COME TO THE MANGER -- A CHRISTMAS EVE REFLECTION
Luke 2:1-7
It happened in a stable, among the animals and in the hay. There wasn't a Christmas tree with twinkling lights and shiny ornaments. A glass of milk and a plate of cookies weren't waiting for him. Yet, it was the most important birth in the history of humankind.
It's easy to lose the spirit of that first Christmas among the shopping and decorations and the television Christmas specials (animated and live) in the midst of all the trouble and turmoil of modern events.They all make Christ's birth seem so distant and removed from our own reality. For some, it may not even feel like Christmas, and this year, we all yearn for hope.
So, tonight, let's return to the manger with open hearts and minds.
Luke 2:8-14
Imagine. You're standing on a hilltop in the Judean hills just outside of Bethlehem. The night sky is clear, and the air is chilly.
On the night air comes the sounds of bleating sheep and the voices of shepherds talking and laughing around a fire on a distant hill. Some of them stand guard against predators, like lions, bears and wolves. The Pharisees call shepherds "sons of the soil." It's meant as an insult meaning that the shelpherds are no better than dirt and beneath their attention. But watch and see what happens next.
Suddenly, a blinding light fills the night sky. There's an angel telling themnot to be afraid, that the Messiah the people of Israel have been waiting for has been born in nearby Bethlehem. Af the angels have left, without hesitation they leave their flocks and seek out the newborn Messiah.
Luke 2:15-20
You follow the shepherds to a stable set in a cave behind an inn. As you enter, the pungent, organic smells of living beasts greet your nose. You join the others gathered around a young woman, Mary, and her newborn son.
As you approach, Mary gently smiles up at you and says, "Would you like to hold him? Go ahead, he won't break."
You take the child into your arms, and you marvel on how soft and warm and real the child feels. This is no plastic lawn decoration. This is the living God born in human flesh.
Then it hits you. In about thirty years, this little child will submit to betrayal, torture and crucifixion for your sins. But this night of stars and angels and shepherds is the "Once upon a time," that begins with a story that ends with "And they all lived eternally ever after -- not with Christ's death, but with his resurrection.
You gently stroke his the baby's cheek, and Jesus reaches out and grips your finger. And what a grip it is!
This grip is meant to hold on no matter what. This is the hand that will reach out over two milennium to touch the lives of the lost and the broken-hearted. Isaiah called this little one, this Jesus, "The prince of peace, counselor, almighty God." In your arms, you cradle God's word, God's promise made flesh, God's gift to you and all creation.
Reverently you return the baby to Mary who places Jesus in the manger. Kneeling, you join the shepherds in quietly worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
May we not be so anxious to leave the presence of the living Christ to return to holiday festivities. Let us linger here at the manger, for a while longer.
It happened in a stable, among the animals and in the hay. There wasn't a Christmas tree with twinkling lights and shiny ornaments. A glass of milk and a plate of cookies weren't waiting for him. Yet, it was the most important birth in the history of humankind.
It's easy to lose the spirit of that first Christmas among the shopping and decorations and the television Christmas specials (animated and live) in the midst of all the trouble and turmoil of modern events.They all make Christ's birth seem so distant and removed from our own reality. For some, it may not even feel like Christmas, and this year, we all yearn for hope.
So, tonight, let's return to the manger with open hearts and minds.
Luke 2:8-14
Imagine. You're standing on a hilltop in the Judean hills just outside of Bethlehem. The night sky is clear, and the air is chilly.
On the night air comes the sounds of bleating sheep and the voices of shepherds talking and laughing around a fire on a distant hill. Some of them stand guard against predators, like lions, bears and wolves. The Pharisees call shepherds "sons of the soil." It's meant as an insult meaning that the shelpherds are no better than dirt and beneath their attention. But watch and see what happens next.
Suddenly, a blinding light fills the night sky. There's an angel telling themnot to be afraid, that the Messiah the people of Israel have been waiting for has been born in nearby Bethlehem. Af the angels have left, without hesitation they leave their flocks and seek out the newborn Messiah.
Luke 2:15-20
You follow the shepherds to a stable set in a cave behind an inn. As you enter, the pungent, organic smells of living beasts greet your nose. You join the others gathered around a young woman, Mary, and her newborn son.
As you approach, Mary gently smiles up at you and says, "Would you like to hold him? Go ahead, he won't break."
You take the child into your arms, and you marvel on how soft and warm and real the child feels. This is no plastic lawn decoration. This is the living God born in human flesh.
Then it hits you. In about thirty years, this little child will submit to betrayal, torture and crucifixion for your sins. But this night of stars and angels and shepherds is the "Once upon a time," that begins with a story that ends with "And they all lived eternally ever after -- not with Christ's death, but with his resurrection.
You gently stroke his the baby's cheek, and Jesus reaches out and grips your finger. And what a grip it is!
This grip is meant to hold on no matter what. This is the hand that will reach out over two milennium to touch the lives of the lost and the broken-hearted. Isaiah called this little one, this Jesus, "The prince of peace, counselor, almighty God." In your arms, you cradle God's word, God's promise made flesh, God's gift to you and all creation.
Reverently you return the baby to Mary who places Jesus in the manger. Kneeling, you join the shepherds in quietly worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
May we not be so anxious to leave the presence of the living Christ to return to holiday festivities. Let us linger here at the manger, for a while longer.
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