Heaven…a glorious place. I’ve never been there, but I hear it’s a place of peace, tranquility and harmony. Yet God crossed the great divide to come among us.
God gave up the glory and joy (Peace!) of heaven. God chose to be born of a woman, and not in some fine palace but in the dirt and grime of a Bethlehem stable. A far cry from heaven!
So God came a long, long way to meet us, encounter us and show his love for us in the flesh. Most creches and portraits present a neat and tranquil arrangement. Mary is smiling; the baby is beaming; Joseph stands tall and erect. Even the sheep appear calm and contented.
I really doubt it was that way at all. It’s pretty startling, really. What a thing to do! Imagine the noise, the odors, the pain, the winter cold, the weakness and hunger following a long trip to a small but crowded town where there was no room for anyone else, not even a young woman about to give birth!
What a thing to do!
It’s a shame that most depictions of the nativity lure us into thinking it was all nice and neat.
I hope that as you mark Advent and Christmas this month, you will remember the long, long way that God came to be among us, to live and serve among us, and to die for us. God bridged the great divide and joined the human fray. Amazing! Amazing!
-Paul