Christmas

Reading the Christmas story this year, I reflected on who I most identified with. This is an interesting exercise and proves a useful way to evaluate your spiritual journey. By placing myself right in the Christmas story made it more vivid and real.

Am I a magi? Have I seen some evidence of Christ and journey long and far to seek Him? Do I bring Him my most precious positions to lay at His little feet?

Or perhaps I am like the star that guided them. The star shown bright in a dark world to proclaim the good news for all to see. Not only this but the star was steady and precisely guided the magi to the exact location of Christ. Do I point the world to the Christchild?

The star was not alone in proclaiming the great news of the Incarnation. Scripture tells us that angels appeared to shepherds. These angels shown with the radiance of God in a way that startled the shepherds. These shepherds were the outcasts of society, but for them the angels left the very presence of God to share the good of great joy. Do I proclaim the message of the coming of Christ to the lowest of society with such joy as the angels?

The shepherds rushed to the manger and although they did not have expensive gifts like the magi, they demonstrate their faith with the act of utter obedience. They told all those they came into contact with about what they had seen and heard. Am I shepherd, do I offer my obedience to the King of Kings?

To be honest, more often than not I feel like the innkeeper, who shuts Christ out. It's not that he wouldn't have made room for the Son of God, but did He have to come right now? I, too, tend to push Christ away in the midst of my 'busy' life. The innkeeper isn't in the Biblical account of the birth of Christ, but we can be sure there was one. His disregard for God is noted by his absence from the story.

At this time however, I probably feel the most like Mary or Joseph. They stand as two examples of faith and perseverance in a difficult circumstance. Even with the message of the angels, they probably were still very confused with what God was doing. They had lived faithful lives, but now God was calling them to endure a long journey, social scorn and eventual exile to Egypt. They obeyed even though they did not fully understand. This is faith.

Who are you in the Christmas story?

Merry Christmas!