Mary drew her Son close to her breast, the smell of His newborn skin enveloping her senses. She could feel His breath exhaled in a soft mist rising in the cold air of the manger. She looked at His face, now locked in a deep sleep she wanted to prolong for as long as possible. She counted His fingers and His toes, as she had done so many times, enjoying His firm grip on her finger. Looking at His tiny body wrapped in long strips of cloth, she felt like all the love of the universe had gathered and condensed in a blazing stream of tender affection that not even death would be able to extinguish. He was here, and she had grown overnight, her only mission now to nurture and protect the Baby resting in her arms. How gently He rested in her young embrace, His quiet sleep filling her with new assurance. She could see the moving of His tiny lungs with each rise and fall of the abdomen, His gentle purr filling her thoughts with wonder.
Nothing about His origin or His birth was ordinary. Mary pondered the time the Angel visited her, announcing His arrival. He would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, the angel told her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her. "He will be great", the angel said, "and will be called the Son of the Highest". "You shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins", the angel finally instructed. Mary trembled under the weight of the messenger's words, fear and unbelief filling her tender soul. For fifteen centuries, the prophets had spoken of the coming Messiah, and every Sabbath in synagogues across the land, the hearts of her people swelled with the expectation of His coming. Moses, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah... She had heard the prophecies read hundreds of times of God's Anointed One Who would come to save His people. Burdened by Roman rulers who outdid each other in cruel and barbaric acts toward her people, their expectation for Messiah was at an all-time high. And now, He would finally come...
A soft cry interrupted Mary's reveries, and she wrapped Him tighter in the meager strips of cloth to shield him from the encroaching coolness of the night. A few hours ago, wise men from the East had come in an astonishing procession, driven to the manger in the thick of night by a bright and guiding star. When they entered the stall, they knelt before the Baby, their aged eyes misting with tears. They bowed long and deep, their reverence filling the manger with the fragrance of the Holy. They spoke little and sang songs, their eyes transfixed on the tiny body in Whom the Godhead dwelt. Then, in a final act of worship, they laid before Him costly treasures: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
What a night it had been, Mary pondered in silence as she recounted the coming of the shepherds. After the wise men, the little manger filled with noise again as excited shepherds burst upon the humble stall. They had seen an angel in the sky, they said, His light shining around brighter than the day. "Do not be afraid", he said, "for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord". As soon as the angel finished speaking, the heavens exploded with song, and untold choirs of angels heralded the great news. The entire atmosphere was enveloped in light and in praise, and joy bathed and infused every fiber of their being. They had to come and see the newborn King, and, as they left, they loudly proclaimed the news about the Child.
Two thousand years have passed since God entered our world in the most vulnerable form, the body of a Baby. This Child grew and lived a life without spot or wrinkle - a perfect life. He never wrote a book, or led an army, or conquered an empire. And yet, since His advent, our world has never been the same. He came to save us from the sin that steals, and kills, and destroys. He came to show us that God knows us, loves us and wants us. He came to bring peace to a world forever at war. This Christmas, He will come again to every heart that makes Him room, and every chamber that is dark will explode with the life and light of His presence.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."