In a baby's hand

Very soon, a special day happens that we have been looking forward to for weeks.  We are looking forward to Christmas and what we may find under the Christmas tree.  But, is that all we should be looking forward to?  How about looking forward to remembering the birth of a little baby that the world would come to know by the name of Jesus? 

The birth of a messiah or king had been foretold by many for hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth.  In the Book of Isaiah we read, “For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  In an Advent hymn, the opening words of each stanza are “Blest be the King whose coming is in the name of God!”  And in a Christmas hymn, the opening line is “Hark! the herald angels sing glory to the newborn King!” 

People were expecting a King – a ruler – someone to lead them.  And if a king, how do we expect him to be dressed?  A king would be wearing robes of many colors, probably outlined with fine furs, and a crown with many jewels.  The king would be surrounded by a court of people also dressed in their finery and acting very superior.  The king would live in a fancy home, maybe even a castle. 

Is this how the baby Jesus would be dressed when he became a man?  Is this how the shepherds and the people who lived in the town of Bethlehem would have dressed when they visited the baby, born in a stable and laid in rags in a manger? 

Ponder these words from a Carol of the Epiphany written by John Bell:

                I sought him dressed in finest clothes,

                        where money talks and status grows;

                but power and wealth he never chose:

                        it seemed he lived in poverty.

                I sought him in the safest place,

                        remote from crime and cheap disgrace;

                but safety never knew his face:

                        it seemed he lived in jeopardy.

                I sought him where the spotlights glare,

                        where crowds collect and critics stare;

                but no one know his presence there:

                        it seemed he lived in obscurity.

                Then, in the streets, we hear the word

                        that seemed, for all the world, absurd:

                that those who could no gifts afford

                        were entertaining Christ the Lord.

                And so, distinct from all we’d planned,

                        among the poorest of the land,

                we did what few might understand:

                        we touched God in a baby’s hand.

Imagine if you had been born in a stable – and if you had been wrapped in swaddling cloth – and if you had been laid in a manger.  Jesus didn’t have the finest clothes, he wasn’t born in the safest place, he didn’t seek the spotlight.  And yet, we remember him today and every day even if it isn’t Christmas Day – a baby whose hand was touched by God.  May his hand and the hand of God, through the hands of others, touch your life and the lives of those you love this holiday season and throughout the coming new year.

Bill Wilds