December 20, 2019
Once upon a midnight clear,
there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came
with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We
celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with
gifts… We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that
is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the
child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever
forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let
each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand
of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth. — The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
The Christmas story of a
baby born in a manger is a familiar one.
The Roman Empire, a police
state in its own right, had ordered that a census be conducted. Joseph and his
pregnant wife Mary traveled to the little town of Bethlehem so that they could
be counted. There being no room for the couple at any of the inns, they stayed
in a stable (a barn), where Mary gave birth to a baby boy, Jesus. Warned that
the government planned to kill the baby, Jesus’ family fled with him to Egypt
until it was safe to return to their native land.
Yet what if Jesus had been
born 2,000 years later?
/https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2021/09/25/huawei-executive-meng-wanzhou-receives-warm-welcome-upon-return-to-china/_1_meng_wanzhou_2.jpg)
