Thursday, December 19, 2013
Luke 2:1-7 And it came to pass in those days ... And she brought forth her firstborn Son ...
LET US NOW GO...!
Christians awake, salute the happy morn
Whereon the Savior of the world was born.
Rise to adore the mystery of love
Which hosts of angels chanted from above,
With them the joyful tidings first begun
Of God Incarnate and the Virgin's Son.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 84:1)
The stars were bright. The air was frigid. The roads were icy. The snow was cold and white in the moonlight. The children were huddled in the back seat of the car as they headed homeward, and before they knew it they were home, and snuggling warm and comfortable under the covers in their own beds.
The trip home often seems shorter than the trip out, perhaps because the way is more familiar, and there is no need to search for street signs and house numbers, mailboxes and driveways. Our trip back to the manger may also seem short in these seven verses of Luke because they are so familiar to us. We have heard them so often. But as with the trip back home on the cold winter night, so also with the trip back to Bethlehem: it is well worth the journey.
In the early days of our country, a famous American wrote one day in his diary: "Went to church in the morning. Reverend 'Edwards' preached the sermon. I applied it to myself."
"I applied it to myself." This is why we celebrate Christmas year after year, not because we have forgotten the events of Jesus' birth, or the words of Luke, but to apply them once again to ourselves.
Trace we the Babe, who hath retrieved OUR loss,
From His poor manger to His bitter cross.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 84:5)
