Vicar's Corner: What was heard and seen at Bethlehem

Last Updated on Saturday, 11 February 2012 20:07 Thursday, 22 December 2011 20:42

Vicar's Corner

I wonder what I would have heard had I been there that night? Would I have heard the choirs of angels singing or simply the sounds of barnyard animals shifting around?

Would I have seen the star in the sky that night or simply two poor and very frightened kids?

Would I have understood the hushed silence of the divine presence, or simply the chill of a cold east wind?

Would I have understood the message of Emmanuel, God with us, or would the cosmic events of that evening have passed me by?

Oh, you say, had I been there at Bethlehem that night I would have heard.

I would have seen. I would have understood. ...Would you?

There is one way of knowing.

Ask yourself what you hear this Christmas?

Do you hear only the blasts of music and carols, or do you hear the silent sighs of the lonely and the bereaved who may be dreading Christmas because it accentuates their loneliness?

And in the midst of the sounds of honking horns and people arguing over parking places, do you hear the faint sound of laughter that will be coming from downtown because you furnished toys for poor children?

And ask yourself what you see this Christmas Season.

When you watch the 6:o’clock news; do you see chaos and strife, or do you see sheep without a Shepherd?

When you go out to do your shopping do you see hordes of people in the stores or did you notice the worried expressions on some of their faces? Worried because they are facing this Christmas without employment and they don't know how they are going to make ends meet.

Steve ☺