United Methodist Advocate - Connecting Methodists in South Carolina Since 1837

This is my favorite time of year. Friends and family get together and celebrate the birth of Jesus. During Advent, we make room in our hearts and in our lives. We get ready to receive this incredible gift of the Christ child.

This is the season when the Christmas cards begin to come.  Each day’s mail brings greetings from across the miles. Sometimes there is a special note included. It was a tradition in our home to display the cards around the living room. On tables and around doorways, cards were continual reminders of love, and joy, and peace.

Things have changed since Mary and Joseph made that first journey to Bethlehem.  In this holiest of cities, about five miles out of Jerusalem in an area now called Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity stands as a witness to the place where tradition believes Jesus was born. There are three Christian denominations sharing this sacred site – the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. 

The simplicity of the verses from Luke’s gospel almost gets lost in the large fortress-like exterior. It is different than it might have imagined. But there are gentle reminders that God has done an awesome and wondrous thing. The main entrance into this place of worship is a very small Door of Humility which requires all who enter to bow. On either side of the high altar, stone steps lead down to a cavern below.  This grotto is the spot where Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus. 

Nearby, a manger is hollowed in the stone. The cool damp air is a reminder that this is simply a cave, like so many other caves, except for the tapestries hung about the walls and the 15 oil lamps surrounding the space. Inscribed are words which are translated, “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.”  A 14-point silver star embedded in white marble indicates the birthplace. Kneeling and touching the star generates many emotions, not the least of which is a deeper awareness of how much God loves us and an immeasurable sense of gratitude to God for the gift.

Each year, there are so many beautiful Christmas cards. Whether they depict Mary and Joseph with the newborn baby, angelic hosts and shepherds, wise men and camels, or simply snow covered scenes of nature, they are always perfect. 

Many times everyday life is not as perfect. People get in the picture and the pristine white drifts of snow become muddied packed piles of dingy slush. Things get messed up.  Families get together and, after awhile, there can be fusses and hurt feelings.  How perfect the cards appear in contrast to the less idyllic moments of life. 

I cannot help but wonder why God puts us in the picture. Of course, I guess that really is the message of Christmas. God was willing to give up all the glory and enter this less than hospitable world as a newborn baby. The good news is always that God is with us, Emmanuel, in our less than perfect world.

God wants us included. Before any billboards along side the highways, God wrote the message in the heavens with the brightest star ever seen. It was a media event, a sign in the heavens for all to see, but people had to look.  

God wants us included. That is why angels came to shepherds working hard in the fields.  They proclaimed peace on earth, good will to all. They came announcing the birth because God wanted them to know the good news of great joy that a Savior has been born. All they had to do was to go and see. 

For the wealthiest and the poorest, the sign was the same. Find a newborn baby lying in a manger. Nothing unusual, babies are born everyday. Of course, when the baby is your own, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. When that baby is yours, it is nothing less than a miracle.