Luke 2:6-7 Imaging Christmas in Modern times Final Part

Luke 2:6-7 “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Imagine a pastoral scene. The rolling hills spread out before you while the city lights behind you light up the sky. The noise from the city never reaches you while the silence of the night is only disturbed by the bleating of a lamb, themselves only indistinguishable cotton balls at the edge of your sight in the dark gloom. While shepherding has been going on for almost as long as mankind has been around, today it is done with pickup trucks and ATV's.  The shepherds are gathered together grabbing warm coffee off the cooking stove balanced on the tailgate of a pickuptruck. There is always one of them armed with a rifle out with the sheep, looking for coyotes, mountain lions, feral dogs, and other predators. Suddenly the vague light from the city is dwarfed by a bright light shinning down on them and on all the other ranchers out at night. The sky is blotted by the light, and its so bright that they can't even see the wool of the sheep around them! A melodic voice cries out booming forth, but only the shepherds seem to here it for the sheep are as docile as ever. The voice tells them that something special has happened, the prophecies are being fulfilled and the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of God is born!

They raced down the dirt road onto the main road, as many of them as they could fit in each truck. They drove recklessly towards the little city following the directions the vocal, light-filled messengers had given them. They drove through the suburbs toward the tiny motel, then around the motel to the garage behind it.  They rushed into the garage and then stopped at what they saw. First they saw a young woman, a teenager, lying on a cot, all exhausted and tired, messy, but contented. There was an older man kneeling next to her, holding her hand, looking down with such concern that it was almost humorous, while his bluejeans and faded power-metal band T-shirt declared “I'm one of you” to the shepherds.  They saw the motel owner/manager wringing his hands nervously as he shuffled around the floor while another lady, his wife cleaned up, taking blankets, towels, and dirty clothes, plumping pillows for the exhausted girl and laying a reassuring hand on the mans shoulder.  Then, the shepherds all saw Him, the child, the one the Angels told them about! There He was, such a normal looking child, sleeping, wrapped up in towels and laying in the top drawer of a tool cabinet while the tools were heaped in a pile on the floor. They looked in wonder at this little child, born in a tattered looking garage on the south side of town behind a tiny motel. This was no place for a king to be born, this was no place for the Son of God, but here they were, the most motley collection of people to herald in the birth of the Messiah: a young married couple, a motel manager and his wife, and dirty, smelly shepherds fresh from the fields.

Mary and Joseph looked up and saw the group of shepherds standing there awkwardly staring at the little child, standing in shock and amazement.  They smiled at the sight of the kind motel manager rushing back in with a box of cigars, handing one to all the shepherds and coming towards Joseph himself. Mary and Joseph knew this was a special night, one that could never be repeated, and as the smiled and realized how wonderful it was, they heard the amazing chorus of Angels that the shepherds had heard earlier singing out “Christ the Saviour is born!”

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
                                                              John F. Wade, c1743.

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