Christmas Musing #32 A Small Package

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  Luke 2:15-16 English Standard Version

               When I was growing up, my best friend and I enjoyed an odd Christmas tradition. His family lived right behind us across the alley. Our families were close; close enough for us to enter through each other’s back door unannounced. After the “official” Christmas festivities had ended, late in the afternoon, we would trek back and forth between our houses examining the Christmas loot. Our parents employed similar presenting practices. We both would get a couple of fun gifts and a few practical gifts. It was always exciting to check out each other’s stuff. I remember one year he got extra large Army men. Most Army men are an inch or so in height, these were several inches tall. We played with those for years. In some ways, those visitations were the high point of the day. We shuttled back and forth between our houses with haste and glee, rejoicing at the cool things we got. Like the shepherds we wanted to see.

               Some of you have joined me on this month-long trek to see the babe in the manger. We received the news that our savior had been born and were given signs to look for. So off we went, hoping to see something wonderful at the end of our journey. And then we find our Lord and Savior in the most humble of circumstances, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a feeding trough. As in the first century, most of us miss him. As John would put it in his gospel,

“⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John 1:9-11

               We do not know or receive Him because we expect something different, something more grand or impressive somehow. The creator, king of the universe, and savior of mankind doesn’t show up as a feeble, toothless baby. He especially doesn’t show up in the care of a young peasant girl and blue-collar-carpenter. But we find Immanuel, lying in a feeding-trough because there was no room for Him in a better place! We just find that hard to accept. But there He is, unexpectedly plain and insignificant. Will we respond like the shepherds and Maji or will we miss Him like Herod and the rest of the power-brokers in Palestine? So at the end of a long journey from heaven to earth, from God Almighty to an infant child, we behold Him, and worship the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.