The shocking story of Christmas

Do you sometimes wish that you could re-read your favorite book, or watch your favorite movie, over again for the first time?  After a while, even with our favorites, we tend to lose the sense of suspense and wonder.  After all, we know how the story ends.  Christmas can be the same way for Christians.  We've heard the story since we were children, most of use could recreate the Gospel accounts from memory (if not word for word, at least in substance).  This is a story that we know.
And yet, wouldn't it be helpful to look at the Gospel account through the eyes of the first century readers who are hearing the account of Jesus' birth for the first time?  How would their reaction to the events surrounding his birth differ from our own?  One way which we can be relatively certain that our reactions would differ is in the area of how shocking the story would have seemed then, versus how tame it seems now.
We aren't surprised at all that angels spoke to Mary and Joseph (although I bet Mary and Joseph were surprised!), that our Lord was born in a manger, and that his first visitors were lowly shepherds.  We've grown accustomed to the story of a humble king born in this way because we're familiar with the servant attitude that Jesus champions.  In contrast to our comfortable feeling, the Gospel accounts are actually full of surprising twists and turns (not just in the birth narrative) that would have been far more stunning to those who were hearing them for the first time than they are for us today.
We have the benefit, and it certainly is one, of two thousand years of Christian culture and history to draw help frame our experiences and deepen our understanding of God's Word.  And yet, that same background can insulate us from seeing and feeling the Gospel from a fresh perspective.
This Christmas, when you're hearing about the old familiar story of the birth of Jesus, take a moment to look for the scandal and try to see the sudden twists and turns.  Ask God to give you a fresh understanding of his Word so that you too can read about the birth of Christ for the first time.