God is at Work
Luke 2:1-14
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. Luke 2:1
Shootings. Extremes of wealth and poverty. Food insecurity. Racial-ethnic tensions. Corporate greed. Military invasions. Divisive leadership. Limited access to healthcare. Cultural and political divisions. Societal intolerance and violence. And so forth.
One might wonder, where is God in the midst of our broken world? What is God doing? If anything?
The first-century world had its own issues and damage. It was very broken.
Verse 1 names the source of the brokenness.
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. (Luke 2:1)
In this act of decreeing a registration or census, the Emperor Augustus asserts his absolute power over some 65 million or so people. It is an act of domination, of economic exploitation through taxation, of territorial control, enforceable by military might if disobeyed. And Jupiter’s decree sanctions this world order.
It doesn’t matter that there is no historical evidence for Augustus’ decree. Its role in the Gospel narrative is to set the scene for Jesus’ birth and for the Gospel’s incredible proclamation.
In the midst of Augustus’ imperial world, in the midst of his overwhelming power that stretches even to this minor province of Judea, the Gospel promises, explains, and declares: God is at work.
And divine work does not sanction Augustus’ empire. It takes a different route for a different purpose: a baby (very powerful as every parent knows), anointed to save the present world from a system of domination, exploitation, elite privilege, and injustice. Yet ironically, he anticipates a future world marked by the full establishment of God’s empire that dominates all.
Dr. Warren Carter
LaDonna Kramer Meinders Professor of New Testament
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