How Silently, How Silently, the Wondrous Gift is Given...

If you were given a choice to be born again as a baby to any family, in any culture, across any generation, what would you choose? It would be interesting to be born the son of the Queen of England or the Crown Prince of the Middle Kingdom (Ancient China). Or perhaps to be the next Albert Einstein or Bill Gates… And yet, our God, the creator & ruler of the whole universe chose to be born to a poor carpenter’s family at a time when his people were ruled & persecuted by a foreign empire.

Think about the circumstances surrounding the original Christmas more than 2000 years ago. Our present Christmas arts show cute lambs, a manger filled with hay, calm beautiful faces of Joseph & Mary. But the real nativity scene presented by the gospels seemed grim & stark - anything but peaceful.

Think about the pregnancy – who would believe the virgin conception? We knew nothing of Jesus’ grandparents. What must they have felt to have an unmarried pregnant daughter? How many times did Mary review the angel’s words as she felt the Son of God kicking inside her uterus? How many times did Joseph doubt his encounter with the angel? Maybe it was just a dream? And all these 9 months they have to endure the shame & ridicule of family & villagers who could plainly see the changing shape of Mary. And the Roman census – it would have sufficed for Joseph alone, as the male head of the household to show up for the census. Did Joseph drag his pregnant wife along to Bethlehem to avoid her giving birth alone in her home village, because they knew no one there would support her?

Think about the birth – This is the birth of a Jewish family’s firstborn boy! Traditionally, this should be a much celebrated affair with the whole village rejoicing with the family. But Jesus’ birth in an animal shelter had no sterile facility, no doctor, no midwife, not even an extended family member present. There was nowhere to lay the newborn King’s head but a feeding trough. The only people who knew about His birth were a few illiterate shepherds – nobodies in the Jewish community.

It seems that God arranged the most humiliating circumstances possible for His entrance. (It may also be noted that He also had a most humiliating exit – the crucifixion.) This is something we, humans cannot imagine. Our God did not come down as a raging whirlwind or a devouring fire but as a baby who could not speak nor eat solid food. And why did He do all these?

Because He loves us, He came down to save us so that He can reclaim us back to become His children. Forever.

“How silently, How silently, the Wondrous Gift is given…”