This past weekend our church presented our 3rd annual Journey to Bethlehem. It is a guided live outdoor drama telling the story of how thousand of Jews descended upon the little town of Bethlehem during the time of the birth of Jesus. Complete with live animals (including camels), Roman soldiers on horseback, a market place, shepherds, Gabriel, the Magi, the tax collector and of course Joseph, Mary and the Baby Jesus.
When we entered the house of the innkeeper telling him what we had heard on our “journey” about a baby, the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, the guide asked him...”do you know of this?” He answered, “I only know if a women soon to give birth resting in my stable behind the house.”
When it was explained to the innkeeper and his family that it was the Messiah, the long awaited Messiah…his sister, standing quietly in the corner started singing O come, O come, Emmanuel. As I listened to that sweet, soft voice in the cold night, I was so moved as I pictured myself among those people waiting for their Deliverer and hearing such good news among the oppression of Roman rule, excessive taxation, seedy merchants and poverty.
The people in Bethlehem that night were anxiously waiting for such good news and yet many still missed the greatest mystery revealed…That God is with us, in the simple, ordinary birth of a baby. The mystery of the Son who stepped from the royal threshold of Heaven to the dirt floor of a stable to redeem and save.
While outside this morning with my puppies….in the quiet, cold and dark…I looked up and saw the moon peeking through the barren branches and I started to sing
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
With heartfelt tears, I was reminded again that Jesus ransomed my captive heart 28 years ago. With a heart overflowing with thanksgiving, I could not complete the song but lifted my hands to God and whispered praises as I worshiped Him alone in the stillness of an early Monday morning with puppies running all around my feet.
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