Tis the season for bad costuming, wisemen and shepherds, angels running down the isles, straw fights in the stable, and more holiday snack food parties than you can imagine. You can easily find a calendar event for every night in December. There's no shortage of Christmas plays and cheesy scripts. Over time, you get the impression that you've seen it all before. And you have. I have.
And yet, as I sit at the back of a packed, small, country church on a frosty winter night, I realize that there is indeed a magic and a moment in all the overkill of these nativity reproductions. It's the exact moment we find Mary, Joseph & the baby in their makeshift manger, or stable, or cave, or whatever the particular location was. No matter how many times this story is told again and again, even if it be the exact same script and outfits year after year, there's a cautious commotion that erupts when the baby is brought out. From the back row, I watch as heads bob up and down, folks squirm for a better angle, or even stand up at their seat just to get a better glimpse. I too rise to my feet to see just what all the commotion is about. Who is the Christ child this year? Is he real or just a doll? What does he look like? Has he really come? Is this the year? Is this the one? God with us.
Perhaps that's it. Perhaps that's why every year, in churches or drive thru front lawns all over the world this time of year, you find people jockeying for position just to get a glimpse once again of the one they call Emmanuel. Who is it? Could it really be? Is he real?
May we never lose our curiosity of the cradle and the suspense of finding out just who or what awaits us in the manger this year. Merry Christmas!
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