Connected Christianity

To me, the first part of Luke 2 is the heart of the Christmas story. More than any other passage, these verses conjure up all kinds of Christmas imagery. I remember when I had to memorize them for church when I was a kid. I can hear Linus reciting them in A Charlie Brown Christmas. I think of carol candlelight services in a dark sanctuary festooned with banners and nativity scenes. I think of red sweaters, fresh Christmas cookies, opening presents with my cousins, warming myself by the fire at my grandparents’ house, and the anticipation that permeated Christmas Eve night. But I’m not just filled with memories. I also picture the shepherds sleeping next to their sheep on a hillside. I imagine the blinding brilliance of the angels, and the shepherds’ rush to “see this thing which is come to pass” (2:15, KJV).

There’s so much excitement and anticipation packed in these verses, both for my memories and the scenes they depict. That’s why it’s so easy to get swept away in the revelry; there’s a lot going on. But that can makes us forget about the small, stillness of the event. The Savior that just arrived is just a little baby. I wonder if the shepherds thought that odd when the angels announced it. The angels basically say, “Your Lord and Savior has finally come. And he’s a baby.” “Really? He’s just a baby,” the shepherds likely thought. That probably made them even more curious to go see what all the heavenly commotion was about. But newborns sleep most of their first few days, so the infant Jesus probably didn’t do much when the shepherds visited. They probably went through the common newborn visitation routine: “Is the baby sleeping? Oh okay, we’ll be really quiet then. We don’t want to wake him up.” I bet the shepherds just stood there, marveling in silence at the tiny baby, trying to understand the fact that they were seeing the Lord’s Messiah.

The Christmas story is one of dichotomies. It is grand and bright in its fear-inducing angelic choir. But it is also small, dark, and quiet, as the newborn Christ sleeps in a feed trough. The Christmas season is filled with anticipation when our excitement builds all through December then is suddenly over by Christmas afternoon. I think Mary had the best approach to Christmas. She treasured the joy of the experience and pondered the meaning of the Messiah that was now in her life. When Christmas rolls around this year, let’s hope we can do the same.