Come To The Stable

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

"Come To The Stable"

(Matthew 2:1-11)

INTRODUCTION:

      Stephen Shadeeg an Arizona businessman and the father of four children tells a wonderful story of a particular Christmas morning. He said they had a rule at their house that none of the children could go down to see the gifts under the tree until the rest of the family was awake and they could all go together.

      The year David was 7, he came bounding into their bedroom at 4:30 in the morning, his face glowing with excitement, his mouth running at about 90 miles an hour. "Daddy! Mommy! Come quick! I saw it!"

      As they wiped the sleep from their eyes, both Mom and Dad knew what had happened. The rule had been broken. David had already discovered the new bicycle that he had been wanting for two years. They sort of felt cheated that he had rushed ahead and they had missed seeing his discovery. But it WAS Christmas, after all, and they really couldn't scold him for being overanxious.

      They climbed out of bed, pulled on their robes and slippers, and David took each of them by the hand, and drug them down the hall. They woke the rest of the children, and with the whole family in tow, David led them down the stairs and through the darkened living room toward a window on the east side of the house.  To their surprise, he was totally oblivious to the bicycle which sitting beside the tree. Instead, he pointed his little finger to the eastern sky and said, "Look! The Star of Bethlehem! I've seen the star!" (1)

I. THE MYSTERY:

      Was it really Jesus' star?  Why not?  We miss out on the mystery of things, the mystery of faith if we dismiss it as only a little boy's imagination.  Who can really say how God will enter our lives and touch us with the good news of Jesus' birth? We're not asked to understand it completely.  If we did, it wouldn't be a mystery.  All we're asked to do is pray the words of the hymn:

            "O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to me I pray. 

            Cast out my sin and enter in.  Be born in me today!"

      Maybe it was his star. You see, the miracle of Christmas happens everyday. The Creator of the Universe quietly enters our hearts with the gentleness of a newborn and the transforming power of God. Wherever we live, we are invited to Bethlehem!  We're invited to take that short trek back behind the Inn to the stable where a young family sits huddled together.  We see the welcoming smile on their faces a smile that invites us in.  We see the hand of these proud parents ushering us closer and closer.  We're invited to the stable. We're invited to look over the edge of the manger and see the infant lying there. 

      This infant is none other than the Christ child, the Son of God, our Savior, the mystery of the season in living, breathing, flesh and blood.

CONCLUSION:

      In a Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis and Joey are staring longingly into a department store window that is all decorated for Christmas.  The tree with a train going around it, toys galore, lights and live action characters have completely captured the two little boys.  In a thoughtful and wistful voice Dennis says: "Last month was our giving thanks holiday, an' Christmas is God's 'You're welcome'."

      And we ARE welcome.  We're invited to the stable where we are very welcome.  And we are invited to the table where that welcome is made manifest in the feast laid before us.  A feast fit for the King of Heaven.  A feast that celebrates new beginnings.  A feast that symbolizes life and new life.  We're invited to the stable to see this innoncent new born babe who will grow to be an innocent man who gives his life for ours simply because God loves us.

      If you haven't done so yet, make that journey to the stable this morning.  Ponder the riches of the gift that is there for you and for the world.  The gift of life.  The gift of a second chance.  The gift of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Come to the stable, come to the table and claim your gift.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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1.    James A. Harnish, 24 December 1993, Tampa, Florida.