“Observations”©

by: Donald S. Conkey

 

Date: 25 December 2008 - # 8852a - Christmas Day 2008 (812)

 

Merry Christmas! It is Christmas Day 2008.

I remember well the days of long ago, or so it NOW seems, when Joan and I would wait for the kids to be safely tucked in their beds on Christmas Eve, then retrieve the carefully hidden packages that had been so carefully selected for each child and place each package under the Christmas tree. Satisfied our efforts were completed we would attempt a few hours of sleep before rising as the sound of footsteps running down the stairs opened our sleepy eyes. Santa Clause had come. They were never disappointed. Nor were we!

Those were happy days, just as our days today are happy as we prepare to see those same glittering stars shine in the eyes of our great grandchildren. How excited they are, as are the younger grandchildren, those who have yet to have their dreams of Santa Clause dashed by an older sibling.

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” But ah, what is that stirring in our house? It’s the sound of believing minds drifting back through the years to a little stable in Bethlehem where there was no room in an inn, a stable whose fame has engulfed the world with a story that continues to be told in word and music – even today, a story still worth telling.

We were reading, as we do each Christmas Eve, “that story” found in the book of Luke, chapter two. It’s a story that does not grow old, but grows richer in majesty with each passing year. It’s a fascinating story. It’s the story of a birth, the birth of a child whom Christians believe was and is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, in a stable as foretold by the prophets of old, with angels announcing His birth, and Wise Men traveling, following a new star, to bring gifts to their new born King, with shepherds in the fields hearing  the great multitudes in heaven singing to them in great majesty and glory.

But it’s more than just a story of our Savior’s birth. It is much more. 

It is a story that if emulated today by people of every nation, kindred and tongue, would bring peace to our war torn and hate filled world. It is a story that burns in the heart and soul of every human being who has ever had hope. It is a story with universal appeal. It is a mother’s story and a family story that has survived the ages.

The story provides modern man a pattern for a better life, a pattern, often overlooked,  that would bring peace to every home, empty every jail cell, and allow every child to reach upward to reach their potential, be it here or beyond.  If you read the story last night to your children, read it to them again. Read it verse by verse, slowly, stopping to point out those golden gems so many miss when they focus only on the birth of the Savior.

We learn of different forms of government. Joseph and Mary lived under a dictator, Caesar Augustus.  We learn that taxes, like death, are sure. We learn about the respect for law Joseph and Mary had.  It tells of, and reinforces our belief in heaven and of the angels who reside there, who were allowed to announce the birth of the Father’s Son, our Savior. It reminds us of the multitudes living in heaven, who, along with the angels, were sent to praise God in song, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good men toward men.” America’s Christian culture comes from this book, the Bible, and from these stories of hope. We see ourselves in the shepherds, who, like we, had to see for themselves, somewhat like doubting Thomas.