CYBERCOLUMN:
Christmas reminds us of what's really important
___By John Duncan
___I'm sitting here under the old oak tree, wishing for snow, anxious with wide-eyed wonder about the glory of Christmas, and wondering about Bethlehem's birth 2,000 years ago. Today Bethlehem is closed off because of Mideast tension. But long ago on a starlit night, God's Light burst into the darkness. I sit here under this naked tree and imagine that

JOHN DUNCAN

first Christmas of long ago.
___The weather report traveled through the villages of the Judean hills. An innkeeper shared the report with weary travelers checking into their rooms. Caesar Augustus declared a census. Thus, travelers went to their homelands to register for the tax. The law required it.
___As the travelers entered one by one, the innkeeper asked each one who registered where he had come from and what the weather was like. He could then check the wind to know the weather report.
___The weather report in Bethlehem included a biting chill of north wind. To the north among the cedars in Lebanon, snow. To the east, warm air for one more day. To the west, mild days with cold nights in the desert. And to the south, thunderstorms from the meeting of north and south in the fury of two opposite weather fronts. But in Bethlehem, the cold north wind whistled.
___The innkeeper went about his duties late into the night. Weary travelers lugged their small sacks of clothing to their rooms. The talk was of the weariness, the weather and the common lot of cursing Caesar for requiring a census.
___"I guess there are two things we can be sure of with the Romans in charge," groaned a traveler as he spoke to the innkeeper. "We can be dead-set sure of death and taxes! Ugh!"
___He carted off to his room. Another traveler came to register at the desk in the inn. "Need a big room for our family of seven," he requested. The innkeeper went through his usual list of words: "What's your name? What's your address? Sign your name. Pay the nightly rental. Place your animals in the stall. Breakfast will be in the lobby early in the morning. What's the weather like where you've come from?"
___Responses appeared standard, common lot in the language of passage--small-time greetings, empty talk about nothing but room numbers, cold fronts and tying the donkeys so they still could reach the hay. The talk remained insignificant, until one guy blurted out in response to the usual list of words: "The weather ain't too bad, but I noticed an unusual star, brightest thing I've ever seen. Crazy thing is, I could have sworn the star shone right over this little village. Anything happening around here of great importance?"
___"Nah! No way. Boring, unless you consider that a young couple, Joseph and Mary, I think their names were, had a little baby boy two nights ago. He's cute, but if you've seen one baby, you've seen 'em all. So to answer your question, no, nothing of importance ever happens around here. All I do is collect the rent and give out the weather report!"
___And so it was one night 2,000 years ago, the wind whistled, a star shone and an innkeeper kept his routine, thinking all along that nothing of importance happened.
___The wind, though, blew in a different way, God's Spirit bursting into the world through a babe. A star became neon for magi attending to the news of a baby born. The innkeeper registered his most famous guest, unknowingly. And the baby became a sign for shepherds and wise men. And the sign became the Savior who came to bring peace on earth.
___I fear we live in a world where people mutter, "Nothing of importance ever happens here." A world where the only news is bad news--court proceedings, drive-by-shootings, fourth-quarter losses, stock-market crashes and heart-wrenched anxieties. A world covered by a blanket of dark.
___Christmas, though, shatters the darkness. God's wind blows. His star shines. His sign comes. And the angels sing glory!
___At Christmas, the important announcement comes, good news casting light over the shadows, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord."

___John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.





Baptist Standard