Artists

Janice Crow

Silent Night?

This year I will again set up my nativity scene as I have done for twenty-five plus years. I will send Christmas cards that depict the setting of the Lord’s birth as a quiet, peaceful place….a lowly stable beneath one bright star. There is no one about, except for a shepherd, some wise men kneeling to present their gifts, and a few obligatory angels.

It’s the way we think of the night of Jesus’ birth. There’s something calming about the scene we conjure up in our heads. Baby Jesus is asleep on the hay. Everyone can be at peace now because the Savior has come. Right?

Something tells me it wasn’t that way at all. I don’t think Bethlehem was peaceful. I think Bethlehem was noisy and crowded and angry. The Jews were being forced by the Romans to register for taxation. The government was into their pockets, yet again….. a government which was not too awfully concerned about what was best for them, but what would be best for Rome. Sound familiar?

We know by scripture that the city was so congested that Mary and Joseph had no choice but to stay in a stable. Here is Mary about to bring forth the Savior of the world and no one cares. No one can make room. Most people were so caught up in their daily struggles they didn’t notice the fulfillment of scripture right before them. It seems odd that only two people are mentioned who were truly looking for the promise… Anna and Simeon.

I believe it was an era of spiritual confusion….a city under Roman rule with so many gods to worship. The young people may have only faintly remembered their Jewish parents talking about the Messiah to come. Is it fact or fable? Are these Roman gods just as good as worshiping the “one true God” we’ve heard about. Who says Jehovah is the one true God anyway? Shouldn’t I decide for myself who God is?

It was a time of religious arrogance. The scribes and learned men knew exactly what scripture said about the circumstances of the birth of the Messiah, yet they couldn’t be bothered to investigate. They had their positions to consider.

Sometimes I hear someone say, “How can I possibly have Christmas this year. There’s just too much going on in my life”, as if they are waiting for that perfect serene night pictured on Christmas cards. I guess what I am trying to say is that Christ came into a world in many respects like the world we live in right now. There is economic uncertainty, political unrest, anger and personal disappointment. Our taxes are high and our morale is low. We’re overwhelmed with our to-do lists and have crowded Christ right out of our daily lives. We’ve forgotten what we learned as children in Sunday School, that Jesus IS the promise, and we keep looking for some new revelation.

Our children are being taught that it is foolish and uneducated to believe in “the God of the Bible.” They get their information and belief system from Hollywood. They believe one god is as good as another, so they sacrifice themselves to drugs and illicit behavior.

Like those scribes and “learned” men of Baby Jesus’ day, some of our religious leaders, knowing full well the truth, have become more concerned with political correctness than scriptural mandate. It is sad to say I have watched more than one high-profile minister lay down his testimony to accept a “truce” with the media. Cheap, cheap, cheap trade.

There is on the eve of this coming Christmas an encouraging twist to this story. Back in the fields outside of Bethlehem, some ordinary working men, shepherds watching their flocks by night, saw the star and heard from the angel about the birth of the Christ child. They decided “let us go see for ourselves”.

There are still people today who can be reached with the gospel of Jesus and who will set out to find Him. And that, my friend, is why we do what we do…..spread the word in song, in story, in sermon, about that little baby who came to set the world free from the tyranny of sin.

“That Little Baby is the King”

Have a wonderful Christmas!!

Janice