MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE – Part 3:

Christmas is NATURE

“Mary gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”  (Luke 2:7)

Christmas does not come marching in like a triumphant army, nor does it arrive as a cosmic spectacular.  It doesn’t descend like some celestial spaceship.  It’s glory at the grass roots of life.  It comes amid sheep and oxen and donkeys.  It comes in the strong scent of straw and a stable.  The only incense swinging in the air is the strong breath of animals munching and pawing the earth.  This most blessed event occurs in a surprisingly natural way.  Can we truly capture the essence of Christmas in our concrete jungles; can we wend our way to Bethlehem on an asphalt trail?  Stand on a quiet hillside, observe the natural mystery of creation all around us and prepare to be surprised by a God who chooses to meet and save us on own turf and in our own shape as human beings.

-- Don G. Smith, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 1985


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