“15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.” —Luke 2:15-16 (NRSV)
This weekend, when Christmas comes to us, we, like the shepherds long ago, come to our journey’s end … and discover it’s just the beginning! However we come to the nativity, the birth of God – and God’s promised wholeness – into the midst of a fragmented world is a show stopper. There are no words for it, at least, not at first. “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given,” the poet wrote. “So God imparts to human hearts the joys of highest heaven.”
"10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
—Matthew 2:10-11 (NRSV)
The magi – astrologers and sages – who followed a star for a long journey across borders and through time, also found themselves without words. We do not know if they spoke any quiet words to Mary and Joseph, or to the baby, but we do know that God spoke to the depths of their beings, imploring them to return to “their own country by another way.” (Matthew 2:12b)
So when we get where we’re going, after the last package is wrapped, the final card is mailed, the final cookie baked, the Christmas dinner prepared, will there be time for silence? Will we be able to silence the voices of the noisy, fragmented world around us long enough to become aware of the magic and the mystery of God coming to us, and dwelling among us, as one who is vulnerable unless we act? Will we pause and let our selves be filled with awe and wonder?
If you are in Trenton on Friday evening, please plan to come to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at First Christian Church at 6 PM: for a time of singing the favorite carols of Christmas when we will commune with Christ and light a candle in His honor. Wherever you are this Christmas, take time to pause, be silent and remember … that God has come for us and lived among us, in order to promise us…the wonders of eternal love.
I look forward to greeting you at the church door...or wherever we share ministry together!
Merry Christmas! Pastor Paul
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