On the Way to Bethlehem: Claiming Power and Hope

Devotional

Day 1: The Christmas story begins under imperial decree

Place the nativity squarely inside the realities of empire: Rome’s decisions, its decrees, and its taxes shaped the path Mary and Joseph walked long before they reached the manger, reminding you that holy stories often begin not in ideal circumstances but amid political and economic forces that press on ordinary lives. [02:27]

Luke 2:1-3 (ESV)
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

Reflection: What is one system or policy in your life today that feels like Caesar’s decree—pressing you to move, comply, or shrink? Write it down, name its demands aloud, and choose one concrete act you will do before tomorrow to honor God’s call instead of the system’s pressure; what will you do?

Day 2: Hope is active resistance against despair

Hope is not naive optimism but a stubborn, defiant stance that what you see is not all there is; practicing hope means taking specific, life-giving actions that refuse despair and help give birth to something new in the world. [15:35]

Romans 8:24-25 (ESV)
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Reflection: Identify one situation where you most often slide into despair; tonight, spend ten minutes naming three scriptural truths that counter that despair and then take one practical hopeful step (call someone in need, give to a local charity, or write a note of encouragement); what will you do this evening?

Day 3: Identity as God's heirs outweighs imperial labels

Your true status is not a census number, credit score, or productivity metric but being an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ; this identity overrides every label imposed by systems that would diminish you. [15:07]

Romans 8:17 (ESV)
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Reflection: Which demeaning label from “the empire” (worker, consumer, expendable, ashamed) do you most often accept about yourself? Today, write “Heir of God” on an index card, place it where you will see it three times, and say aloud one truth of your identity—what label will you replace, and when will you speak your new truth?

Day 4: Mary's song resists and upends worldly power

When Mary sings that the mighty will be brought down and the hungry filled, she models resistance through proclamation and praise: claiming her worth, naming God’s justice, and refusing to let dominant powers define who she is or what God will do. [13:47]

Luke 1:52-53 (ESV)
He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

Reflection: Who or what in your community needs to be named and opposed with Mary’s spirit—an injustice, an overlooked neighbor, a hungry household? Choose one concrete act of resistance rooted in compassion (deliver a meal, sign a letter, volunteer) and do it today; what will you do?

Day 5: Find your people: communal resistance and care

Systems thrive on isolation; the counter is community—small, tight-knit circles that share resources, bear burdens, and make sure no neighbor goes hungry, showing that living as God’s people is practical, mutual, and revolutionary. [09:52]

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Reflection: Name one person or household in your neighborhood or church who needs remembering this season; reach out to them today with a specific offer (deliver groceries, bring a hot meal, offer childcare, or invite them over) and schedule it—who will you call or visit this afternoon?

Sermon Summary

We opened Advent by tracing the road to Bethlehem back to a place few connect to Christmas: Rome. The story doesn’t begin with a manger but with a decree from Caesar Augustus. Mary and Joseph were subjects, not citizens—pulled into a 100-mile journey by an empire that wanted their data and their taxes. That backdrop matters because we live inside systems too—political, economic, even religious—that often don’t have our good at heart. The question is not simply how to survive them, but how to thrive with holy agency.

I shared my own Rome: a subway car where I was pickpocketed, and the next day near the Forum where a pack surrounded me and ran off with my backpack—passport inside. I chased, grabbed, and ran the other way. That little scene became a parable: when systems and circumstances are bigger than us, we still have power to claim. Mary did. Her Magnificat is a protest song, a daring confession that God overturns thrones and exalts the lowly. Paul echoes it: we are heirs with Christ. We are not census numbers or credit scores or productivity stats.

So how do we live with agency? First, name the systems. If we don’t name the forces that divide, exploit, and shame, we’ll slowly believe their logic and forget the sound of the kingdom. Second, find your people. Empire isolates; the Spirit gathers. Mary had Joseph; the early church had tight-knit communities. We resist in concrete ways: feeding neighbors, celebrating dignity, standing with the vulnerable. Third, claim your power and identity. Refuse reduction. Sing your Magnificat. Fourth, practice hope as resistance. Hope isn’t optimism; it’s the stubborn belief that this is not all there is, and the willingness to act as if light will win—stringing lights in the early dark, rebuilding after storms, showing mercy in a punitive age. Finally, live as if God’s kingdom is already here. Don’t wait for permission or perfect conditions. Practice generosity in scarcity, mercy in vengeance, belovedness in shame.

Mary walked to Bethlehem a subject of Rome. She left Bethlehem the mother of God. The empire still stands—but so do we. And that’s how the revolution begins.

Key Takeaways

1. Name the systems to resist Refusing to name oppressive dynamics lets them catechize our imaginations. When we call out political, economic, and religious forces that harm, we inoculate our hearts against their narratives. Naming clarifies what is not the kingdom of God, so our resistance is both truthful and hopeful. [09:09]
2. Find your people; practice solidarity Empire isolates; the Spirit forms community. Mary didn’t travel alone, and the early church survived by gathering in small, resilient circles of care. Practical mercy—feeding neighbors, honoring the vulnerable—pushes back against systems that reduce people to problems. [10:24]
3. Claim your power and identity Mary’s Magnificat is holy defiance: God topples thrones and lifts the lowly. You are not a census number or a productivity metric; you are an heir with Christ. When we live from this identity, we stop negotiating our worth with systems designed to diminish it. [15:07]
4. Practice hope as defiant resistance Hope isn’t denial or cheerfulness on command; it’s the stubborn conviction that God is birthing newness in a groaning world. It shows up in small, concrete actions that align with a future we believe God is bringing. Hope acts now because it trusts what will be. [15:35]
5. Live as if the Kingdom’s here Mary’s most radical act was living as though God’s promises were already true. We don’t wait for empires to give permission; we practice generosity in scarcity, mercy where punishment rules, and belonging in a culture of shame. This is resurrection life in real time. [16:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:02] - Rome: The Air They Breathed
[02:27] - Caesar’s Decree and the Census
[03:51] - Mary and Joseph’s Forced Journey
[05:24] - Memories of Modern Rome
[06:17] - Pickpocketed on the Subway
[07:29] - Systems That Don’t Seek Our Good
[08:30] - Name the System to Resist
[09:52] - Find Your People; Form Community
[10:24] - Pushing Back Through Local Mercy
[12:54] - Claim Your Power and Agency
[13:47] - Mary’s Magnificat: Holy Resistance
[15:35] - Saved in Hope, Not Optimism
[16:58] - Living as if the Kingdom’s Here
[18:55] - The Kingdom Is Here and Now

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

- Luke 2:1-5 — In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. (This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. - Luke 1:46-55 (The Magnificat) And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” - Romans 8:24-25 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Observation Questions

Read Luke 2:1-5. What concrete burdens—travel, registration, vulnerability—did the Roman census impose on Mary and Joseph? How does that change your picture of the Christmas journey?
The preacher says “Rome was the air they breathed.” How does hearing the Christmas story inside an imperial context shift the way you hear the birth narrative? [01:02]
Read the lines in Luke 1:52-53: “He has brought down the mighty… filled the hungry… sent the rich away empty.” What specific imperial values are being overturned in those lines? How do those images confront modern measures of worth (wealth, power, productivity)?
The sermon says, “Naming it is the first step” when talking about oppressive systems. What examples of systems did the preacher list that we need to name? [09:09]

Interpretation Questions

What does the preacher mean by “claim your power” in the story about chasing down his backpack and passport, and how should that idea shape someone’s response to being treated as “just a number”? [12:25]
When the sermon connects Mary’s Magnificat to “holy resistance,” what theological claim is being made about how God acts in history and the role of the vulnerable in God’s purposes? [13:47]
The preacher quotes Romans’ language about hope: “saved in hope.” How should a community interpret “saved in hope” when they face long-term injustice or slow change? (Tie this to Romans 8:24-25.)
The sermon urges Christians to “live as if the kingdom is already here.” What tensions or risks arise from practicing kingdom values (generosity, mercy, belonging) before institutions change?

Application Questions

Name one system in your day‑to‑day life (workplace metrics, school rules, a church culture, government policy, family expectations) that tends to reduce your worth. What is one concrete step you will take this week to “name” that system instead of letting it define you? [09:09]
Who are the people you rely on—your “find your people” circle? List two names. What specific act of solidarity can you do for one of them in the next 14 days (bring a meal, watch their kids, help with a bill, listen without fixing)? [09:52]
The preacher gives small examples of hope as resistance (stringing lights, rebuilding, showing mercy). Pick one visible act of hope you can do this Advent. What will you do, when will you do it, and who will you invite to join? [16:37]
Where in your life have you accepted a label from a system (credit score, performance review, social status)? Write a one-sentence declaration you will practice this week to claim your identity as an heir with Christ. Say it aloud once a day. [15:07]
The sermon urged local mercy—feeding neighbors and collecting gifts for vulnerable people. Is there a local need you know about (a food pantry, shelter, neighbor in crisis)? What is one concrete way your group can serve or give in the next month, and who will take responsibility for organizing it? [10:24]
When was the last time you felt powerless because of a circumstance beyond your control? Identify one small, specific action that would be an exercise of agency in that situation (a phone call, a visit, a petition, a meal, a prayer walk). Commit to doing that action within the week. [12:54]

Sermon Clips

The empire wanted to reduce them to, like, a number in a census. Mary, you're number 47 out of Nazareth. But I want you to hear how Mary resisted. We didn't read this. This is from what is now often called the Magnificat from Luke chapter 1. This is Mary's song. Two lines out of that. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. [00:13:33] (38 seconds) #UpsideDownKingdom

The Magnificat is Mary's song of resistance. She claimed her power when she sang that song. She claimed her power by declaring that God saw her, that God knew her, and that God chose her for some sacred task. We, too, can claim our power when we refuse to let any system, political or economic or even religious, when we refuse to let any system tell us that we are less than the beloved children of God. [00:14:12] (39 seconds) #SongOfResistance

Paul, in the book of Romans, that we read together, put it this way, that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. This is our identity. We are children of God, not just some number on a census. We are more than our credit score or our productivity or our usefulness to empire. We claim our power. [00:14:51] (29 seconds) #MoreThanANumber

We practice hope as resistance. Paul, in the section that we read from Romans 8, he said that we are saved in hope. Saved in hope. What does he mean by this? Hope isn't, it's not just optimism. It's not just sticking our head in the sand and pretending everything's fine. There's no problem here. Hope is the stubborn, defiant belief that this is not all there is. [00:15:21] (31 seconds) #HopeIsResistance

That creation is groaning for something more, to give birth to something new in our world, and creation groans and makes that manifest through us. Mary and Joseph walked to Bethlehem in an oppressive system, but they carried hope with them, didn't they? We claim our power when we refuse to give in to despair, when we rebuild after a hurricane, when we string up lights, when it turns dark at 2.30 in the afternoon. [00:15:51] (42 seconds) #HopeRebuilds

We live as if God's kingdom is already here. The most radical thing Mary did was not give birth to Jesus. It was to live as if God's promises had already been fulfilled, as if what God said and promised had already come true, despite the decrees from Rome, despite Herod and all of his manipulations and violence, despite the powerful that still sat on their thrones, Mary refused to give up hope. [00:16:48] (33 seconds) #RadicalHope

We claim our power when we live according to the values of God's kingdom. Generosity, when the world tells us there's scarcity. Mercy in a world that wants to seek punishment. Belovedness in systems of shame. We don't wait for permission or the system to change. We start living the resurrection life now. [00:17:20] (27 seconds) #ResurrectionLifeNow

And so if you don't hear anything else from me today, hear this. You are not powerless. We are not powerless. Yes, there are systems, there are forces, political, economic, cultural. They want to diminish us. They want to profit from us. But we carry something that they can't take. We carry the very image of God. We carry hope that refuses to die. We carry a stubborn, sacred belief. That another world is possible. [00:17:47] (44 seconds) #WeAreNotPowerless

``Mary, she walked to Bethlehem, a subject of the Holy Roman Empire. She left as the mother of God. So friends, name the systems. Find your people. Refuse to let the system define your worth. Practice hope as resistance. And live as if the kingdom had already come. Because it is. The kingdom has already come. And it's right here. And it's right now. And it's in you. [00:18:31] (36 seconds) #LiveLikeTheKingdom

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Why does Luke begin Christmas story with Rome?

How does the Magnificat function as resistance?

How can we thrive under oppressive systems?