Merry Christmas

Celebrating Jesus!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:1-5

The Word became flesh; the Word wrapped Himself in flesh and bones and came to dwell among us. 

That night in a small cave where animals lay, Mary let out cries of pain as the Word was brought forth through the birth of this young virgin.  A young man, scarred by accusations, embarrassment and shame, sat with her to be the first to hold baby Jesus.  The noise of the animals, the smell of the animal droppings mixed with water and hay rose through the air as Mary cried out.  The coolness of night covered them as the Word drew His first breath in the flesh and Joseph lifted Him to her.  They wrapped Him in swaddling clothing nice and tight.  Bethlehem was known as a place where priests wrapped spotless lambs in swaddling clothes and then placed them in stone troughs for protection from injury or blemish until the time of their sacrifice; and here, on this cool quiet night Mary lay the sweet baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes into the stone trough for protection. 

Tonight, I sit reflecting on the miraculous birth of the Word.  We celebrate His birthday at the end of another year.  This year has gone faster than all the years before.  It could just be age but this year my eyesight seems to need readers, but my spiritual eyes are clearer than ever.  The valleys were dark, and the mountain tops were cloudy.  Can you relate?  I think many would say it has been a year of hard, a year of terrifying fear, a year of utter sorrow; however, if we are paying attention, it was also a year of being held, a year of leaning into trusting God and a year of joyful redemptive moments.

The scene that night when Jesus was born held hard, and scary. That moment also held a family holding a newborn baby, a woman and man leaning into the King of kings to trust Him to raise Jesus, and it held a redemption that would soon be completed and the whole earth sang for JOY as the Word became flesh.

I hope you have had time to celebrate Jesus, to unwrap the presence of joy, and to simply focus on what that night, so long ago, meant for us all. 

The King of kings became flesh, and He is alive!  Joy to the World!

Merry merry Christmas!

Stacy