Christmas ponderings....

This morning I was looking for something to read to the usher/greeter team. I was drawn to Isaiah 9:

For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us.

The government will rest upon His shoulders.

And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and his peace

will never end

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David

for all eternity.

Then I picked up one of our favorite family books The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I read the last chapter...the one where the Herdmans "disrupt" the church's Christmas program. Emogene and Ralph who are playing Mary and Joseph look like refugees. Emogene has the nerve to burp the baby before she put him in the manger and was carrying him on her shoulder instead of cradling the Baby Jesus in her arms.

(If you haven't read this book...it is a must read...even if you are an adult...)

It got me thinking! The Prince of Peace and Everlasting Father; the One who will rule to the end of the age and for eternity...born in a smelly stable. Our Christmas cards that we send have beautiful pictures of Mary, with a holy light shining around her. The animals are around the stable and are wearing Christmas holly and are being attentive to the new born baby. What we don't see or smell is what the stable was really like.

A teenage girl and her husband had just traveled to Bethlehem. The probably did look like refugees. The starched and light blue gown pictured on our cards was most likely a dirty, dusty travel dress. She was tired and in pain. They must have felt lost and unloved because there was no other place for them to stay in the city.

Do you think she was questioning God? An angel had come months earlier...she was chosen to give birth to the Messiah. She was in labor. She was in a barn. A smelly barn surrounded by smelly, dirty animals. When her baby was born, did she wonder where she would put him? in the food trough? Did she wish she had somewhere else to place the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? What were the thoughts that she had pondered in her heart when the shepherds came to worship Jesus?

So into a smelly barn, Jesus was born. He was helpless. He was dependant on His mother for food and comfort. He needed to be burped and his swaddling clothes needed to be changed. It is this baby who became our Savior. Our picture of Christ is different than the reality; but the reality is that this Baby in the manger is our Christ.

It seems that as this week progresses...we need to remember that birth. Carve out some time this week to focus on Jesus. Let Him be the peace in your Christmas and step away from the busyness of the mall and the bustle of events and worship Him for what He has done in your life this year.