The nostalgic beauty of Christmas

Walter RUPESINGHE

Despite all the glamour and tinsel and the ugly commercialisation of the Christmas season, the true spirit of Christmas characterised by its incredible simplicity and heart-warming poverty will live in our hearts till the end of time. This is because Almighty God, the creator of the universe humbled himself to the extent of sending his only begotten son Jesus to be born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem and to live on earth for 33 years to redeem us and open the gates of Heaven for us. The Jews expected the Messiah to be born in a royal palace with all its splendour and glory but the plan of God was quite different.

A birth that was pre announced

The birth of Jesus was the only birth that was pre announced in the history of mankind. Writing seven hundred years before the event occurred prophet Isaiah told us that the Lord will give a sign. A virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and will call him. Emmanuel which means God with us (Isaiah 7: 114). And he went on to say that the people who walked in darkness will see a greater light for “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulders and He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, everlasting father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah (9:6)”

Prophet Micah who lived at almost the same time as Isaiah wrote that the baby would be born in Bethlehem in Judea.

“But you Bethlehem in the district of Ephrata although you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for us, one who will be ruler over Israel.” Micah 5:2

Thus although the world waited with bated breath for the coming of the Messiah who they thought would be born in the splendour and comfort of a royal court that did not fit in with God’s palm.

The Christmas narrative

The opening act in the immortal drama of the Nativity took place in Nazareth an obscure town in Galilee. The angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin called Mary who was betrothed to a man called Joseph and announced to her that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God. Mary was frightened and confused but when everything was explained to her she bowed to the Holy will.

The angel had also told her that her cousin Elizabeth had conceived in her old age and was with child. A few days later Mary went to a town in the hill country to see her cousin. When Elizabeth saw her the baby in her womb had leapt for joy and she had asked Mary how was it that the Mother of my God had come to visit her.

Mary had explained all that had happened to her and burst into song in that beautiful canticle the Magnificat. She had stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and returned home to prepare for her own confinement.

The decree of Emperor Caesar Augustus

About that time the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census to be taken of the whole Roman world and every citizen was required to go to his hometown for registration. Accordingly Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, the City of David because he belonged to the House and line of David. Accompanied by his wife Mary he set off for Bethlehem seventy miles away. We can be with them in spirit on their long and arduous trek across mountain and vale on an apology of a road infested with robbers with a donkey as their only companion. The going must have been very, very tough and the hardships and inconveniences many. Just imagine what we would have felt if we had to undergo similar ordeal. But they moved on uncomplainingly. How many days they took to complete the journey is anyone’s guess.

Bethlehem

As they came close to Bethlehem the lights of the inn came into view and Joseph must have breathed a sigh of anticipation and relief that at last his tired wife weighed down by extreme fatigue could have a good nights rest. But he was in for a heartbreaking disappointment. He was told that the inn was full with officials

and others who had arrived for the census and what was worse that not a single room was available in the town. The innkeeper felt sorry for the beautiful lady who was in an advanced state of pregnancy and offered them a little corner of his stable where the cattle and the sheep were tethered. They had no alternative but to accept the offer.

The Saviour is born

And it came to pass that while they were there Mary gave birth to a son. In the absence of a cradle she wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger on a bed of straw. Imagine the Son of God lying in a manger and being kept warm by the breath of animals. Could poverty descend to a lower level than this?

The Shepherds

The royal birth which changed the history of mankind was not announced by the sound of trumpets in the halls of the rulers. Instead it was announced to a group of lowly shepherds, shivering in the cold and watching their flocks by nights on a hill outside Bethlehem.

The angel told them -

“Fear not for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all the world. For today in Bethlehem in the city of David was born a Saviour. You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.”

When the angels who had burst into song glorifying God had disappeared, the shepherds rushed to Bethlehem and found the baby and worshipped Him. They then returned to their flocks glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen which was just as they were told.

The visit of the Magi

The story of the Nativity would not be complete without referring to the visit of the Magi. When Jesus was born, an unusually bright star had appeared in the eastern sky heralding the birth of a king. Three wise men from the east all of royal lineage followed the star and came to Bethlehem and found the baby. They worshipped him offering him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and returned to their homes. Thus it was not the sophisticated Roman world but the Magi from the east who first recognised him as a king.

The nostalgia of Christmas

This beautiful story of the first Christmas clothed in simple imagery evokes in us a feeling of unusual nostalgia every time we meditate on it. That is why year after year we re-enact it in the cribs we set up in churches and in the humblest of homes and go back in spirit to be with Mary and Joseph and the helpless baby. This overpowering nostalgia has induced writers down the ages to express it in prose and verse. An eloquent example of this is illustrated in the following poem by Thomas Hardy.

Christmas eve

Christmas Eve and twelve of the clock now they are all on their knees

An elder said as we sat in a flock by the embers in hearth side ease

We pictured the meek mild creatures there as they dwelt in their straw pen

Nor did it occur to one of us there to doubt they were kneeling then

So fair a fancy we would weave in all these years but see

If someone said on Christmas Eve come see the oxen kneel

In the lonely Barton by yonder comb our childhood used to know

We would go with him in the gloom

Hoping it might be so.