Bread of Life

During the Christmas season I enjoy reading the passages pertaining to the birth of Jesus.

This year, like those in the past, has once again caused me to pause and consider the “hidden nuggets” that strangely lay in plain sight.

In last week’s post, The Shepherd Effect,  I shared that the words “they hurried,” revealed an attitude of excited expectation.  An attitude that was not met with deliberation or contemplation, but one that was met with an instant response.  It reveal that their excitement was at such a high level that they dropped everything and hurried…hurried… to see what had been told to them about the Christ child.

This hurried attitude has challenged my approach and expectation to this Christmas season.  It has caused me to be mindful to not let the “hurried-ness” of shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating etc. to overshadow or rob me of the excitement that should be celebrated at this time of year.  The celebration of remembering that the Son of God stepped down from heaven and entered into the world to offer forgiveness and eternal life with Him.

This week as I continue to dwell on the passages written about the saviors birth, two additional things caught my attention.  The first is the location of  Jesus birthplace (Bethlehem) and the second is the location where he was laid after being born ( the manger).

• Luke 2:4  So Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.
  
• Luke 2:7  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.
  

In reading this, I am reminded that God does not do anything with insignificance, so I began to explore these two locations and here is what I discovered.

The Shepherd Effect

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While there, the time came for the baby to be born where she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Nearby were shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them saying, “Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.  He is Christ the Lord.”

Then suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God saying.  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men.”

When the angels left and gone into heaven, the shepherds said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.”

So they hurried and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed.  Luke 2:1-18

*   *   *   *

As I read this familiar passage something new captured my attention. 

So To Honor Him…

Image via Wikipedia

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

“The Little Drummer Boy,” also known as “Carol of the Drum,” is a popular Christmas song written in 1941  by pianist Katherine K. Davis.  It was popularized with a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale and has been adapted many times since.

Its simple but humble lyrics tell of a poor boy who was unable

A Baby’s Cry

image: wfx.us -The Nativity Story

Luke 2:8-12

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

“This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger.”

*   *   *   *

It was a cold miserable place, dank and dark, with the overwhelming smell of animal waste permeating the air.

Mary leaned hard against the rail of a stall and clutched her stomach as a wave of pain contracted through her abdomen.  Her time to deliver drew near and her energy to stand was quickly diminishing.

Joseph, sensing his wife’s time, made busy to shuffle the animals in hopes to clear a place for her to lay.  But he found moving them difficult, for as the Inn was full so was the stable.

Urgency became the thrust behind his efforts as he