And so, to Notice Christ

I’ve been thinking a lot this advent about how Christ slipped into the world mostly unnoticed. How He came to be, cloaked in darkness, in a womb of a woman who couldn’t see or understand. There were no ultrasounds that confirmed it, not pictures that showed His baby frame.
She carried a promise that no one understood.
When He was born most people didn’t even hear the news or know of His advent. His birth. His coming.
I mentioned that to my kids on a night walk recently, looking at Christmas lights and enjoying the season.
“When Jesus came and was born that night, practically no one knew it.”
Everything had changed, but Most people didn’t know yet.

His family welcomed him of course. The angels rejoices.
We know the shepherds had heard the good news. The wise men had noticed something, wondered and wandered, to find him later, too. (Their journey actually took a while.)

“I wonder if the animals really knew when they looked at Him. Do you think they sensed it?” I wondered aloud a different time, at the kitchen sink this time.

Who else? The inn keeper? Not likely. It’s possible though.

Herod heard. He heard and he hated the thought of him. He waged a war and raged against this baby. A baby that might usurp him.

Did anyone else sense this change, this advent, this coming? There may have been some stray characters that knew or saw or sensed.

Did anyone hear the angels sing, only to dismiss it because it “couldn’t be”.
“Everyone must have seen the giant star of Bethlehem!
It was huge,” the kids exclaimed another time. They’re probably right. Many probably saw it. But did those that did know what it meant when they saw it? Later, perhaps?

When He was born there was no crown on His head.
When He died there appeared to be a crown of shame there instead. From His birth to His death, there were people who saw Him, some who recognized Him, those who misunderstood Him, and some people missed Him altogether.

The thought is so…. amazing.

Because it begs the question.
What do I?
Do I hear the sings of advent that are around me?
Do I hear what heaven says, what a song of redemption it sings? Of Love come?
Do I see the light that is shining so brightly in the darkness?
Or is it all lost in the dull quiet of day or the monotony of just another endless night sky?
Do I notice?

Do I hear His coming, do I honor His birth?
Do I see this mystery, while a sleeping world looks the other way?
Am I awake enough to know?
That THIS is the life that changed everything.
That Christ indeed was born.
And that here, in the stable of my heart, in the manger of my mind, my whole life comes to stand before him.
And then what?
What does one do in response to that kind of love?

That’s entirely up to you.
Wise men still search
Shepherds still bow.
Angels still sing.
There are gifts to bring. The best gift is you.