has stopped you from growing what you love? Because perhaps you need to flip it.
