The birth of Jesus is a great mystery to embrace with awe and wonder for in it we see a God, who from the beginning, had planned to do this. God, as one writer said, needed to "accustom himself to humanity." Yet I believe from the first original sin to his birth in Bethlehem, God always intended to come to us. The entire history of the Old Testament shows this in the formation of the chosen people, the preaching of the prophets, the destruction and restoration of the Jewish people over hundreds of years and the constant efforts of God to reach out and restore. When all was ready to complete the plan, God sent an angel to a young virgin in Nazareth and the Word was made flesh. And the further plan of salvation was begun.
Take some time to read a familiar modern “parable” below. It was so popular that the late Paul Harvey would read this every year on his radio show in the 1950’s. The author of the story is the late Louis Cassels who wrote a column, “Religion in America,” for United Press International. For more than 20 years he worked this column and this Christmas parable became instantly popular. Its message is beautiful and reminds us WHY God came. So that his loving power would forever replace our lust for power. Let go of desire for superiority and submit as Mary and Joseph did, to the power of God’s eternal will.
A Christmas Parable
“Once upon a time there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn’t believe all that stuff about Incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to pretend that he did. “I am truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer. “But I simply cannot understand this claim that God becomes man. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
On Christmas Eve his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d rather stay at home. But I’ll wait up for you.”
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier. “If we must have Christmas,” he thought, “it’s nice to have a white one.” He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another.
He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the storm. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window. “I can’t let these poor creatures lie there and freeze,” he thought. “But how can I help them?” Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter.
He put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on a light. But the birds didn’t come in. “Food will lure them in,” he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction - except into the warm lighted barn.
“They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety. . . .”
Just at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood silent for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow. “Now I do understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why you had to do it.”
Louis Cassells
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