In April 2018, Sherri and
I and a group of 30 people took a trip to the Holy Land. We visited most of the sites I was interested
in the Dead Sea, Jordan River, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Olives, Garden of
Gethsemane, and so many more.
One
place I looked forward to experiencing was Bethlehem. I wanted to stand in front of the Church of
the Nativity and try to image what that evening was like when Joseph and
pregnant Mary pulled into the little town.
Unfortunately,
the square was buzzing with people, the Church was absolutely jammed, and we
waited two- and one-half hours for a 60 second look at the place where the
blessed birth of the Christ child was to have taken place. I was glad to be there, but it wasn’t exactly
the experience I had hoped for.
After
the trip, Sherri and I had amassed a very large collection of pictures. As we went through each picture, I tried to
image what kind of pictures I would have taken if I had been there in Nazareth
(another place we visited) and in Bethlehem that night.
SNAPSHOT:
We see a man named Joseph lying on his mat.
He appears to be sleeping peacefully.
But actually, he is dreaming. An
angel of the Lord appears to him with an important message: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit. She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from
their sins.
SNAPSHOT:
We see a hollowed-out cave in a hill behind the village of Bethlehem. It appears to be a stable, a place where
animals are kept. What we don’t see is
what is happening inside the stable.
Joseph is there, caring for Mary as she gives birth to a son. She
wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for
them in the inn.
SNAPSHOT:
We see a rag-tag group of shepherds, gathered around Mary and Joseph and the
baby. They have wonder in their eyes and
joy in their hearts. They rushed to the
stable because of the message of the angel: I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been
born to you; He is Christ the Lord.
This
Christmas holiday I pray that you get plenty of great snapshots of family and
friends celebrating the joy of the season.
And I hope you’ll be able to set aside some time to review and meditate
upon all the SNAPSHOTS of the Babe of Bethlehem who did exactly as the angel
said He would. Picture Jesus and picture
forgiveness of sins, peace with God the Father and the promise of eternal
life. That’s a SNAPSHOT worth keeping
around the whole year long.
