Usually, every December, malls, public places, and houses come alive with Christmas decorations. Christmas carols reverberate everywhere. Shops offer discounts in anticipation of Christmas and New Year shopping sprees.
Churches also hold various activities to celebrate the season, such as Christmas celebrations, charity fundraisers to help the needy, and special outreach events to share the gospel. Christmas and end of the year always bring a celebratory change of atmosphere.
Was it this exciting on that first Christmas Day in Bethlehem? What would it have been like to witness the multitude of heavenly hosts praising God for the birth of the Savior? (Luke 2)
The First Christmas
For generations, artists portrayed the birth of baby Jesus as a beautiful and serene moment in the sheepfold. Joseph and Mary sitting around the manger, with baby Jesus sleeping soundly and peacefully in the middle. The shepherds, with their sheep and goats, came and sat around them.
But, the reality was not as beautiful and serene as the artists have portrayed it. Before finally giving birth in a shabby shack, which could probably be described as sheepfold, Joseph and Mary had to go around the town, looking for a decent place to stay, while Mary was in great pains from being in labor.
There was no room for the young couple in the inn (Luke 2:7) so naturally, they must have been afraid and anxious. The only place they could find was a shack with a manger which was used to feed the sheep. There, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in the manger.
The bleak atmosphere of the sheep shack must have been replaced with joy once the Child was born. The Savior’s earthly parents smiled, the exhaustion and difficulties of their current misfortune promptly forgotten.
That first Christmas was held in simplicity, even poverty.
Christmas and COVID-19
This whole picture reminds me of the situation many families face during Christmas this year. They will have to celebrate Christmas in ways unthinkable before the pandemic: no large gatherings with families and friends to celebrate over good food, and possibly no gifts. Some may even have to celebrate their first Christmas without a particular loved one who lost their lives to COVID-19. Many families would have to scale back their Christmas celebrations due to lost jobs, or even lost businesses.
The worries, anxieties, and fears that Joseph and Mary experienced are felt by many people right now, more than 2000 years later. Just like them, we have been struggling to find a decent “place” for our family, only to be thrown so unexpectedly by this pandemic into a shabby “sheepfold” which doesn’t meet our expectations.
Like it or not, that is the reality right now. And we may wonder, are there still good enough reasons for us to celebrate or be thankful for landing in this “sheepfold”?
The answer is: YES! Remember how Mary brought forth the Savior, the hope promised, in that shabby and dark place? Not in a decent inn or luxurious palace. The same hope can also be brought forth from us amid our adversity. Isn’t Christ coming into the world the very essence of Christmas? He left His glory and splendor in Heaven to be born to experience all the trials and tribulations of life on earth, even death on a cross.
Whether during the pandemic or healthier times, in wealth or poverty, in good times or bad, we can still celebrate Christmas, because Christmas is about Jesus, who was born to redeem mankind from the wages of sins.
Jesus Is Our Hope
What does this mean? When we lift our eyes to Jesus, and meditate on the hope He gives us, all the sadness, the worries, and the anxieties fade into the shadows. And the adversities we face are replaced by immense gratitude and joy, because the promise of eternal life in Christ is more precious than anything the world could ever give.
The shabby and smelly “sheepfold” can’t stop us from offering our thanks for the miracle of Christmas and the gift of salvation. This is what we celebrate: His amazing grace!
So, while we can’t have the usual get-together with our extended family, or presents under the tree, or delicious food on the table, as long as our hope is in Jesus, we have the promise of a better future, and this is enough for us.
This year, why not encourage your family to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus for all humankind, no matter how dire your situation is right now. Jesus is enough for us!–Monica Dwi Chresnayani
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13)
Our Daily Bread Ministries in Indonesia is supported by the freewill offering of individuals in Indonesia, who through their gifts enable us to continue to bring the life-changing wisdom of the Bible to many here. We are not funded by any church or organisation.
