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The Christmas Story by Stan Smith

By Stan Smith

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Most people have heard the Christmas story.  It's a simple narrative, with just a few scenes and about a dozen characters.  It happened halfway around the world two thousand years ago.  Yet there were people who lived a block away from the story as it unfolded, and it never occurred to them that history was being made.


 


Amazingly, part of the story is still developing today.  Now as then, many people are busy with their lives, unaware of what's going on around them.


 


Scene 1:  Gabriel and Mary


 


It all began when the angel Gabriel appeared to a teenaged girl, Mary.  "Rejoice, highly favored one!" said the angel.  "The Lord is with you!"


 


Mary was troubled.  Why was an angel appearing to her?  And she was a faithful Jewish girl, but what would make the angel call her "highly favored"?  She wasn't sure what it all meant, but Gabriel went on with his message:


 


"Fear not, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You're going to conceive a Son, and His name will be JESUS.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest.  The Lord God will give Him the throne of David, and of His kingdom there will be no end."


 


Mary was devout, but she knew the facts of life. "How can this be, since I haven't been with a man?"


 


It was simple to the angel.  "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore the Holy One who will be born will be called the Son of God ... with God, nothing will be impossible.


 


Mary didn't understand how it all would work, but she couldn't argue with Gabriel's words that all things are possible with God.  She answered very simply:


 


"Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word."


 


And with that, Gabriel's work was done.  In a flash, he departed. 


 


Scene  2:  Joseph


 


Mary's encounter with the angel lasted for only a few minutes, but as days turned into weeks and weeks became months, it became evident that she was pregnant.  Who would believe her story?  Who could she tell it to?  They'd think she was crazy.


 


Meanwhile, she was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter.  When he found out she was pregnant, he wasn't about to go through with the marriage.  He decided to get out while he could, and let her down as gently as possible.


 


We don't know if Mary ever told him her story, but one night an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Joseph:  don't be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, for the child she has conceived is of the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a Son, and you will name Him JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."


 


The angel added that this was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that a virgin would bear a Son and call Him "Immanuel", which means, "God With Us."


 


Joseph woke up, took Mary to be his wife, and waited for this special Son to be born before he consummated the marriage.


 


Scene 3:  The Stable


 


As the child was forming in Mary's womb - maybe by now she had felt him kick - Caesar Augustus made a decree that everyone must be registered at his birthplace. This meant Mary and Joseph would have to make the three-day journey from Galilee to Bethlehem.


 


Perhaps the donkey's plodding induced labor or maybe it was just timing, but Mary went into labor as soon as they arrived.  Meanwhile, the inns were all full - others had had to travel for the same purpose - but Mary and Joseph were resourceful.  They found a stable where they could spend the night.


 


That night she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes.  Having no crib, they laid Him in a manger.


 


Scene 4:  The Shepherds


 


That same night and a few miles away, shepherds were watching their flocks by night.  It was restful business as they warmed themselves by the fire and stayed alert in case anything unusual happened.


 


And it did.  Suddenly an angel stood before them, shining in the light of God's glory, and said, "Fear not!  I'm bringing good news of great joy for all people.  A baby - Christ the Lord - was born today in the city of David.  This will be a sign to you:  you'll find the Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."


 


Suddenly the angel wasn't alone, but a heavenly choir joined him and sang, Glory to God in the highest.  And on earth, peace, goodwill towards man.


 


Then the angels vanished, and the shepherds had to sort out what had just happened.  They talked it over and agreed to go to Bethlehem and look for Jesus.


 


It was exactly as the angel had said: He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. 


 


After they saw Him, they went back home, telling everyone what they had seen.  And all who heard it marveled.


 


Scene 5:  The Wise Men  


 


In those days, shepherds were usually uneducated.  But at the other end of the socio-economic spectrum, wise men were traveling from the east, men of means who went to King Herod to learn where to find Jesus.  "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."


 


It says something about the wise men that their first step was to go to the king, and that the king received them.


 


Herod found their question troubling, but he pretended to take it all in stride.  He sent for the chief priests and scribes, assuming they would know from scripture where the Christ should be born.


 


Sure enough, they knew what to tell him: "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"


 


So Herod met in secret with the wise men to find out when the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem with this command:  "Go find the Child, and then return and tell me where He is so I can go worship him too."


 


The wise men made their journey, still following the star, and they rejoiced when they found the Child.  They fell down to worship Him, and left gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.


 


Then in a dream an angel warned them not to return to Herod, so they went back home another way.


 


Scene 6:  In the Temple


 


How does God get people to the right place at the right time?  For Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, it was simple:  the law of Moses required them to present Jesus at the Temple on the eighth day of His life.  For Simeon and Anna, it is more of a mystery.  The Bible merely says they were "led by the Spirit" to the Temple for the few moments when Jesus was there.


 


This convergence was a sign to all, for in those days people respected piety and revered elders.


 


Simeon was known as a man of prayer, and for years he had told anyone and everyone that the Holy Spirit had promised him that he would not die before he would see the Christ. 


 


Walking into the Temple just moments after Jesus' parents had brought Him in, Simeon somehow recognized who He was, asked to hold Him, and prayed as he took Him in his arms: "Lord, now Your servant can depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation..."


 


Meanwhile Anna, an aged prophetess who gave herself to fasting and prayer, walked into the Temple.  She too took one look at Jesus and gave thanks to God.  For the rest of her life she spoke of Him to the devout in Jerusalem.


 


What did these few minutes in the Temple mean?  Mary would ponder the words of Simeon and Anna for years to come.


 


Scene 7:  Herod


 


While the devout were excited about Jesus, Herod was troubled.  Who was this Child who threatened his dynasty?  He waited anxiously for the wise men to return until too much time had passed and he realized they had defied his order.  His rage overflowed its banks, and he ordered the slaughter of every male child in Bethlehem under the age of two.


 


Joseph, Mary, and Jesus got out just in the nick of time.  An angel had appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."


 


So swift was Joseph's obedience that they left by night, narrowly escaping the edict of the king.


 


Scene 8:  Today


 


These are the bare bones of the Christmas story, but the last scene is still playing out.  Though the story began two thousand years ago, God is still working to bring His Son into the world; and the same characters are still all around us, just as they were then. Look through the list and see which of the characters you are:


 


·         Herod:  Herod felt threatened by the birth of Jesus, whom he took to be a rival king.  Peace on earth and good will towards man?  These were good ideas, but Herod wanted them on his terms, not someone else's.  He did everything he could to keep Jesus out of his life.


 


·         Caesar Augustus:  He was oblivious to the birth of Jesus.  He probably never even heard of Jesus, but if he had he would have remained aloof. Meanwhile, God used him like a pawn on a chessboard to fulfill prophecies given centuries earlier.


 


·        The Chief Priests and Scribes:  They knew the scripture well enough to know where the Christ would be born, but their knowledge was merely academic.  Not one could be bothered to go to Bethlehem with the wise men to see if the prophecy they knew so well might be coming to pass.


 


·         The Innkeeper:  His was the original commercial Christmas, and business was good.  Was it the innkeeper who provided the stable or was it someone else?  Either way, he stayed focused on making the most of the money-making opportunities that trickled down from Augustus's decree.


 


·         The Shepherds:   Like the innkeeper, they worked.  And they loved the scriptures but didn't have the education of the priests and scribes.  Ordinary working men, they were quick to go to Bethlehem to look for the child the angel had told them about.  Once they had seen, they told their story to anyone who would listen for the rest of their lives.


 


·         The Wise Men:  They saw a star and followed it - it was a sign to them - but then they knew they had to fine-tune their search by consulting the scriptures.  They traversed half the known world, to be able to worship Jesus and present costly gifts before they made their way home.


 


·         Joseph:  Joseph was willing to do whatever God called him to do to care for the Christ child, whatever it cost.  When the angel warned him to flee to Egypt to save Jesus from Herod's murderous army, he obeyed before sunrise. 


 


·         Mary:  Mary had more questions than answers, but she reduced her choices to the level of simple trust.  Her prayer:  "let it be to me according to Your word."  As a result, she lived a life that proved that with God, all things are possible. 


 


·       People who were Close but Untouched:  These were the people who heard the teachings of the priests and scribes; people in Herod's courts; people who saw the wise men passing; people who marveled at the extraordinary behavior of Simeon and Anna in the temple; others who stayed in the inn.  They were busy with their own lives and could not have imagined that the events happening around them would shape history worldwide.


 


Did you find yourself in the list?  Here's the good news:  you get to choose which character you want to be.  If you don't like the one you look the most like, you can choose to change and be like another.


 


Over the years I've managed to be all of the characters at one time or another.  I can't claim to be as rich and powerful as Caesar Augustus, Herod, or the wise men.  I've never been as focused on business as the innkeeper, nor am I as pious as Simeon and Anna.  But I have walked through the whole spectrum of relationships with Jesus that they and the other characters in the Christmas story experienced.


 


Like the shepherds, I've seen enough signs to be sure I have met the only person in history who has any real importance.  And I've learned that He turns up in unlikely places.


 


It's tempting to try to tell you exactly where to look for Him.  But I'm going to let this story be like a star.  It's up to you to decide whether it's like every other you've ever seen, or if it points the way to the only thing you'll ever see that really matters.  Seek, and you shall find.


 


The last scene in the Christmas story is up to you.


 


Looking Towards Eternity,


 


Stan Smith


www.GospelSmith.com


 


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