Christmas...
An Intimate Moment“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn”
(Luke 2:7). – God’s gift not only to the world, but especially to Mary, the mother of a new born baby boy. This is the gift of an intimate moment with the Son whose life would unravel a sinful world.
The moment has arrived. It’s that unforgettable milestone, that moment in time, when a mother carefully examines her newborn child from head to toe. For nine seemingly endless months, a tiny hidden mystery grows inside her body. Is my baby healthy; does he have all his fingers and toes? What colour eyes will stare back at me? What colour hair will I brush? Nine months of questions. Then one day the mystery is placed in the mother’s arms. And what does she do? She conducts her first examination, an event so momentous, just Mommy and Daddy, alone for the first time with their precious gift.
Mary huddled over her firstborn in that crude stable. The light of Bethlehem’s star shines through the stable door as she tenderly opens Jesus’ clutched little fists and counts to ten. “Such tiny hands,” she gasps, “just like a real person’s.” Joseph nods and suddenly it dawns on them – this is a real person!
Mary holds the child’s sweet hands in hers. “How can it be,” she whispers, “that by these fragile hands of His the earth and heavens were created?” Mary and Joseph believe what is impossible to understand. Soon others will be asked to believe too. By then, the hands of Jesus will be recognised, not by soft pink fingers, but by their power to calm a storm, heal the sick, raise the dead. Beyond all else, His hands will be recognised by cruel nail holes.
Mary straightens His curled limbs. She coos as mothers tend to do; the cows moo; the sheep bleat. It’s unthinkable. For eternity, He’s lived surrounded by the praise of angels. He’s given it up, exchanged the songs of Heaven for stable sounds, for hateful, mocking voices creaming, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” But His ear will not gather such sounds. Children proclaiming, “Yes, Jesus, yes, I love You.” These are the sounds His ears will gather. These are the sounds His ears will hear.
At the tiniest whimper of Jesus’ first cry, Mary and Joseph are silent. This is the voice of creation, the voice that declared, “Let there be,” and there was. Imagine their awe. Their baby’s voice is the Word of God made flesh. Already Mary anticipates His first words, earthly, yes, but brimming with heavenly power and truth. His truth will give her strength when He proclaims, “It is finished; the debt for sin is paid.” Many will call these His final words; but Mary will know better. Until the end of time, men, women and children from every nation will hear Him say, “Come, come to Me.”
The sound of His voice fills Mary’s heart with songs of celebration. Lovingly she caresses Jesus’ tiny feet and warms them with kisses. The God who leads her and walks by her side, the One who is her Comforter, now sleeps comforted in the warmth and security of her cradling arms.
“Oh, Jesus, where will these feet take You? To the sea; to the Temple; to the top of a mountain?” She whispers. In time Mary’s answers will come.
She’ll smile and listen, “Mary, your son, Jesus, He not only walked by the sea, He walked upon the sea!” One by one, she’ll see His Temple established in the hearts of people. She’ll watch as, beaten beyond recognition, He struggles to the top of a mountain to give the gift of Himself, the gift of eternal life to her and everyone else who believes. And as she watches her child suffer under all that bloodied mass of torn flesh, she’ll long to comfort Him, just one more time.
The examination is complete. Mary wraps her gift in bandage-like clothes. She aches to give Him better. After all, He set aside the glory of heavenly robes, and all she has to dress Him in is simple swaddling cloths. She wraps her baby as one wraps a priceless gift. That’s what He is; not just her gift or Joseph’s, but He is God’s gift to the world. She lovingly kisses Jesus' rosy cheeks as a mother would…and she kissed the face of God.
One day Mary will watch as God’s gift is placed in a tomb. Three days later she will discover He left His clothes behind; and her heart will celebrate. They were not His clothes any more than the swaddling strips she wrapped around Him so long ago. The baby whom she once dressed will dress her, and all who believe in Him, in His righteousness.
Mary gently places Jesus on a mattress of hay. The animals are quiet now; but stable smells, soaked into timbers and straws, forbid Mary from imagining herself away. Tears run down her face as she looks around. This is a home barely fit for beasts. Will I ever be able to give You the home You are worthy of, little one? Soon she will discover; He did not come so she could give Him a home; He came to give her a home. A home in heaven for her, for eternity with Him, and everyone else who believe.
Mary and Joseph whispers to their baby, “Jesus, I love You.”
posted by HanQiang @ 2:26 am
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