December 23 Devotion

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but he darkness has not understood it…The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. John 1:1-5, 9-10 (NIV)

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  Hebrews 1:1-3a (NIV)

During Advent, as I listen to the familiar story of Your birth, it all comes back -- the extraordinary real-ness of the night my Elementary Sunday school class took our sacred journey to Bethlehem, to share and celebrate Your birth with our audience of parents, friends and church family, as we imagined it might have been so long ago.

We set out together, striding from our classroom to Your manger / cradle in our recreated Bethlehem, eager to welcome You to the world. Larry and Jeff and Tommy were the shepherds. They wore bathrobes belonging to their fathers and carried their sisters' stuffed animals. Vicky and Debbie and I were angels, in identical long white nightgowns bought specifically for this night, tinseled halos and wings of cardboard and aluminum foil. We argued about which one of us would say to the shepherds, "Fear not! For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…"  And we all knew, as only children can know, that You were there, too. Except You must have been invisible to the grown-ups because they didn't seem to recognize You at all.

After the program ended, we talked about how sad it must be to be a grown-up. How could they have missed you?  Maybe they were only pretending You were invisible because Your Light was so bright and hurt their grown-up eyes.

Dear Father, may my grown-up eyes see You again through the spirituality of childhood, pure and fresh and honest. Perhaps Bethlehem will become extraordinarily real once more if a child takes my hand and leads the way … Amen.

Linda Summers

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